
Class. V ^'\^ 



PAST AND PRESENT 



MACOMB COUNTY, 
MICHIGAN. 



HV 



ROBERT F. EL DREDGE 

TOGETHER WITH 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 

OF MANY OF FFS LFIAUING AND FKOMINENT CFFIZFINS AM) ILU'SFRIDUS DEAD 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHlCAuu: 

THK S. J. CHRKK PMU.ISHINi; tO. 

1905. 



DEDICATED 

TO THE 

PIONEERS OF THE COUNTY 






PREFACE 



111 pivsciitiiit;- III tile iHihlic lliis voluiiii' of history mikI liioL;rM|)liy. the piililisluTs 
li;i\r no a|)oloii-v to iiiaki". 'I'liey lii'licvcd the tiiiic ripe for such a worU. Tlu'y wcrr for- 
tiiiiati' ill seciiriiiii' the services of Kolicrt V. Khlre(|i;e to prepare the liciieral history, and 
the reader will aiiree with us that is well done. In its pre|)ai'ation Mr. Hldredt:'e had the 
benefit of luucli valualih' inalcrial left anions;- his jiapers liy the late .lud'ie -laiues H. 
Eldredize. whose lnvc uf pioneer rciuinisceiiees and iudustr.x' in coilcctint;' data relative to 
the histor.v of Ihc locality wlici-c li<' s|)iMit his life wei'c well known, and who hiuiself 
played no small part in the iiiakini; of the history of the i-ount.v for upwards of forty 
years. It was the plan of 'Slv. Eldredsi'e to se:ireh the iii'i^inal records when possilile and 
to supj)leiiieiit them li.v information ohtaine;!, from old residents and from articles pre- 
pared liy others for readiiii;- before Pioneer Societies and other uatheriims. and tile entire 
jjnmnd of the history of the cuuuty and its social, industrial and jiolitical jiroercss is cov- 
ered as aecnrately as jiossilile. and as fully as time and space would permit. 

The bioe]'ai)hical sketches are of special interests, our corps of writers havine L;-oiie 
to the people, the men and women who have, b.\' their enterjirise and industry, brought 
this eount.v tn a rank second t(i mine iimoiiL:' those comprisiii<^- this great and noble state. 
and from their lips have the stoiy of their life striigules. Xo more interesting or instruct- 
ive matter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found a 
i-ecord of many whose lives ai'e worthy the imitation of cdiuing generations. It tells how 
some, commencing life in poverty, by industry aiul ecdiiomy havi' accumulated wealth. 
It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing an I'dueation. have lieeunie leariietl 
men and women, with an influence e.xtetidinu' throughout the length and breadth of the 
land. It tells of men who have risen from tli<' lower walks of life to eminence as states- 
men, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who 
have .striven to suceeeil, and reeoi'ds how that success has usually crowned their eti'orts. It 
tells also id' many, very many, who, not seeking the api)lause of the world, ha\c pnisuiMl 
the "even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as ("lirist said of the wcaiian 
performing a deed of mercy — "They have done what they could. " It tells how many, in 
the pride ami strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's oftice 
and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's call went 
forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the rnion was restored and 
peace once iiKU'c reigned in the la ml. In the life of every man and of everv woman is a 
lesson that shduld not be lost u|i(iii those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasui-c, 
finm the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into imlilic records 
anil which would otherwise be inaccessible. (Ireat care has lieen taken in the comjiilation 
of the work and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness 
in wh;it has been written; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their 
ri'aders a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to biographical sketches, 
portraits of a numliei' of re|)resentative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biogra])hical sketches of man.v, will be missed in this volume. 
For this till' publishers are nut to blame. .\'ot having a proper conception of the work, .some 
refused to give the information necess;iry to compile a sketch, while others were inditTerent. 
Occasionally sonic> memher of the family would ojipose the enter])rise, and on account of 
such o])])osilioii the sujiport of the interestetl one would be withheld. In a few instances 
men never could be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of 
business. 

August, 1!)05. TIIK S. J. CIjAK'K K PriiLISIl I.\( i CO. 




^^^. F^^. 




J 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



RtMii'lK'r I'. KliDHKIX iK. ;iJi cxiiiiiiiKitinn in ci|H-n cnurt in Di'troil. lie 

usiMJ to rriiiti'. iis illtislriitive of Detroit's 

In the town of (;,v,.n\virh. W iislnn-ton |,,,.,. ,,^. „„.,,, ,p„iit;i„ wiivs in those .lays, 

eonnty. New \ ori^. m ISUS. wiis l)orn to ,,,.,, •„ ^^j^^, ^.i,,,,,, ,.,„.,,. ,^^,,j.^ Sti-Mniboat 

.lanies H. Eldred-v (horn, Ar<ryle. New ,,,,^^.|_ ^^.[j^.,.,, ,„, |,„i„,,,| ,„ ,i„, „|,i .-apitol 

Voi-k, l,8,j; died. Ilaniiltoii, New \ ovk. ^„ ^.||.^. j,;^ examination he did n.,t meet a 

ISd.ii his ohlest son. l\oliei1 1'. Khlredge. |,,.(l,.strian 
In the wintiT of lSl4-ir) the faniil.N' I'emoved 
to Jjehanon. .Matlison einnitv. New Vorli 



Keturniiie- to .MonnI (Memens, .Mr, Kl- 



where Robert 1'. attended the eonntrv seliool 'li'^'lui^ Imii^ "ut Ins shingle— the first iaw- 

and aeciuired the love of natni-e an,l of the >'''• "• -^laeond) eounty— and from that time 

svlvan sports that remained with hnn all nntd he retired from practice bet-ause of age 

tiirouah life, lie studied to prepaiv f,,r col- ■""l 1>"'>'' l^^alth m the late '(O's, he was an 

leae at the Hamilton .\cadeniv. but owin- active and fearless leader m the le-al profes- 

to the death of his mother aiul the c(,nsc- ■'^•™- en.e'a.eed m nearly every important 

quent breakin- up of the familv h.. was nn- '■''«'' ''t tl"' .Mii'-omb county bar for many 

able t,. .-an-v out his father's earlv plans of >'«"-«- «"cl "''^" '' ±'''>'q"ent practitioner at the 

a liberal education. lie tauubt school and ^t- ^"l""" (•"""t.v M'ld other courts, lie was 

.studied law in the ofliee .d' Stow.^ & (iridlcv, associated as a partner with the late Hon. 

at Hamilton, until the s|)rin- of 182(1 when. ''''''^ Hubbard for fifteen years and lat.'r 

attracfd bv a circular describing the ad- "'"' '"« *^""- •'■""''•'^ '^- H^I'lmli-e. t.u- nearly 

vanta-es ,d-'.Miehii;an. he started for Detroit. t"-^'"t.v years. He did at his home in .Mount 

He traveh'd by staee to Kochester. by canal- < '''''n™'^- "• .\«'V.Mnber. lScS4. 
packet to Hiiffalo and i'roni there by steamer .Mi'. Eldredui' was always an ardiMil sup- 

"Superior. " the latter portion of tin' tri]i poi'ter of the prineiples and candidates of 

occii]iyinL: tiiree days' time from iSiitl'alo to th,. I )eiiioi'i'at ic party; an enthusiastic lo\er 

Detroit. He reached the last named port (d' hunting-, fisliiiii;. and sports that broui;ht 

.Ma.\- 2(1. 1S2(), his material wealth coiisistiiiLr him into close toiicli with nature; a deep 

of ten sliilliniis and his well-worn clot liinj;'. stmb'lit he reL;;ii'ded the law as a iii'and sci- 

llc taiiyht school in inie (d'tlic poor-debtors" ence and its prai'tice eiinobliiiL; when 

roiniis id' the old stone jail, and studied law I'onpled A\ith inli'lii'ity anil npriiihl iiess like 

ill the ottiee of lleni'\- S. ('ole that summer his own: lirm and iiny ieldinii' in his opposi- 

and then went to I'mitiac. where be sup]iiirt- tioii to wronj;' as he saw it and fearless in his 

I'd Inmself by teacliinii school, eopyinj; denunciation of trickery and dishonesty, he 

(b'cds. etc.. in the I'eLiister's ottiee until duly. won an eiivi;ilile standiiii;' in the cominuuily. 

1S27. in till' ineantinie iniproviiiL: e\ery op- in February, 1SI52. he was elected prosecutiiiu' 

portiinity for stuil.\iiii;. In that monlji he attorney and in Febriiar.v, 1S42. he wiis ap- 

walked to .Moiinl ('leineiis. his future liome, pointed secretary of state b.\' (iovei-nor Mar- 

wliere he I'onlinued his leual studies, while ry. a position he lield for four .\'ears. Islect- 

earninu- his living-, until his admission I I to ihe state senate in lS4(i. he allended 

prai'tice at Ihe bar in Ihe f.-ill af 1S2S. .-irier the lirst session "f the Icj ishi I lire held in 



I'AS'I' AM) I'KKSKXT OF .MACO.Mli COIXTV 



Liiusiuti'. tlii'ii .just si'lrcti'il ;is capitiil <if tli(^ 
stair. 

In OftiiluT. ls:il, .Ml-. Eldredyc iiiari'icil 
Louisa, daughter of Charles C. and C'atherine 
Crittenden, who were aniony' tlie earliest s(4- 
tler.s of Maeoinh townsliip. this i-nmity. To 
them were born Catherine, who now lives 
unmarried in Chesterlieid. this eounty -. 
James B. : and Caroline, wife of Colonel Jud- 
son S. Farrar. of .Mount Clemens. His first 
wife dying in 1841, Mr. Eldredge married, 
in 18-19, Jane A. Leonard, daughter of Silas 
and ilargaret (Berdan) Leonard, pioneers 
of Lenox, this county. Emily M. Eldredge, 
only child of this second marriage, died 
at the old homestead in .Mount Clemens un- 
married. Decemhei' 2it, 11100. 



JAMES B. ELI)KKI!(iE. 

James B. Eldredge. son of the foregoing. 
was born at Mount Clemens. Xovendier 2."), 
1884, educated at the schools of ;\lount 
Clemens, Rouu^o Academy an 1 the I'niversity 
of ilichigan, at which lattci' place he gi-ad- 
Tiated in Juric, IH.")."). lie began his legal 
work as clerk in the office of Eldredge i; 
Ilulibard at .Mount Clemens at once after 
completing college, and was admitted to the 
bar in June, 1858, at the Macomb county 
circuit, -ludge (ireen jiresiding. Like his 
father, he was a faithful follower of Jef- 
ferson an<l many wen' the services rendered 
by him to the (lemocratic pai-ty and many 
were the honors that pai'ls' conferred on him. 
In 1862 he was elected a membei' of the 
state house of reprt'scntatives ; in ISIil, 1870. 
1872 and 1874. pi'oseciiting attorney: in 
187b and ISSII, judge of probate: and in 
18;);i, circuit judge. Besides filling these of- 
fices. Judge Eldredge served the village of 
Mount Clemens as i-ec<irder and pi'csident, 
and was for many years :i mend)er of the 
school board of ti'ustees. The unselfish de- 
votion of Jud,ec Eldred.u'e to the cause, his 
skill ill c(iiietin.u' dirfereiu-es. his iintiring iii- 
iluslry. and his recognized ability made him 
unusually inlliieiitial in bis party's councils 
and won him the admiration and <'iithusiastic 
.supjiort of .Macomb county s lemocracy. lie 
was their choice for congress in 18S(i and 
received their votes in the convention, and 
thi'ir disapiioiutment wIm'Ii St. ('lair ccninty 
refused to unite with them in iiominalin.ir 
him as circuit judge in 1887 led to a reversal 
of the then normal six hundre<l denioei-atic 



majority in the county to a republican one 
of about that size. The sincere and luimer- 
oiis ex]U'essions of regret from all jiarts of 
the county when ill health compelled him 
to retire ivoui the position of circuit judge 
in 18!t!». testitied emphatically to the esteem 
anil affection in which he was held by all 
witluuit i-egard to party. The uiember.s of 
the bai- of St. Clair comity, too. where Judge 
Eldredge frequently held court dm-ing his 
term were equally warju and eloquent in 
their tributes to his worth, and at a banquet 
and reception tendered him on his retirement 
they presented him with a fine gold watch 
and chain, suitably engraved, as a testimonial 
id' their feelings. 

I'olitics and oftici^-holdin.u' were not allowed 
to exclude the practice of the law from 
;\lr. Eldredge 's life and the years from his 
admission to his assuming the jutlicial er- 
mine were crowd.ed with legal work. The 
firm with wliii-h be was ciuniected, whether 
Eldredge ^^c llidibard, R. P. & J. B. Eldredge, 
or Lhlredge t*c Spier ( 188:M8!I:5). was al- 
ways one of the most jjromiiuMit and busy 
firms of the comity and Judge Eldi-edge was 
ever recognized as a power in the courts of 
this county and state 

.\'or did .ludge Eldredge allow his pi'ofes- 
siou to absorb his jitteiition to tin' extent 
that any one who bad a worthy plan for 
furthering the industrial, social or education- 
al |irogress of the city or C(niuty ever found 
him too busy to listen or too indifferent to 
advise and aiil. Tie was an enthusiastic stu- 
dent id' farming and an active worker for 
the improvement of agriculture and of the 
farmei''s condition. He was a ilirector of the 
.Mount Clemens (diamber of commei-ce for 
many yeai's, a member of the Masonic lodge 
and cliapter. of the iMount Clemens Club, the 
"Old Crowd." the ;\Iount Clemens Hunting 
and Fishing ('bib and other business, social 
and fraternal organizations. 

The hold he had on the hearts of his friends 
and neighbors among whom he luul spent 
his life was again made evident wdien two 
years later. Kehruar.x' IS, lllOl, he died at his 
home III! ('ass avenue. .Mount Clemens, 
moiirned by all who knew him. 

()n .laiiiiary 27. 18r)!l. he was married to 
Helen I). Fitch, daughter of Samuel and 
• Inlia A. (\Vliip|dei h'itch. of .\lbion. New 
^'ol■l<. who with his two children. Julia L. 
(born .November lit. 18;j!l], wife of Silas H. 
S|)iei'. iilid Robci't F. (boi-n Se])teniber III. 
18()4), survived him. and now live in .Moiiut 
( 'lemens. 




iioi'.Kirr r. ki.dukdce. 



I'AS'l' AND IMJKSKN'I' oK M A( OM 1'. ((UN'rV n 

i;tt|iKi;'r K. KLI)I;KI)<;K. ISiWi. in the incantiinc III- was clcclcil 1" 

|)iililic- ofticr. l)i'iiii; clmsi-ii l)y |i()|)illiii- vote to 

Kiiliri-t !■' Kl(licilt:<\ son of tin' pr. Jni-. ,||^, ,,,-,j,,^, ^,j- ,.„„,,,y nmistcr of drrds in isr)(i. 

was lior-n ,it .Mount Clfiiicns. Scptcnihcr lH, ] i,. was fc-clwtiHl in 18r)<S and aujiin lilli'd that 
1S(;4: was cilucatcd at the .Mount Clcnicns p.ij^,,],,,, )',,,. two years. Kolliiwini;- liis i-ctirc- 
pulilir scliools and Ihc I'liivrr-sit y ofMiclu- ^^^^^^^^ )-•,.,, ^ oflicc' he |Miivliasi'd llic l.aki'villc 
iian. .\flci- -i-adnalui- fr-oni tlir litii^raiw |,|i|is in Oakland county. .Mi.'liij;an. in I )r- 
(leparlnicnt of the univci-sily in ISS,") Ik' ,.,.|,||,',,,._ iS(il. and cniiaiicd in tlii'ii' o|HM-ation 
spent one yeai- as Ihe assistant lihrai'ian ot i^'^^^. |.j^.^, years. lie was also postmaster at 
that institution of learniii^i and then look i^akeville foi- four yeai's under the appoint- 
up the study of law in the otTiee of Kldred^e iii^^ii^ iif pr,.sident Lincoln. In IStiT he iv- 
t^ Spier. lie was adnntted to the liar in Oc- t,,,.,,,.,] to Alaconili couii1\- and Ihe followine- 

toher. ISSS, and since that lime has lieeii ^.^,,^^, ^^..^^ ,.|ec1ed a miier of the .Michiiian 

eiiji-a,uv<l in the practice of Ihe h'iial pi-ofes- '|,.„islat ui-e. provinti a ca]ialile working' meni- 

sion. lie was iM'ohate register o\' the conidy. i^^^. ^^j- jj„, ||,,,,j^,. njs dniies were dischar-red 

1S1I4-7. and city attorney of Moinit I'lemens, ^^^ eai)ably anil with such re-iard for the wel- 

1,S!):^.') and ISiH; 7. lie was ui practice in l)e- j-j^,.,, „f ^'i^ eoustitnents and for the state at 

troit from ISilT to 1:HI1. heiiij;- all of that tune |.|j.^.^, ^^^.^^ i,,, „..|^ ,-e-elected in 1S7(I. His 

assoeiat.'d with lion. Elliott (i. Stevenson. ,.y^'~,.J.^^, in the house proved of marked value 

first as an assistant and later as a i)artner. ^^ ^^^ commonwealth and his life record was 

ri)oii the death of his father in 1!)()1. :\Ir. El- |.hj,raeterized by all that was commeudahle. 

drede-f I'clnrned to .Moiuit Clemens and has j^^, |,,^,j,jy. puhlic'-spirited. trustwoi-thy and re- 

since that time maintain. m1 an otlice heiv. |i,,l)le and actuated at all tunes by honorable 

Immcliat.'ly on Ins I'eturii he was auaui a|i- pm.pose. His last (lavs were spent in Lai)eer 

p(unt.>. I city attorney, a position held by him ,,,„||,ty. .Michiean. lie retui'ueil to Mount 

three of the past four years. Clemens on a \isit and here departed this life. 

Api-il IS. IMill. Mrs. Miller died in March. 

XORTOX ]j MIEEER ISSS. and both lie Innied \\\ .Mo\nit Clemens 

cemetei'y. 

Norton E. .Millei'. deceaseil, was for many i,, ,.;|i-|v manhood .Mr. .Millei- was married 

years a prominent and influential citizen of p, ^[jj^^ Frances E. Ee\\ is. a dauLihter of Wil- 

.NFacond) county and his activity in business \\;iu\ Eewis. who came with hei' parents to 

and (xilitieal affairs gained him |)i'onniience Macomb count \'. .Michii;an. in IS:!."). The 

that makes it impei'ative that he should bi' children id' tiiis mariiai;v are as follows; 

mentioned anionji' the representative men of |,,.\vis .M. has been a cdei'k in the y-overiuneiil 

the past. lie was a native id' Berksliii-e ,,t^,.,. ^t Eansim: and is now cliM-k in the 

county. .Massachusetts, boi'u December 1^. ISl.'). |„„,>.-,. „f repi'esentatives. beini: official com- 

Ilis father, Ozni Miller, was a native of Con- pji,.,- „f laws of the state of Michi'^an. Kan- 

necticut. and the tirandfathei-, Samuel .Millet. ,|j,, ;\| j^ the wife of llein'> K. liussell of 

was a soldiei- of the l\e\'oiutionary war, wlide Mount Clemens. .\bner I*, is also livini:- in 

his father, a native of Eni;land. came to Ihe Mount Clemens. William .N. is (illinii the po- 

new workl at an eai'ly period in the devi'lop- ^^iticn i,f deputy sheiaff of .Macond) count\. 

ment of this counti-.v and settled in Con- Millie is the wife of Treston K'c^ith of Bid'falo. 

necticut. With his fannly Ozni .Miller li'ft \'j.w York. Fred C., who enlisted in the i-i'- 

.Mussachusetts in ISIS iind reumved to .Monroe oi-ennized Third Infantry of .Michiean. sei'ved 

county. New York. M'ttlin^ about ten nides „.j,|| (',„|ipaii\- 1 of that con nid and died 

south of till' cit\' of Ifochesti'i-. In \M'2. the jii j|||. Civil wai-. 

fannly took up their abode ni lia,\ township. 

.Macondi c'onnty, .Michigan, where the father 

followed the ociupation of farmuiL; until his \l"l'lirr .1 \\'\I\K'EN .\l D 

di'ath. which occuri-i'd in ISld. 

Norton E. .Miller was reaivd luidn- the Dr. .\rthur.l. Warren, whose iM-ominence 

parental i-oof, pursued a public---c-hool educa- in medical circles is indicated by the liberal 

tion and afterward eneayed in teachiuii palronaue accoi'ded him, was born in l-'lint. 

school throufih the wintei' months, but dnrini;' .Michiean, October "J:!. lS(i!l. his parents bi'int: 

the e-reatiM- part id' thi' year wm'k.'d at thi' .lesse and .Mary E. (Dexter) Warren, 

miliir's tiMile. which lie li'armM in early life Dr. .\rthur .!. Warren, nsired annd rural 

and which be followed cunt iiiuonsh' until ■ rrrouudinux. bei^an his educat ion in t be pub- 



12 



I'AST AXI1 PRESKXT OF A[.\C(1:\IB ('( tlXTY 



lie schools and afterward attended the ilifh- 
ijiaii Agricultural College. He later entered 
the Detroit Jledical College, from which he 
was graduated in May. 1893. In 1895 he 
came to .MduhI Clemens, where he entered 
upon the private i)ractice of medicine and 
sui'gery. and here he has since remained. lie 
is accounted one of tlie leading physicians 
of Blount Clemens and is a memhei' of the 
.State iledical Society and the .Macnuil) ('(uni- 
ty ^Medical Association. 

Dr. Warren was married, in July. ISDT. to 
.Aliss Luella ^F. Kii'khiitr', a daugliter of Jdhn 
Kirkhurt' of Feuton. .Michigan. Fraternali\'. 
Dr. Warren is connected with Mount Clemens 
Lodge, A. F. and A. M.. and the K. of P. He 
is seeretai'.v of tln' !\Iarond) county pension 
board. 



WILLIA.M II. LITTLE. 

William 11. Little, living on section '4. Clin- 
ton township, was boi-n on the old homestead 
farm of the Little family in this township, 
Mai'ch 29, 1883. He represents one of the 
old aiul honored pioneer families of the state. 
His patei'ual grandfather was Holiert Little. 
Sr.. a native of Virginia, who came to the 
west wlien there were few settlers within tht' 
territory of .Michigan. Choosing Macomh 
county as the place of his location he farmed 
the land whei'e the city of Blount Clemens 
now stands, llis son, ixohert Little, .Iv.. was 
horn on Hari-ison's island, in March. 1S(»:5. 
and was i-eared in .Macomh county amid the 
envii'oiunents ;\nd scenes of frontier life, 
sharing in the hardships and 1ri;ds which 
fall to the lot of the e;irly settler. Ilavint; 
iii'rivetl at adull age he was mari'ied in this 
state to Miss .Mai'garet I)unla[). a native of 
Scotland, horn in the city of Glasgow, whence 
slie came to the new woi'ld when a maiden of 
fifteen years. At the time of his marriaL:<' 
Robert Little settled on the land miw nwned 
and occupieil liy his son, Miltmi Litlle. tak- 
ing up his abiide l|ie|-e ill IS:',:^. lie eleiired 
and imprcived I his. developing a good prnp- 
erty. and upon the old home placi- he con- 
tiueii to reside until his life's laliors wei'e end- 
ed in dinith, on the 4tli of .Jul.v, IS?."). His 
wife siir\i\-e(l him fcii' a few years. In their 
famil\' W'vvr t'dui- sons and three daughters. 

William II. Little spent the days of his boy- 
hood and .voiitli in the iismil manner of farm- 
er huls of the peiiiiil. III. ac(|uired his edu- 
cation by attending the district schools diir- 
ini; the winter UKintlis and through the sum- 



mer seasons he aided in the work of plowing, 
planting and harvesting. In 1872 he was 
.ioined in wedlock to Jliss ^Margaret Fox. a 
native of .Maeond) county, who spent her girl- 
In lod days here. The young couple began 
their domestic life upon the old farm home- 
stead. -Ml-. Little ilevoting his time and ener- 
gies to its further cultivation and improve- 
ment. He built a good neat residence and 
developed au e.xeellent farm. In ls;)() he was 
called U|)on to moui-n the loss of his wife, and 
their only child Sadie had tlietl at the age of 
eight years, Followiim- tlu' death of his wife 
Mr, Little resided for three years in Mount 
Clemens and was then again married, his sec- 
ond union being with ;\lrs. Alma Peck, a 
widow, wild was born in Macondi county, their 
marriaiie taking jilace on the 18tli (if .(ul.v. 
189:;!. .Mi's. Little is a dauiihter of .lohn 
Tucker, also a native of Michigan, His father 
was stolen by the Indians when ;i child and 
carried with them to their camp, but later 
he succeeded in making his esca])e and set- 
tled in ^liehigan, John Tucker was the 
youngest of a familv of six sons and two 
daughters. He iiuiiried ]\Iiss Ruth Antoi- 
nette Sii|ipore. a native of .\ew Yoi-k. who 
was brought to ]\Iicliigan in hei- girlhooil ila.vs 
and was here reai'cd. Mr. Tucker was a ma- 
son by trade and became a contractor and 
builder, carr.ving on business along that line 
in Saginaw, Michigan, for thirty years. His 
dauuiiter was reared and educated in Sajii- 
naw and was ther(> married to Frederick 
Peck, a native of .\'ew York, in 1880, Mr. 
I'eck was a prominent and iiiHuential busi- 
ness man of Saginaw for a ninnbei' of .x'ears. 
There were two children by that union, Cath- 
erine and Fr(>dei'ick. both of whom are now 
students in the .Mount Clemens high .school. 
.Mr. Little is a carpentei- by trade and in 
earl.v life I'dllowed that business for a iium- 
iier of years. He traveled (piite extensively. 
workin.ir at his trade in Omaha, in Denver 
and afterward in .Mexico, subse(|uent td which 
time he auaiii went to Denv(>r. He aNd tra\- 
eled tlirdiiL;h Muntaua and the K'ed river 
valley, woi-kiiig at his trade at dirfereiit times 
and also engaging in mining in the golil- 
lields of the different districts. He likewise 
visited the Yellowstone valley and wert down 
the ri\'er on llatboats with five hundred min- 
ers ami ranchers. .\ fter vai'ied and inlei'est- 
ing experiences in the west he returned to his 
native state and settle(l upon a part of the 
did homestead, since which time he has given 
his attention to agricultural piuvaiits. and 
he is to-ila\' the ownei- of seventv aci'cs of 



I'AST AM) IMJESKNT ( »F .\1.\(( ».\l i; ((trX'I'V 



13 



valuiililc mill |ii'ii(liict ivr land nil si'ctioii :!. 
Clinton township. 

In his politifiii views Mr. Liltlr is an earn- 
est I'epiihlican, hcin.!"' the only member ol' the 
family who siipjioi'ts that ])arty, for the others 
are democrats, ami in the faith of the latter 
or«;anizatioii .Mr. Little was reared. His 
stnd.v of the politieal issues and questions of 
the (lay. however, has led him to >;ive his 
su])])ort to the re])ubliean part.v. lie and his 
wife ai'e members of the -Methodist Episeopal 
ehureh of Mount Clemens and are nuich es- 
teemed in the eonnnunity where they liave 
so lon^' resided. His has been an eventful 
life beeause of ihi' exiierienee which he had 
(lurini;- his so.journ in the west. He has also 
witnessed much of the gi-owth and deveioji- 
ment of his native eount.v and is here widely 
and favorablv known. 



"KA.XK T. FOKTO.X. 



Fi'aiik T. Forton. who carries on licneral 
aiirieultnral pursuits on section 3(5, .Sterlint;' 
towiishij). was boi-n February 28. 1867, on the 
fai-m where he now resides, his parents beinjr 
Fi-aiieis and Guilletta (Trowbridge) Forton. 
The father was l)orn in Wa.vne eount.v. iliehi- 
•ian. August 22. 1832. and was a son of Joseph 
and Isabel ( Robert.jolin 1 Forton. who were 
likewise natives of Michigan. The grand- 
father was a farmer by occupation and in 
1838 removed to IMacomb county, settling 
upon a farm now occuined by o>ir sub.ieet. 
Here he lived Up |o tile time of bis death, 
which occurri'd when he was Hfty-three years 
of age. In his famil.v wei'e two ehildi'en who 
are yet living: Francis J. and .lohn. the lat- 
ter a mechanic, residing in Benton Harbor, 
^lichigan. 

I'''raneis J. Forton has been a resident of 
>Maeoml) county for si.\t.\- .\i'ars and has wit- 
nessed its develo])ment from a wilderness. 
Thei'e were few settlements at the time he 
ai'i'ived hei'e and amitl [lioneer environments 
he was reai'ed. He did most of the woi-k of 
clearing ujion the farm, which is now in a 
high state of cullivalioii. The fainil.x home 
was a log cabin until a I'rame residence was 
erected b.v Francis .). Forton. lie prosjU'red 
in his business uiulertakings. placing man.\' 
improvements upon his fai'm. and also extend- 
ed its boumhiries. beconnnt;' the owner of be- 
tween t\\(i and tlii'ee hundred aei-es of land. 
He eiitc'red his farm from Ihe goveriuiient 
and performed the arduous task of developing 
new land, but his labors weri' at last ei'owned 



with success and as the .\ears advanced he 
became a pr<isperous aiiriculturist. In 1!)00 
he was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
wife, who passed awa.v on the tith of .March 
of that year and was laid to rest in the (li-ove 
cemetery-. Tliey were the parents of foni- 
children : Eva is the wife of .Myron Deviinie.v. 
a farmei' residing at .Milton, north of .Mount 
Clemens, and Ihe.v ha\e live children; Elmer 
Dwight, a blacksmith, who livi's at Evei't. 
Osceola eount.v. .Michigan, is mai'i'ied and has 
three ehildi'en: Fi-ank is the next of the fam- 
ily: and Isal)el died at the age of eleven years. 

Frank T. Forton pui's\ied his education in 
the district schools and has always followed 
fai'ming upon the old farm homestead, hav- 
ing in his .vouth gained practical knowledge 
of the best methods of tilling the fields, while 
assisting his father in the lalrors of cultivat- 
ing the land and caring for the ci'ojis. He 
began for himself wheii twenty-eight years 
of age and through his well directed effoi-ts 
has met with a fair measure of jirosperity. 

On the .')th of June, 1895, Fraidv T. For- 
ton was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Clara 
Fuller, a daughter of Samuel and Delia (Wil- 
liams) Fuller. Her father was horn in .Mich- 
igan and is now a resident of Jlount Clem- 
ens, where he is emplo.ved as .ianitor of the 
Methodist church. ]Mrs. Forton was born in 
Lenox townshi|), ^lacond) county, pursued 
her education in the district schools and hiuh 
school of Mount Clemens and for foui- years 
was connected with educational interests in 
Macomb eount.v as a teaehei- in the schools of 
Clinton and Warren townships. Mr. Forton 
gives his political sui)port to the reimblican 
party, as does his father. He has served as 
.justice of the ]ieace. has been school director 
and in 1903 was elected supervisoi-, which po- 
sition he is now ca|iabl.\ lilliiiu'. bein,;;' at the 
present time a mend)ei' of the conunittee on 
sliei'it'fs' and constables" claims and also chair- 
man of the drainage committee. Fi-aternall.v 
he is connected with the Maccabees' lodge at 
Wai'ren. He is well known as an enterpris- 
ing farmer and reliable citizen. .iustl.\- deserv- 
ing mention among the representative mi'u of 
.Macondi countv. 



IJOISEK'T F().\. 

.Michigan offers man.v opportunities to the 
nnMi who choose fanning and stock-raising as 
a life work. Tier soil is pi'oduclive and her 
lields vield a rich rct\irn for the care anil 
labor bestowed upon them, and the persisten- 



H 



'AST AND 



HHSKN'I' (»F .MACOMB CorXTY 



I'V of purpose aiul iiiireiiiittiii'jr iiuhistry dis- 
played in the life of Robert Fox have iiol 
failed to seeure their best tiiiancial reward. 
He is to-day eias;ed with the substantial ajr- 
rieultni'ists. stoek-raisers and dairymen of 
Clinton township, his home i)einir on section 
9. He was l)orn on this farm. Deeemhei- S. 
1854, a son of (iustavus Fo.x. who was born 
in Conneetieut in 1{>1(I. The irrandfathei-. 
Joel Fo.x. also a native of that .state, beeanic 
one of the first settlers of Miehiiran. locatinir 
in .Maeomli county in 18"27. (iustavus Fox 
ari-ived in this county when a yiuiui: man and 
in IH."-!'! he entered from the irovernuicnt a 
part of the ti'aet of lanil on which his son 
Robert now resides, thus becomiiiir owner of 
sixty-eight acres. It was covered with th<' 
native jrrowth of timber, not a furrow haviui: 
been turneil nor an im])rovcnu'iit made, but 
lie at once I)ci.mu to hew down the trees and 
to di'velop a farm. .\s a conipaiiiou and help- 
mate for life's .journey he chose .Miss Sarah 
Burnhani of Canada, and they reared their 
family here. Hi' reached an advanced age. 
passing away Xoveudier 17. l!)04r. while his 
wife de|)arted this life -lune 18. 1890. 

Robert Fox is the youngest of a fannly of 
eiirht children, seven of whom are yet livin-r. 
lie was reared to manhood upon the home 
farm where he still resides, and in the hoine 
school of the neighborhood he was ediu-ated 
mastering thei-e the common bi-anchcs nf 
English leai'uing. From his boyhood days he 
v\as his father's a.ssistant and later he re- 
lieved his fathei' of the c;;>v and nuinagement 
of the home place. He has never desired other 
occupation, but has always been content to 
engage in agricnitvn-al pursuits, and to-day. in 
connection with the raising of the cereals best 
adapted to soil and climate, he also raises so:ne 
good grades of stock and conduct •; a dairy 
Inisiness. these varied interests i-eturidng hhn 
a good income. 

-Mr. Fox wa.s married in .Mount Clemen>. 
December 8. 1885. to Mis.s Florence M. Teats, 
a native of Macomb county. l)oi-n and rearc 1 
in llari'ison townshi]). She is a danglitc!- o\' 
Kdwaril and Harriet Teats, who were curly 
resiileiits of Harrison township, l)ut Mi'. 
Teats is now living in .Mount Clemen-!. 
.Mr. and Mrs. Fox have eight children living: 
(iertie, who is a student in the high school : 
Mariraret II.: Burnham K.: Henrietta M.: 
Kthel H.: Robert II.: Olive E. : and .Merle A. 

.Mr. Fox exercises his riudit of franchise in 
supi>ort of the men and measures of the de- 
mocracy and has been elected and served for 
three years a< township clerk. He has ids > 



iieeii a member of the school board for a 
number ot years, was school inspector for six 
years and has done everything in his power 
to promote the cause of education here. He 
served on the federal .jury in Detroit for a 
nuitdiei- of tei-ms and has been active anil in- 
riiiential in i)ublie affairs of his locality, stand- 
ing as the champion of all progres.sive meas- 
ures. He has witnessed marked development 
in .Macomb county, having seen Mount Clem- 
ens grow from a small town into one of the 
important cities of the state, and he takes 
.just pride in what has been accomplished 
here. 



WIIJ.IA.M (iUKKXSllIKl. Ds, M. 1). 

The name ( ireiMishields lias lung been as- 
sociated witli the practice of medicine in 
.Macomb county. ft)r Dr. (ireenshields is to- 
tlay one of the oldest representatives of the 
medical fiaternity here. For fort.v years he 
has devoteil his time and energies to the im- 
p(U-tant work of alleviating human suffering 
and restoring health, his residence in Komeo 
dating from 18ti4. He is a native of Scotland, 
his birth having occurred in Lanark, and in 
lii-i \oiitli he was afforded excellent eiluca- 
tional advantages, his preliiiiiuary course 
l)eiiig supi>lementeJ by an eight years" course 
in the I'ni versify of (ilasgow. Having thus 
carefully ]u-e])areil for the practice of medi- 
cine, he entered upon the duties of his pro- 
fession and for five years thereafter re- 
mained in the old world. In 18t>-l he crossed 
the Atlantic to America ami made his way 
direct to Macomb eimnt.v. Michigan, since 
which time he has lived in Romeo. He was 
soon well established in business, having 
built up a large practice in the town and 
throughout the ad.jacent county, giving 
proof of his ability in the excellent results 
which have attended his eflorts. He has al- 
ways maintaiueil a i)rogressive spirit in cou- 
iiecfion with his |U'ofession. keejiing in touch 
with advanced ideas through reading and 
stud.v. while his own experience has also 
greatly promoted his efficiency. He Ixdongs 
to till' .MaciMidi County and the X'ortheastern 
District .Medical Societies and in his practice 
follows modern, scientific methods. 

Dr. (ireenshields was married in .Macomb 
county, in 18()t), the lady of his choice being 
.Miss .Mary .McKay, who was born in Michi- 
gan but was of Scotch lineage. They trav- 
eletl life's journey happily together for 
many years, but in l!tl>8 were separated In- 




WILLIAM CIJKKNSIIIKLDS, M. 1). 



PAST AND I'K'HSENT OF MACDMl', (OrN'l'V 



thr death cif .Mi-s. (ii'i'ciishiclds. 'I'lici-i' are 
twii liviiiy- children nf this iiian'ia.iic : .lean 
(;ray. who is now the wife of ('. ('. Thorinii- 
ton. a well known lawyei- of Ronico: and Iv. 
.M. (ireensliields. who is now associated witli 
his father in the practici' of medicine. One 
son. Dr. John (Ireenshieiils, rcacheil adult 
ae-c. was well edneated in the science of 
medicine, and was successfully practicint;- at 
the time of his death, which occurred May 
11. IIIIIO. when he was thirty-two y(>ars of 
a^e. 

Dr. (ireenshields jjolitiealiy is a republi- 
can, iuit has never had aspiration for of- 
fice, as lie has always desired to give un- 
divided attention to his business. lie is a 
membei- of the Cougre»ational church in Ro- 
meo and is a Mason, havinji- taken the de- 
grees of ca]iitulai- and chivalrie in .Masonry, 
as well as those of the blue lodge. Dr. Oreen- 
shields has a very wide and favorable ae- 
(luaintance in the county, his professional 
services bringing him into touch with many 
families and the worth of his character, as 
well as his ability, has been proven in the 
many years of his practice here. 



JOHN iinvi.x. 



.biliii li'wiii. who lias a farm of two hun- 
di-ed aci'cs ad.joining the corporate limits of 
.Mount Clemens, being situated in IIarri.st)n 
township, is of Canadian birth and lielongs 
to that class of men who have sought homes 
across the l)order. benefiting by the improved 
business conditions of the United States with 
her livelier competition and advancement 
more quickly secured. Mr. Irwin was born 
June 10. 1848. and is of Iri.sh lineage. His 
father. John Irwin, a native of the Emerald 
isle, crossed the Atlantic to the new world 
when a young man of nineteen years, set- 
tling in I'pper Canada, near the city of Ham- 
ilton. He was afterward married there to 
Miss IMary Walsh, who was likewise of Irish 
birth. He was a farm<M' by occu]nition and 
continued to engage in the tillinL;' of the soil 
in Canada until his death, which occurred 
in 18r)'2. His wife survived him for a num- 
ber of years and carefully reared her chil- 
dren, who are three in number, the daughters 
being Kate, who became the wife of James 
Ijynch of Macomb county: and .Mary Ann. 
the deceased wife of John l>ynch. of .Mount 
Clemens. 

John Ii'win. the only son. was but nine 
vears of age at the time of his father's death. 



He wa.s reared upmi the iiome farm in Can- 
ada until nineteen years of age and (hii'ing 
that period en.joyed the educational privi- 
leges afforded by the |)ui)lic schools. At that 
time he went to the cil\' of Kric. I'eiuisylva- 
nia. and became car insjicctor for the I'liila- 
delphia Railroad Company, a position which 
he occupied for several years. In 18(i() he 
made his way to the oil fields of Pennsylva- 
nia whei'c he was engaged in sinking oil wells 
under contract, and in this way he condnefed 
a profitable business foi- about a ycai'. lie 
then turned his attention to the butchering 
business, conducting a meat market at Parks 
Landing, where he built up a good trade, 
carrying on his store until 1S7"_'. On selling 
out he removed to Michigan. |)urchasing the 
fai'ni where he now resides. 'I'liis was a place 
of one hundred and twenty acres and taking 
up his abode thereon he began its further de- 
velopment and cultivation. He has made 
some substantial improvements, rebuilding 
and remodeling the house and erecting some 
good outbuildings. His buildings and or- 
chard were largely wrecked in the cyclone 
which occurred May 2"). 18!Hi. but he at once 
set to work to repair the damages and thci'e 
is now no trace of the wreck which at that 
time was wri)ught. .Mr. Irwin has purchased 
more land and is now the owner of two hun- 
dred acres which is i-ich and arable. In con- 
nection with genei'al farming he nuikes a 
business of feeding and fattening cattle for 
the nuirket. shippini;- about a cai'loiid annu- 
ally. 

.Mr. Irwin connnenced life foi' himself a 
poor man. empty-handed, and hard work has 
been the basis of his success. As the years 
have passed he has added little by little to his 
ea])ital which, invested in his farm, has made 
him the owner of a very valuable and well 
improved property. He not only owns his 
home place of two hundi-ed aci-cs in Harri- 
son township, ad.joining the coi'porate limits 
of Mount Clemens, but also has forty acres 
of land near New Baltimore. On the l"2th 
(tf July, 1870, i\li'. Irwin was mai'ried in 
Titusville, Pennsylvania, to .Mr.s. Kllen l)e- 
vaney. a widow, and a native of Canada. 
Her father was ^lartin Devaney. one of the 
early settlers of Canada, who located near 
Walkerton. ^Ir. and Mrs. Irwin have a fam- 
ily of seven children and by her first mar- 
riage ;\Irs. Irwin had a daughtci'. Maggie, who 
is now the wife of (icorgc Douglas, of Mount 
Clemens, and the childi'cn of the second mar- 
riage are: (iussic. who is a capalile teacher 
of Macondi county; John AV.. city eniiineer 



i8 



I'AST AND I'K'KSKN'I' oF ;\IA((>.Mr. CiUN'rV 



of Mdiml ('Iciiii-ns: Edwiird M.. wlm owns 
and ()i)('i-ati's a ^niod farm in llairisdii tnwii 
ship: Charles I'.. Kate and (ii'ory:!', all ;i1 
home: and .James L., an attorney, who is a 
trraduate of the Mieliiyan I'liiversity al Ann 
Arboi'. 

Sinee easting his first pi'esifh'ntial liaiiot 
for (ienrral .McClelland in lSt)4 Mr. Irwin 
has been a stalwai't advocate of (h'lnoeralir 
principles, voting- fur eaeli nominee at tlie 
head of the national ticket e.xcejit in the year 
1872 when he lost his francliise by movini;' 
to .Michitran. He has held sevei'al local 
offices <if hon<ii- and trnst. serving' for foni'- 
teen yeai's as liitrhwa.v connnissioner and also 
filliiiir the office of .justice of the jieace. In 
1891 he was elected supervisor antl by ii'- 
election tilled that office for twelve consecu 
tive .vear-s. Then ai;ain after an interval of 
a year lie was once more elected and is now 
the present efficient suiiervisor of Harrison 
township. lie has acted on numerous impor- 
tant connnittees eacli year and is a mo.st capa- 
ble member of the hoard. lie ha.s fre(iueiitl.\ 
been a deletrate to stat(> and county conven- 
tions of his party and is .instl.v accounted one 
of the leading repi'eseiitatives of the tlemoc- 
racy in .Macond) county. He and his wife- 
were reared in the Catholic faith and arc 
memiiers of the church in .Mount Clemens. 



Tilo.MAS .M.\KT1N CUOCKKK 

'I'liomas .Marlin Crockei'. e.\-.iudi;e. was 
born on the '2'M tlay of Xoveiid)er, 182"). in 
the family home at I'awlet. Rutland county. 
Vermont, upon tlie farm which his <;raiid- 
fatiu'i' had taki'U during the Revolutionary 
war. Mr. ('roc-ker was descended from tlii' 
ver\- earliest I'olonial stock. The first Crock- 
er ancestor. Deacon William Crocker, came 
from Devousiiire. Kni;land. in 1H84, and set- 
tied at Barnstal)le. .Massachusetts, where 
many of the same name still reside. From 
some of tin' maternal ancestors Mi-. Ci'ixdcer 
is descended from stoidc tiial came ovei' in 
the Mayflower. His mothers maiden name 
was JIary Hooker, and she was a member of 
a ycry noted colonial family and a descend- 
ant of Thomas llookc'i-. one of the most dis- 
tinji'uisiied divines of his time. His ances- 
tors, during; the colonial days, were partici- 
pants in the early strut;i,d<'s and noted foi- 
their |)atriotism. .\ yr;indfather and a <rreat- 
graiidfather fouiiht as soldiers in the war of 
the i{evol\ilion. His peo|)le were farmiM's. 
lint during; the war of 1sl2, when the Hril- 



ish thn*atened ati invasion of the Fnited 
States throu^di the Lake Champlain cotnitry. 
his fathiM-. Thomas Crocker, became inter- 
ested in militia matters and participated in 
the tcainini: which followed the excitement 
of the times and became ;i cajitain of a mi- 
litia oruanixation. 

Tile snli.ject of this sketch Went tlirotlgll 
the schools of Rutland coiuit.v. leavinj;' the 
paternal roof in 1844, at the ajie of eijrhteeu, 
comine west to take up the duties of life 
on his own responsibility, working with his 
inicle on a farm in .Macomb cmuity and 
teachinu' school in the wintei-. In .May. 1841), 
he was married to .Miss Fandira Kmory, a 
daughter of .\ndrew ?]mor\'. formerly of La- 
moile i-ount\'. \'ermont. Imi1 an early teri-i- 
torial settler in .Miediiuiin. In LSol .Mr. 
Crocker moxed to New Haltimore, Michi- 
gan, with his inicle. the Hon. Cortez P. 
Hooker, and the followint;' year was elected 
a .justice of the i)e;ice and soon aft<'i-v :rd 
apjiointed |)ostmaster of Xew lialtimore. 

Fpon assiniiini; the duties of his office he 
beeaii to stud,\- law and to purchase the 
stan.bii-d leii;d text-books, beinfi;: admitted 
to the bar in .lanuary. 18o!l. He was elected 
prosecuting attorne\' of .Macond) county, 
.Michiean. in 18ti2. and soiiK'time thereafter 
moved to .M<Mint Clemens, the county seat of 
.Macomb coiuity. i;'oinK into pjirtnership with 
(iilcs llubbai'd. an old |)ractit inner, rankinj; 
amonji' the ;d)lest trial law\'ers of the state. 
In 18ti4 he was elected .jndee of probate, 
serving;- in this position foi' four xcars. at 
the same time beini; continually euiiayed in 
active ])ractice. In 18(i7 he was elected 
a delegate to the constitutional convention, 
takini;' an active part in draftinji a new state 
constituti(ui. In 1874 he was selected liy his 
fellow-townsmen ;is villau'c jiresident. in 
which positiini he was continued four con- 
secutive terms i)_\- the unanimous vote of the 
peoi)le. In 187t) he lost the wif(> of his youth 
— the mothei- of his (diildrcn — who had been 
a most devoted wife and motlu'r, and latiM' 
in the sanu' yr:\i- his business ]>artner'. .Mr. 
Ihdilnird. died. . Indue Ci-ocker and his son- 
in law. Hariy H. llut(diins. formed a law 
partnershiii which lasted until 1884. having' 
law offices both in .Mount ('leim'Us and in 
Detroit, and beitm cnirau-ed in a larac gen- 
eral law business. In 1884 .Mr. Hutchins be- 
came eoiniected with the law departmejit of 
the I'niversity of .Michiean, of which he is 
al present dean. .Mr. Crocker contiinied in 
business from that tinu' alone until 1889, 
when a |i.irtncrship was formed with his 




i^i'^u./fet. 



PAST AND l'i;i':sKN'l' Ol-' .MACn.Mi; CorXTV 21 

,,,,11, Martin, which rdiit iiiuiMl until 1893, Iliitchiiis. of the .Michii;iiii Linv S,-h("il at 

\vhrii 111- licr: colk'ctdi- <if ciistonis of thi- Ann Arbor; Saiinicl Crocki'r. of Aii;<ina<-. 

llufon ilistri.-t. Ill 1889 he was I'h'ct I'll nia.voi' .Mi<'hiu;an. a eivil en^iiicci- and farnirr. who 

of .Mount Ch'nicns, h^'\u<J: rc-ch"('t<'(i in 1S9II has spi-uiaily distinjiuishcd hinisi'lf as a I'ail- 

aiul 18!ll. Ill' was inairird to ,Mi-s. Cordelia road engineer, t.vpographer and niap-inaUer ; 

.Sabin. of .Meni])iiis. .Miehiiran. in 189'J: she .Martin Croeker, an attorney-at law, of 

beinjr a nieinber of a New York family that .Mount Clemens. Miehi,i;an. a sketch of whose 

moved to .Mic-hi.gan in an early day. After life ajjpears elsewhere in this volume: and 

takintr the office of collei'tor he removed for Fandira Crocker, now of Ann Arlior. Miehi- 

conveTlienec to I'ort Huron, where the fed- gan. a lady of rare natural ability, who was 

eral biiildine is located, lie lilled this otiice a student of the .Mount Clemens hi,i;li school, 

most aceeptabl.x to the ucivei-unuMit. lint al- at Ann Arbor and ( 'ornell I'ni versifies, jjrad- 

ways bavin-;- been an ardent democrat, he re- uatiiig from the latter inst it \i1 ion. She 

tired from this iiosifion shortly after the in- taught in tb.' Mount Ch'mens s.'hoois for 

auguration of President .M(d\inley. twelve years, it being generally considered 

During his forty-foui' years of a<'tive wcu'k she was one of tlie best educators who ever 

at the bar -ludge ( i-oc'ker tried iiian,\ ini- W(u-ked in the schools of t he city. 
j)ortant cases and his name and face were 

familiar in flu' sujiremi ui't and in most 

of the I'ii-cuit courts of th<' state, as well as GEOliCP W l)(i\V\'S 
in the rnited States circuit and district 

courts, being retained on one side oi' the Oeorge AV. Downs, an active and progres- 

other for nearl.v everv impoitant <-ansi' ni his sive farmer of l\a.\' township, living on see- 

count\' for most of this tiiiii'. His devotion tion 'JO. was born in St. Clair c<i\nit.v. ;\liehi- 

to his clients' eausi'. good Judgment, couipre- gau, June "_'l). ]S.")2. His father, Aluion 

hensive gi-asp of legal ]u-iuciples, together DpAvns, was born in X'ermont in ISOT and 

with his thorough knowledge of men and af- there spent the days of his youth anil ac- 

fairs. made him a safe adviser ,-iiul. cou|)led (juired his education. In earl.\ maulmod he 

with the tremendous amount of work that came westward to .Michigan, settling in St. 

he de\-ote(l to thi' stiuly of his cases, inaile Clair coinit.v about liS;i(). He was a mechanic 

him :i most fiiriiiidable anta.udnist at the bar. and oabinet-maker by traile and carried on 

.Mr. Crocker was jios.sessed of one of the husines,s in >St. Clair. He was married there 
strongest of New England constitutions. to 'Sliss Mary J. Barron, a native of New 
stood five feet, ten inches, was of stui'd.\' Hampshire, and a daughter of Moore Bar- 
athletic fi-ame. a man of line appearance. \-tn\. one of the ])ioneers of St. Clair county, 
and blessed with a most genial disposition .Mr. Downs carried on the business of cabinet- 
ami kindl.v ways. lie was noted for his making and also engaged in real estate opera- 
clieery laughter; at the same time he was tious in St. Clair until LS.")? when he I'cmoved 
possessed of the greatest wear and tear to .Macoml) count.v, settling first in Washing- 
qualities and the amount of work and fatigue ton township, whence he aftei'ward ii'uioved 
that he could do and go through with was to Ha.v townshii). Here he farmed for a 
simply prodigious. When th<' time foi- work- inunber of yi'ars, owning and o|ierating a 
ing was over he could put aside his careji tract of land upon which bis son (leorge W. 
and duties and at once enter into |)leasant now resides. He diecl in .VuLiust, 1S7S. and 
and genial conversation. He was intimatel.x' was siirviveil by his wife for a mnnber of 
known all over his home c<uuit.v. where his years. In the fannly were four dauuhters. 
friends were ininibered by the thous,-ind. His (Jeorge AV. Dcjwiis, the onl,\' son, was i'ear(>d 
genei'osit.v in eai-r,\iiig on a I'ause for bis iiiidei' the ])ai'ental rodi", pursued his prelimi- 
elients, regardless of linaucia I consiiliTat ions, nary education in the high school, attended 
coupled with the agi'ccabilit.x' of his m,-inner the Rochesti'r Academy and subse(pien1l.\- en- 
and his marked personalit.w bouiiil his gaged in teaching in .Macomb counix' for sev- 
friends to him with the strongest and warm- era! ,\i';irs. Tie succeeded to the ownershi]) 
est of hnnuin ties. His last cause in the of the old home |)lace and turned his attention 
supreme court was submitted in the winter to farming. He has demonstrated his powei- 
of 1902. He died December S, PKI'i. in his e(pially in agrieidtural work as in the lines 
seventy-seventh .\ear, sni'xived b\ a widow, of educational labor. 

Cordelia Cr-oi-kcr, and foui' children: .Mary Mr, Downs was married in Romeo, Febrn- 

],. llutchins. the wife of Dean Ilai'iw 15. arv L'. 18SJ. to .Miss Mtnia Com|)ton. who was 



PAST AM) I'RKSION'r OK .MACd.MB LOUNTY 



1)0111 ill l.ciiox. !\licliiii;ni. ;i daiiiilitcr of h. J. 
("oiiipton. one dl' tlic tirsl scUlcrs in tllis stati.' 

from New Vni-k. At tiic ti ol' their iiiar- 

riajio .Mr. ami .Mrs. Downs located upon the 
old home farm and he has since eiigajjod in 
U'enernl ai;rieiiltural pursuits and stock-rais- 
\\\\:. lie has liiiiit to and remodeled tlii 
house, has built a small ham and later a 
larire one. lie has also fenced the i)laee 
and to-day has a iK'at and will inijiroved 
property, attractive in its appt'arance and 
gratifying in its |)roductivene.ss. lie carries 
on farming and dairying and he owns a good 
herd of pure-hiootleil .lerse\' cows, lie also 
has some high grade Chester white hogs and 
he is engaged in the breeding and sale of 
various tine grades of cliirkeiis. 

I'nto Mr. and Mrs. Downs have been born 
four children: .\rtliur. who assists in the op- 
eration of tlu' lionii' farm; \'erna. who is suc- 
cessfully eiigagc<l in teaching instruiiiental 
music in this county, and .leiinie and lleliMi. 
who are attending school. The parents at- 
tend the Kay I'liion I'hurch and politically 
ilr. Downs is ;i re|)iiblieaii, never lalteriii.t;' 
iu his allegiance to the party since casting 
his fir.st presidential ballot for Wiitherford H. 
Hayes in 187f). lie takes (piite an active in- 
terest in local elections as well as in st;ite and 
national politics, lie was elected and served 
as township school sui>erinteiiden1 and later 
was township clerk for a inimlier of years. 
He afterward acted as supervisor for seven 
consecutive years, served on a niiinber ol' im- 
portant committees on the board ami was also 
chairman of some of the committees, lie has 
made seven assessments in the town of Kay 
and is .iu.stly regarded as one of the prominent 
men of his locality, exerting a wide and fav- 
oi-ahle intinenee for iiiipro\enicnt and prog- 
ress, lie is well known in .Mount Clemens 
and iu the county and his integi'it.x and worth 
stand :is salient features in his career. 



IIO.MKI; D.WIS. 

.\molig the ri'spei'ted and honored citi- 
zens ill till- \illaL;c' of Washington is Homer 
Davis, who, after active connection with 
farming interests in the township of Wash- 
ington, is now living retired, having ac- 
<Mimulatcd a c(mi]H"tence that is sutTicient to 
supjily him with all the necessities and with 
many of the comforts and luxuries of life, 
thus releasing him from the necessity of 
further hard labor. He has lived in Macomb 
county since 1S:U. liavini: arrived here when 



a little lad of live yeai's. lie was born in 
New N'ork, •January 5, 18;2H, and is a son 
of Lewis Davis, who was biu'ii in the Kmpire 
state and remained tlier(> until after his mar- 
riage to .Xaiicy iviiapp. also a native of that 
state. He rciiiovetl to the west in lS:i4. ac- 
companied by his wife and children, and in 
Kay township. Macomb county, secureil gov- 
ernment land on which he Iniilt a pioneer 
home and liegan farming. The histiu'y of 
pioneer life constitutes a record of his early 
residence here. Ther(> were difticulties antl 
hardships to be borne and the improvements 
of the farm were brought about only by 
much arduous laboi-. The farming imple- 
ments were \-ei-.\- crude as compared with 
the machinery of the present day and much 
more work was done by haiul than now falls 
|o the lot of the agriculturist. 

Homer D;ivis was reared upon the eld 
homestead in Kay township and throu,i;h the 
winter months attendcHl the common schools. 
In the family were four sous aiul iive 
dauuhters. of wIkuu two sons and two 
daULihters are \et living. There were pleas- 
ures to be enjoyed such as are unknown at 
the present age and there was much hard 
work iucitleiit to the tilling of the .soil, which 
iirst had to be cleared of the timber that 
here grew in profusion. Jlr. Davis was earl\' 
trained to habits of industry and economy 
and these (pialities have been valued factors 
in his later success. On the 27th of October, 
lSr)4, he was married in Ka.v township to 
.Miss .Martha M. Woodman, a native of .Ma- 
comb count.N anil a daughter of Thomas and 
Sallie .Villi uVuderson) AVoodmau. Her 
father was born in Vermont and became a 
pioneer settler of eastern .Michigan. Her 
mother was a native of New York. They 
had four ehildri'ii, of whom three are still 
livini;: .\elsoii. Kiiiily and Martha .M. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Davis began their domestic 
life upon a farm in Kay township, he having 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, the cultivation and improvement of 
which claiiiM'd his time and ener.i;ies for 
twenty years. He then sold that property 
and bought a fiiriii in the township of Wash- 
ingt(Ui, adjoining the village. This place 
comprised one hundred and four acres, which 
lu" also cultivated and upini which he built a 
Udod frame residence, substantial bam and 
all the lU'cessary outbuildings for the shelter 
of grain and stock. Here he also carried on 
farming for twenty years and then sold the 
propert.v to his son. while he I'gtired from 
active business cares ami purchased a resi- 




MR. AND MRS. HOML'LR DAVIS 



'AS'I' AND I'lv'KSKXT OF MACOMIi CorXTV 



25 



(Icncc ill the vilhii;i- that he now Dccuiiies. 
.Mr. and ^Irs. Davis becaiuc the parents of 
five ehihlren: Ida, the ^\■\io of C E. Loek- 

w 1: l-'annie. tlie wife of M . \V. Davis, of 

.Mount Clemens: Lewis, who owns aud oper- 
ates the old liomestead farin; Mary, the wife 
of T, R. ,\iulriis, of Evart. Osceola eonnty, 
^lielii^an: and Naney, llie wil'e oT Dr. 
Sharpe, of Honieo. Miehiiian. 

I'olitieaily Mr. Davis lias heen a stanch 
repuhliean siuee the organization of the i)ar- 
ty in liSSt), l)nt has never been an aspirant 
I'oi' ol'liee. lie and his wife are members of 
ihc Methodist Episeoiial eliureh in Washiug'- 
hiii. 'I'hey i'elei)rated their Lidlih'n wedding' 
in 1IM)4 and their ehihli-en and many friends 
gathered on that hai)|)y occasion to e.\tend 
to them many tokens of love and esteem and 
to wish them many returns of the day. 'Sir. 
Davis was presented with a flue ebouj' cane 
with a gold head, on M-hich was engraved his 
name and date. 

If yiv. Davis is asketl concerning an early 
event eonnected with ^laeomb county he can 
usually give an accurate account thereof, for 
during seventy years he has liveil liere and 
is familiar with what has been accomplished 
through this long period and with the marked 
improvement and progress that has been 
made. Upon memory's wall hangs nuiuy 
pictures of frontier life which age seems 
rather to make brighter than to dim. lie has 
lived an active, useful and upright life and 
is now enjoying the fruit of his labors ami 
the esteem of his fellowmen. 



ilOX. EDOAli WEEKS. 

lion. Edgar Weeks, deceased, twice mem- 
ber of congress and a distinguished represen- 
tative of the Mount Clemens bar, belonged 
to that class of public men whose efforts and 
influence are potent because of their knowl- 
edge of the movements and measures which 
they champion and their public-spii'ited devo- 
tion to the genei'al good. He was born in 
Mount ('Iciriens August 3, 1839, and was a 
.son of Aaron and Laura A, (Bingham) 
Weeks, jnoneer settlers of Macomb county, 
who contributed in substantial measure to the 
material development and imin'ovement of 
this jiai't of the state. Aaron Weeks est.ib- 
lished the hrst oak stave indnsti-y in eastern 
^Michigan at .Mount Clemens and was the 
first to propose the liuilding of the Soo canal, 
being a very enterprising and progressive 
business man. He was boi-n in Rt. .\lbans, 



\'erniont, in ISlKi. and died in Chanutc. Kan- 
.sas, ^May 11, lS!)-i, while his wife was born 
in Perry Center, New Yoi-k, in 1S18, and 
died in Mount Clemens, .Micliigan, .hdy -2. 
19U-t. They were mari-ic'd at .Mount Clemens 
in 1836 and became the pai'ents of four chil- 
dren: William, born in 1S.37; Edgar, in 183'J ; 
Cenevra, in 1841; and lllion, in 1843. 

Edgar Weeks attended school in his native 
city tuitil thii'teen yeai's of age and subse- 
([uently K'arncd the printer's trade, working 
in several jirinting offices in l\Iount Clemens, 
After two years he took charge of a news- 
]iaper office in New Baltimore, remaining in 
that position for a brief pi'riod, when he went 
to Detroit and secured employment on the 
old Evening Tribune and latei- on the De- 
troit Free Press. About 1>^^)>^ he entered the 
office of the county clerk of ^Macomb cotinty 
as an assistant and at the same time began 
reading law. Soon afterward he was taken 
into the office of Eldredge & Hubbard, attor- 
neys of ilount Clemens, as a law student and 
clerk, and there remained until his admission 
to the bar in 1861. 

Already he had become an active working 
force in political cii'cles, being a champion 
of Lincoln and the republican party in the 
campaign of 1860, and when the war broke 
out he again upheld the policy of Lincoln 
and supported the Union cause by enlisting 
in June, 1861, as a mendier of Company B, 
Fifth iliehigan Infantry, which was organ- 
ized in Mount Clemens. He was the first 
non-commissioned officer of ^Afacond) county, 
being made first sergeant of his company, 
August 28, 1861. In 1862 he was promoted 
to the rank of fii'st lieutenant and ad.iutant 
of the Twenty-.secoud ]\Iichigiin Infantry, 
under Colonel ^foses Wismer, afterwai'd gov- 
ernor of ^lichigan, while in 1863 he l)ecame 
a captain in the same regiment, serving until 
December of the same year, when he was 
mustered out on account of in.juries sustained. 
At that time he was brevet major. During 
his service he participated in the movements 
of the army in Virginia, Kentucky autl Ten- 
nessee. In 1863 he was ai^iiointed associate 
iusiiector general of the Third Brigade, Sec- 
ond Division, Reserve Corps, of the Army 
of the Cumberland, under General Gordon 
(i ranger, and participated in the movements 
from Nashville to Chattanooga, until after 
the battle of Chickamauga. 

After retiring from military to civil life, 
^Fr, Weeks became one of the ])roiirielors of 
the repiiblican newspaper. The ^lonitor, and 
acted as its editor. In 1866 he resumed the 



26 



PAST AND PRESENT (»I 



.MACOMI! CdrXTY 



practice of law in iloiint Cleiiieiis and eou- 
tiniied an active inenihci- of the Maconil) 
eonuty bar nntil his death. lie was a deep 
tliiulier. a lojrieal i-easoiier anil possessed a 
keenly analytiial mind — (|ualities tliat nuule 
him one of the ablest lawyers of the l)ar 
and at the same time made him a power 
in congress, in the handlinjr of intricate 
and complex problems affeetin<r the weal 
or woe of the nation. Deeply interested 
in the jii-eat (piestions of the day. he 
always kejit thoronuhiy informed npon tiu' 
issues which divided the two <;reat parties and 
set forth his views with clearness and concise- 
ness from the i)latform thirin>;- the canii)ait;ns. 
His natural fitness foi' leadership led to his 
selection for otiiee. esjieeially in ronnection 
with the ]ierforniance nf duties for whicli his 
professional ti'aiiiint;- and exi)erience well 
qualified him, and he was freiiuently chosen 
to sei've in connection with the execution or 
framinir of the laws, lie was twice elected 
prosecuting attorney and was jifterward ap- 
pointed probate .iudi;e of .MMcimib countw 
In 1884 he was a eanditlate for congress but 
was defeated. lie was elected, however, to 
tiie fifty-sixth congress in 18;)8. receiving 
eighteen thousand six hundred and twenty- 
three votes, against twelve tluuisand eight 
hundred and eighty-eight cast for F. E. Bur- 
ton, the democratic candidate, and tw'o hun- 
dred and seventy-nine for Dr. James Hen- 
derson, the ])opulist candidate. lie was re- 
turned to the fifty-seventh congress in 1001. 
by a ma.iiu'ity of more than six thousand, lie 
was an active working mend)er of the lu)use. 
and while he aided in forming constructive 
legislation in the couunittee rooms, he also 
delivered a ninnber of interesting and instruc- 
tive addresses on the floor of the house, which 
attracted witlespread attention. He was a 
niendiei' of the conunittees on chiiiiis and in- 
valid pensions and ciiairman of the couunit- 
tee on contested elections, lie s])oke upon 
American Intei-ests in Puerto Rico, January 
81, 1900: on the c<uit(>st(>d election case — 
Wise versus Young- m .Mnn-li. IIKIK; the 
Filii)ino Race. Jamuiry •_':!. llld'J; and t'uban 
Hecipi'ocity. — Protection to Beet Sugar In- 
dastry, April 10. littrj. These addresses ex- 
cited niarki'd attention and awakened earn- 
e.st thought. In order to aci|uainl hims(>1f 
with conditions which existed in our insular 
possessions and bring the nudter before the 
house with a thorough understanding of the 
sub.iect under discussion. Mi-. Weeks became 
a member of tlie Bacon cougressioind jiart.v 
in 1891 and made a tri]) aro\nid the globe. 



visit iiiL: Spain. .Mcn'oceo. Egyj)!, the Nile 
count ly. the Pyi'amids and othei' j)oinls in 
Africa, passing throngii the .Mediterranean 
and Hell seas, the Arabian sea and Indian 
ocean to Ceylon, crossed the bay of Bengal 
and the sti'aits of Malacca and on into the 
China se:i. lie visited -Manila and saw all 
(d' the twelve or fourteen thousaiul islands of 
the I'iiilippini- i;roup, went to Tokio and 
iither points in Japan, and thence sailed 
aciiiss the- I'acilic to San Francisco, making 
a trip of six months' continuous travel, in 
which twenty-one days were s]ient among the 
sea islands. Ma.jor Adam, iletaileil as a Brit- 
ish subject, showed the party all through the 
iiiiiihty fortresses belonuitu;- to (ireal Britain. 
.Mr. Weeks saw many puints of inlei-i-st in tiie 
iirieut and visited the palaces in .Malta. In 
the city (if N'aletta he visited the Chaiiel of 
Bones, said to be decorated with the bones 
of thirty-thousand human skeletons. Two 
liodirian nuns wiTe secured throuiih .Mr. 
Weeks and iilaeed in the courthouse square 
in .Mount ('leiiiens. one in honor of (ieneral 
.MacomI). tile other in memoi'v of tlu' soldiers 
and sailoi's of .Macomb county. They were 
liiaced their on ilemorial day of 1901. Mr. 
Weeks making the presentation speech. In 
19(11 he visited Puerto Rico and all parts of 
Cuba and therefore when he addressed the 
house upon questions eoncei'ning their govern- 
ment, it was with a personal kiiowledu:e of the 
country, its ])eo|)ie and conditions, lie was 
an orator, his excellent delivery being the 
cloak of strong, logical thought, and his audi- 
toi-s listened to him with attention. He was 
a familiar figure in [Michigan politics, laboi-- 
ing earnestly and untiringly for the progress 
and ui)building of his pai'ty in the state and 
lie was a delegate to the republican national 
convention in Chicago, where Ben.jamin Har- 
rison was nominated and where he took an 
active part in the etVoi't to nominate (ieneral 
Alger. 

Juilge Weeks was married, in 18t)7. to Miss 
Mary F. Camiibi'll. of Mount Clemens, a 
dauLihter of John S. and Anna (Megary) 
Campbell, n.^' Spi'ingfield, New Jersey. I'nto 
them wei-e born six children: Howard P.. 
■ lohn .\.. Katherine. (lenevra. Elizabeth and 
.\nna. 

Judge Weeks was an active memlier of the 
Crand Army of the Republic and .served as 
coMunander of the Dejiartment of ^lichigan. 
He also belonged to the Loyal Legion and 
till' Sons of the American Revolution and 
was very dee|)ly interested in military affairs. 
He was also a valued menilier of the social 



I'AST AND riJKSKXT (iK MACO.MI! CorXTV 



27 



clubs of .Mdiint Clciiii'iis. :iii(l his ilcntli. wliirli 
occiin'ctl Dt'L-omluT 17. Ill(t4. was tliu oi-i-m 
siiin (if deep regret in tiic soeial. political ami 
legal circles of the state, while ennueiit iiumi 
of the country mourned the loss of one wliinii 
tiiey regartled as a peer and who stood as a 
high type of our American manlun)il. 



1;. .\l. (iUKKNSlllKldiS. M. 1). 

])r. K. .M. ( liTrnshii'Ids is one nf thr .xonm:- 
est nieud)ers of llic medical fi'aternit.w yet 
his years seem no har to his ca[>al)ilit.v nor 
success. He has pi-acticed for five years in 
Komeo, his native town, his birth having oc- 
curred here Ajiril 27. 187:?. His father, Dr. 
William Greenshields. is a well known i)hysi- 
cian of Jlacoud) count.w rrpresented elsewhere 
in this volume. Tiie son was reared in his 
native town and was advanced through con- 
secutive grades in the public schools here 
until he had completed the high school coui-sc. 
He afterwards spent two years in the I'ni- 
versity of ^liehigan and then, taking up the 
study of medicine, he pursued lectures in the 
Detroit College of ^fedicine, in whieli he com- 
pleted the regular course and was graduated 
with the class of ]!•()(). Returning to Homeo 
he .joined his father in practice in this town. 
Here he has won for himself an enviable posi- 
tion by reason of his thorough knowledge of 
the principles of medicine and the great care 
which he exercises in the performance of the 
professional duties that devolve upon him. 

Dr. (ireenshields was married, .May 17. 
1904, to ^liss Florence Partch, who was born. 
reared and educated in Macomb county, llr 
belongs to the ^lasonic fraternity, being now 
a Royal Arch and Knight Templar Mason, 
and he is also connected with the ^Mystic 
Shrine at Detroit. He has a very wide ac- 
quaintance in Romeo, where his entire life 
has been passed, and those who know him 
entertain for him liii;b rc^ai-d bdtb sociall.\' 
and profes-sionall.v. 



SAMTTEL IT. EWFJjL, 

Many of tin- carl.N- settlers who were active 
in opening uji this I'egion and in [)lanting the 
seeds of civilization, develoi)ment and prog- 
ress here have passed away. Among those 
who still reniain and whose memory forms a 
connecting link between the past and the 
progressive ju'esent is Sanniel H. Ewell. who 
has made his home in Macond) countv since 



l^^il). llr was born in \V.\nming comity, 
.\'c\\ ^'l^■k. -lannar.N' .'i. ISll). a son of Sanuiel 
I'lwcll. wliii was a native of Massachusetts and 
was of Scotch descent, the family having been 
I'liunded in the old iiay state in colonial days. 
Sanniel Kwell was reared in .Massachusetts 
and IIhtc married Xanc.s lloyt, also a native 
of that slate and (jI' Welsh lineage. They re- 
moved to (leni'see county, New York, set- 
tling upon a laiiii where they resided for a 
nnndier of yi'ais. and nine children were. 
Iiiirn iinid lliein lliei-e. In ISlSli they became 
resitlents of .Macond) ct)uidy. .Michigan, set- 
tling at Romeo, where the fathei' engaged in 
farnnng until his death, which occurred in 
1S4L'. His wife survived him for more than 
thirty years and died at the veiy advanced 
age of ninetv-two years and si.K months. 

Samni'l II. Hwell was a young man id' sev- 
enteen \ears when he arrived in this county. 
His school privileges were limited and his 
education has been largely self-acquired. He 
is now a well informed man, keeping in touch 
w illi llie progress of the times, with the ques- 
tions of general interest and those affecting 
the jiolitieal and legal status of the country. 
For many years he was actively engaged in 
agricultural ])ursuils and later he divided a 
l)ortion of his farm into town lots and nuide 
an addition to Romeo. The old fairgrounds 
are also a ])art id' his homestead farm. 'Sir. 
Ewell turnetl his attention to the ndlling 
business a7id built and opei-ated two grist- 
mills, being engaged in t\u' manufacture (d' 
Hour and meal for twenty-five yeai's, doing 
custom woi-k. He was also one of the edi- 
tors of a Romeo paper for five years and has 
tbr.s been an active factor in the business 
life of the village and surrounding couidry. 

I'olitieally Mr. Ewell was an old-line whig 
antl cast his first pi'csidcidial vote for William 
Henr.v Harrison. In IS")!) he voted foi' John 
('. Fremont, the first candidate of the re- 
j>id)lican pai-ty, and he has since given his 
sup|)ort to every nominee at the head of the 
republican ticket. He is activel.v and deeply 
intei'ested in local politics ancl his fellow- 
townsmen have called him to office, so that 
he has served as a mend)ei' of the town t)oai'd 
I'oi' several terms and for a nnndier of yeai's 
was street connnissioner. lie is also known 
as an author and has wi-ilten and pulilishiNl a 
.leal little volume of jioems. wliii-h he him- 
self put in type. 

On the 27fh of September, 1857, in Romeo. 
.Mr. Ewell was married to Miss Cordelia 
.Sniilli, a native of TjapeiM' count.v and a 
daugliter of .fohn S. Smith, one of the earlv 



28 



PAST AXI) I'KESKXT OF MACO.Ml^ CorXTY 



settlers of tliis cduiity wIki (■.•uiic to the west 
from New York. They eat tied land which 
he developed into a productive farm. He was 
married in the Empire .state to Miss Louisa 
Beach, a native of New York. After coming' 
to Jlichigan they reared their family upon 
the farm in Lajieer county and in his business 
alt'airs ^Mr. Smith jii-osjid'ed. He died in 
1874, while his wife survived him for a num- 
ber of years, pa.ssiny ;nvay in IS!);), at tlie 
age of ninety-one years. Mi-s. Ewell was 
boi-n and reared in Lapeer county and liy 
hei- marriage has become the mother of two 
children, the elder being Leona, the wife of 
J. B. Kobci'ts. a business nuui of Three Riv- 
ers, ^Michigan, and son of an inventor of a 
vibrator thresher. They have one son, C'yius 
E. Leon .S. Ewell is married and has one 
child, Bernice Owen Ewell. Leon S. is a well 
known musician, who for three years was the 
leading clarinet jjlayci- with Porepaugh's 
show. He is now residing in Romeo and is 
the leader of the choir in the Congregational 
chni-ch here. ^Ir. Powell belongs to the ]\I;\- 
.souie fraternity and has taken the Royal Arch 
degree. He is one of the oldest representa- 
tives of the Blue Ijodge here and both he and 
his wife are members of the Ea.stern Star. 
He is to-day one of the venei-able citizens of 
^[acomb county, having reached the advanced 
age of eighty-six years and his I'csidence in 
the county covers a period of sixty-nine years. 
Great changes have occurred in this time, for 
at his arrival he found small towns on the 
sites of .Mount Clemens ami Detroit, wliilc 
many of the now thriving viUages and smaller 
cities had not yet s])rung into existence. ^luch 
of the land was wild and unimproved and tlu' 
roads were uncut. Ilr at once became an 
active factor in the woik of development and 
pi-ogress whicli has ju-oved nf benefit to the 
county and al the sanir lime has li|-ought 
him dcsiralilc success. 



JOHX DITTMAX. 



John Ditlman, deceased. wIki was one of 
the useful citizens of liiniieo, wln-re for many 
years he was connected with manufacturing 
interests, departed this life. December A. 
1!)(14. He had located here in IS.'):? and his 
i-esidence, therefoi'e, covered more tiian a 
half centuiy. His bii'th oce\n'red in Prussia. 
Germany, August lU, 1S;?(). and there he was 
reared and learned the wagonmaker's trade. 
He was twenty-three years of aL'c when he 
determined to seek ii lidine in llie new woi-ld. 



iiaving heard mucii of its advantages and 
pi-ivileges. ^Accordingly he crossed the At- 
lantic in 1853, and chose Romeo as the scene 
of his future laboi-s. Here he began w-orking 
at wagon-making as a joiu-neyman and later 
he estal)lished a shop of his own. in which 
he engageil in the re])air and manufactiU'C of 
wagons, conducting this business from 1874 
until 1895. He was an expert Avorkman, 
doing all of his work in a most thorough 
iiiauner and his activity and straightforward 
(lealiiiL; were llie strong elements in his pros- 
perity, lie was never known to take advan- 
tage of the necessities of his fcllowmen in 
any business transaction, and his example, 
business ])robity and enterprise are well 
worthy of emulation. He continued as a 
representative of inaiuifactnring interests 
in Romeo nntil ISI)."). wIkmi he rented his shop 
and retired from business, enjoying a rest 
which he had richly earned. He contributed 
in substantial measure to the improvement 
;iuil |)rogr(>ss of Ronu^o. aiding largely in 
making the town what it is to-day. He l)uilt 
eight good residences here and also bought 
and owned several farm.s in this locality. 
He was a careful and prosperous business 
man. Each step in his career was earefull.v 
and thoughtfully made and he did not place 
his dependenci' ujion any aid or influeiu'C, but 
M|iiin the substantial qualities of earnest per- 
sistent labor. Economy and frugality w^ere 
numbered among his characteristics, and by 
the careful husbaiuling of his resources he 
made his start, so that in later years he was 
enabled to ])rovide for his fannly with the 
cond'orts ami nuiny of the luxuries which go 
lo make life worth the living. He earned the 
money which brought his parents to Anu^rica. 
they .ioining him here after he had spent 
several yeai's in the new Avorld. 

.Mr. Dittnian was married in 1S,")7. to .Miss 
.\nna .Martha \Yohlenhaui)t. a native of 
1 lesse-Cassel. (lernuuiy. who spent her girl- 
IkkhI da\s in that land antl canu' to the 
I'liiled States in early womaidiood. Ei\'e 
children were born to this union but only 
line is now lixiiiL!'. Lydia. the wifi^ of AVilliam 
.Newman ol' Detroit. b\- \Alioin she has two 
sons. .lohu and Carl. The nuuidiers of the 
family who have jja.ssed away are: Eunna. 
who died at the age of ten years: Mary, at 
the age id' four years: John, when eleven 
months old; and .Inlia. at the age of tifteen 
nioidhs. 

Politically Mr. Ditlman was a stanch and 
inllexiblc republican, believing tirndy in the 
|)i'incipli's of the ]iarty, yet never seeking or 




(^tCmx ioU iyiLi-'i-< 



OLy>^ 



PAST AND I'lv'KSKXT ()!■' MACOMIi CorX'I'V 



31 



di'siriim' iit'tii'c i'lii- hiiiisfll'. lie .-iiiil his wit'r 
wiTc iiiciiibcrs of the .Mi'thodist lOpiscopal 
chiircii. with whifli Mvti. Dittuian is still con- 
lu'ctt'd. lIoiR'st i)riuciples charai-torizod all 
that he did and at his death his loss was 
irreatly felt in the ehureh, in his city and in 
liis home, lie liad labored untiringly and 
ettectively for the welfare of Romeo as well 
as for liis fellowmen and his ineni<ir>' is yet 
eherished liv those who knew him. 



GEOKGE 11. NK'lloLS. 

George II. Nichols, one of the most pro- 
uressive eitizens of Maeomh connty, keeping' 
in toueli with the onward march of proiiivss 
as e.\emplitied in business life, was born in 
Blount Clemens, Novemi)er 7. IS.")?, on the 
site of the old Keils Huildiiii:', on ^Maeomb 
street. His great-grandfather Little be- 
longed to an old Virginian family and was 
the first representative of the name to eome 
to ^lichigan. .settling on llarsen's Island, 
from which ^Ir, llarsen ti'ied to dri\e him 
and other settlers awa\' with the aid of a 
shei'itf, who fired upon them, but they I'e- 
fused to go and, returning the fire, Mr. llar- 
.sen was shot. He carried the scars through- 
out the remainder of his life, but in later 
years he and Mr. Little became fast friends. 

George O. Xii-hols, fathei- of our subject, 
was born in Saratoga county, New Yoi-k, De- 
cember '2'2. 18:^-1, and came to Michigan with 
his parents in 18-t."). settling on what is now 
the John Wolf farm on the plauk road two 
miles west of Mount Clemens. After pursu- 
ing a conunon-school education he learned the 
builder's trade, becoming a eonti-actor. 
.Vmong l)uildings which he erected are a num- 
ber of old landiuai'ks, including the residences 
of Charles I'llrich and Dr. Babcock, the old 
K. C. rUrich Block, the D. C. Williams Block, 
the Iv J. Oldie Block and the Winegar Block, 
all in Mount Clemens. He continued as a 
leading conti'actor and l)uilder until 18!)4, 
when as insijcctor he had cliai-ge of the build- 
ing of a large brick sewer for the cit.y of 
Mount Clemens on Church street. He was 
only si.xtei'H years of age at the time of his 
fa1hei-'s death <nid upon him devoh'ed not 
iiiil.\ his own suppoi't but also the care of a 
family of five children, of which he was the 
eldest. At the time of the Civil war he and 
another man by the name of (Jeorge Mur 
ilock were api)ointed marshals and took 
chai'ge of a foi-ce to pi-otect Mount Clemens 
from beint;' Imrned b\- the Kiirhth Cavalrv. 



lie still resides at his home on Cass a\'enue 
in .Mount Clemens antl is a much respecteil 
citizen and a man of unimpeachable integrity, 
lie marrieil Henrietta Little, a dauuhter of 
K'obcT-t ]>ittle, who I'cmoved to .Macomb coun- 
ty at a very eai'ly day, settling on the north 
branch and at one time cultivated the ground 
where the present courthouse is now erected, 
lie saw many gatherings of Indians in fidl 
war paint on their way to fight in the Black 
Hawk war. lie was an eai-nest and active 
.M('1h(i<list and was a|i|)oiided as steward in 
the First Methodist church of .Mount Clem- 
ens, beiug retained in that office until his 
death in 1876. His wife came from Baisle.v, 
Scotland, early in the nineteenth century. 
She was of the elan of .\lurdock and Dunlap 
and her father was a weaver of the celebrated 
I'jiisli'y shawls. She was gifted with nujre 
than oi'dinary intellect and w;is a most sin- 
eei-e and earnest Christian worker. Scotland, 
at the time the family left there, was in the 
midst of a political agitation and the last 
pul)lic wdi'k hei- fathei' tlid was to addi-ess a 
gathering oi over thirty thousand i)eople on 
the eve of his departure for Amei'ica. 

(ieorge H. .Xichols renuiined a ])ublic school 
student Tuitil lifteeii years of age, when he 
began to learn the building trade with his 
father, whose partner he became in 1875. 
The.v were thus associatecl mie year, when 
he began business alone, at the early age of 
eighteen years. He did his first work as 
foi-eman on the residence of William'C. Ilogh. 
on Cass aveiuie. Moiuit Clemens — a building 
which is still standing, constructing the chim- 
ne.vs of the house as they now stand with his 
own hands at the age of seventeen. When 
he was twent.v years of age he took his 
first contract foi- the erection of the Dahui 
residence on Lincoln avenue, .\moiig a great 
many others he has erected under contract 
anil as superintendent the following im- 
l)ortant structures in .Mitiint Clemens: St. 
Joseph Sanitarium, Colonial Hotel, Cleinen- 
tiiu» Bath House, Citizens Savings Bank 
Block, the Dahm and Winegai- Blocks, etc., 
and he also assisted in the building of the 
Avery House. The last of his lai'ge con- 
ti'acts was the erection of the cobblestone 
powerhouse for the Mount Clemens Klectric 
Company. Aside from his extensive and 
imi)oi'tant building intei'esfs he has been as- 
sociated with various business enterprises 
which have contributed in large measiu'c to 
the prosperity and progri'ss of the comity as 
well as to the individiud success of the stock- 
holdei's. He was a dii'iH-tor and stm-kliolder 



PAST A.\I) I'KESEXT OF .MACOMB COrXTY 



of tJic Mount Clfineiis Electric C'onipuiiy. 
iii'st vice i)i-esi(lciit of tlic Citizens Savings 
l^ank. in tlie oi-gani/atioii of which he par- 
ticipated: a director of the Mount Clemens 
Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the 
board of public works, (twing to his duties 
in tile last named jiosition condicting with his 
doing any contract woi'k for the city he re- 
signed from this board. He was made in- 
spector of the first brick pavement laid in 
Mount Clemens. He afterward eoutraeted 
and ditl considerable paving for the city. He 
was one of the organizers and directors of the 
Chesterlii'ld Creamery, whose plant is located 
on what was a part of his fai'm and which is 
one of the most successful enterprises of the 
]<ind in the state, its sales of butter and other 
l)roduets in 1904 amounting to one hundred 
and ten thousand pounds. 

Mr. Nichols started out upon his business 
career empty-handed, but by carefully lius- 
banding bis eai'nings. his nin-emitting energy 
and labor enabled liim to accumulate a com- 
petence. From time to time he invested in 
farm i)roperty and his possessions in this 
line now include the beautiful Fairchild farm 
of one hundred and sixty-two and a half 
acres, conveniently situated on the Rapid 
Kailway. The superintendent of this line, 
in courtesy to "Sir. Xichols, has placed a depot 
in front of his farm, c.dling it Fairchild 
Farm. ^Ir. Nichols has made many improve- 
ments on the farm, including the erection of 
two splendid l)arns. to which water is sup- 
plied by a hydraulic I'ani. and also with a 
windmill. While constructing this system it 
caused much conunent among the neighbors. 
many of whom thought he was going to try 
to make water run up hill. He has spent 
twenty-five hundred dollars in tiling his farm.^ 
but this is only one of many improvements 
which he has placed on the propei-ty. He 
has erected a beautiful residence, unique in 
its style of architecture. l)eing constructed en- 
tirely of colible stones, with Oerman tile roof 
and j)late glass windows throughout the 
house. The interior is finished in oak and 
each room is sui»plied with a beautiful nuin- 
tel and fireplace. 1 1 is i-esidence is heated and 
lighted by gas sup|)lie(l from his own plant 
and water pumped l)y a windmill is ])ipe(l to 
all parts of the bouse. In fact this lieautiful 
home is lacking in no modern conveiuence and 
would be a credit to any city. 

Mr. Nichols has been very successful in bis 
business career, ac<Mniinlat iiig a very cuiiifoi't- 
able competence, and as his taste has always 
led him to agricultural jiursuits he has now 



retiretl from contracting and building, re- 
moving to his Fail-child Farm in 190-4. Here 
he intends spending his remaining days, 
superintending this farm and also his in- 
vested interests elsewhere. He is now en- 
gaged in raising thoroughbred stock ami 
already has between forty-five and fifty head 
of registered Jersey cattle. He is a member 
of the American Jersey Cattle Club, one of 
the most influential stock clubs in the United 
States. His farm is situated relatively like 
the hub of a wheel, with spokes five miles 
long, at the end of which we find the follow- 
ing cities or villages : ;\lonut Clemens, New- 
Baltimore, New Haven, ;\Ieade and Waldeu- 
burg, and the farm is only a short distance 
from Lake St. Clair. 

Mr. Nichols belongs to Mount Clemens 
lodge. No. 6, A. F. & A. .M., in wiiich he has 
filled all of the chairs, including that of mas- 
ter for three year.s. He is also a member of 
Mount Clemens chapter. No. till. K. A. ^I., 
of which he was high priest. He also belongs 
to Mount Clemens council. K. & S, M.-. Da- 
mascus eommandeiy, K. T. ; the Michigan 
Sovereign Consistory; the Mystic Shrine; 
and is now patron of the Eastern Star of 
]\Iount Clemens. He likewise belongs to 
:\Iouiit Clemens tent. K. 0. T. :\I., to Mount 
Clemens Club, and to the ^lethodist church, 
to the support of which he has contributed 
continuously since twelve years of age. His 
political allegiance has been given to the 
democratic party. 

On the 13th of August. ISTd. Mr. Nichols 
was married to ]\lary E. Simpson, a diiughter 
of Ki>v. Charles Simpson, the wedding cere- 
mony being performed in the Methodist 
church of Mount Chmeiis, her father offi- 
ciating. This building, although removed 
from its old site, is still stnnding, being 
useil ;is a cooper shoi) by T. W. Snook 
& Son. Her father was a native of Xew York. 
He came to .Michigan wiieii a young boy 
ten years of age and livi>d in Shiaw-asee 
county, near Owosso, on his father's farm 
until the time of his marriage to ;\Iiss Frances 
E. Wolcott, a native of Connecticut, after 
which he operated the Wolcott fai-m for 
one year. He then enlisted in the Tnion 
army as a jirivate of the Sixth Michigan 
Cavalry, fighting under fleneral Custer for 
one year. He was then ])i-omoted to first 
lieutenant and captain of Company B, of 
the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, and served 
Iwii years in the divisions under the coin- 
mantl of (icnerals Thomas and Fitzpat- 
rick. He took part in many severe engage- 



I'AS'I' AND 



lESENT OF .MACO.MH COrXTY 



33 



luciits. iiR'ludiiiu the lijittic 111' (iettyslnii-g. 
On one occasion he was taken pi'isonei- and 
hecoiiiing- ill while on his way to prison was 
jilaced in till' hospital at Winehester, Vir- 
■iinia. after which he was paroled and got 
liaek into the Union lines. Following the 
close of hostilities he returned to the farm 
hut after a few years liegan the study of the- 
ology and entering the ministry took charge 
of the work at Holland, being a six weeks' 
circuit, lie is now pastoi- of thi' Ninde 
.Methodist Episcopal eluireh at Detroit. 

Fnto ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Nichols have been born 
(i\(' children, but only two are living: Grace 
i:.. born February 28, 187!) : and :\Iilton K.. 
burn December 22, 1898. Tliose deceased 
ai-c: Oharles S., who was born July 8, 1881. 
and died in infancy: Alice Agnes, born Oc- 
tober 24, 1883, and died in December, 1885; 
and John S., who was born February 6. 1896, 
and died in January, 1902. The remains of 
the deceased were laid to rest in the family 
vault in Clinton Grove cemetery. Mr. Nich- 
ols is a man cf kindly disposition and of 
sound .iudgment. the former endearing him 
to many friends, while the latter quality has 
insured hi.s success in business. For many 
years a resident of Blount Clemens he has 
a very wide and favorable acquaintance 
throughout the entire county. In all his 
business dealings he has been capable, 
lironipt, energetic and reliable. 



JOSEPH JI. CROMAN, :\1. D. 

Jo.seph ]M. Croman. engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine and sui-gery in ]\Iount Clem- 
ens, was born in Washtenaw county, ilichi- 
gan. December 4, LSIi."), his parents being 
Joseph and Christine (Rheule) Croman, na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and Germany respec- 
tivel.y. The father, a farmer by occupation, 
came to Michigan when quite a young man. 
and died in 1867, at the age of si.\ty-one 
.vears. His wife passed away in 1898, at the 
age of sevent.v-seveu yeai's. There were 
eleven children in the family, seven of whom 
have reached the age of maturity. The Cro- 
man family was originall.v of English lin- 
eage and the paternal grandfather was a 
member of the Society of Friends or (Qua- 
kers. ]\Iany of the Cromans came to .Michi- 
gan, settling in .Jackson county and near Ann 
Arbor. The mother of Di-. Croman came 
from Germany after the death of her father, 
being then a little maiden of eleven years. 

Dr. Croman pursued liis preliminary edn- 



caliiin in I'nion school at South L.von. .Michi- 
gan. He afterward sjtent two years as a 
clerk in a di-iig store in Aim Ai-bor, Michi- 
gan, ami tiien entei-ed ujion a coui'se of phar- 
macy in the Inivei'sity of .Michigan, being 
graduated in 1887. He later spent two years 
as a drug clerk in Ionia, Jlichigan. and sub- 
seiiuently went to Detroit, entering the De- 
troit College of Medicine, from which he was 
graduated in 1892. Having thus prepared 
for the practice of medicine and surgery he 
opened an oftice in Mount Clemens and has 
since built up an extensive patronage, gain- 
ing the pui)lic ciuitidence liy reason of the ex- 
cellent results which liaNr attended his pro- 
fessional labors. In ]<'-i9li he pursued post- 
graduate work in the New York Post-liradu- 
ate School Hospital. Heading and investi- 
gation have continuall.v l)roadened his knowl- 
edge and promoted his efficiency, and he has 
furthermore kept in touch with the advanced 
thought of the profession through his mem- 
bership in the Count.v, State and American 
iledical Societies, and of the first named has 
been secretarv. 

Dr. Croman 's fraternal relations are with 
jMount Clemens lodge. No. 6, A. F. & A. M., 
and Damascus commaudery, K. T., of De- 
troit. He was made a Mason in Ionia, iu 
1888, and has alwa.vs been loyal to the teach- 
ings of the craft. 

In 1889 Dr. Croman was married to ;\Iiss 
('atherine A. Gibbs, the only living member 
of the family of three children born to Nor- 
thrup J. and Emma (Davy) Gibbs, the for- 
mer an architect of ^Macomb count.v. He 
built the courthouse. ]\Iedia bath house. Avery 
House. Fenton, and many other buildings in 
this vicinit.v. Theii' children are Helen J. 
and Joe vicryl. Di'. Ci'oman is a man of tine 
personal appearance, of genial manner, un- 
failing courtesy and strong intellectuality — 
qualities which, combined with his profes- 
sional training, have made him one of the 
leading physicians and surgeons of Macoml) 
countv. 



MAX CHRISTIAN SCHNOOR. 

Max Christian Schnoor, now deceased, was 
a man whom to know was to respect and 
honor, and during the yenrs of his residence 
in ilacondi county he won the favoral)lc re- 
gard and good will of all with whom he was 
associated. He was boru in (iermany, No- 
vember 23, 1819, and was educated in that 
countrv. He came to .\iuerica in 1841, when 



34 PAST AND rKMSKXT OK .MACOMI! cnlNTV 

iilxiiit twi'iity-twd vi'iirs of a^e. anil for a vi'ar A. W. Ives, of Dctfoit. ami died at Nice, 
lesideil in Milwaukee. Wisconsin, after which France, April 5, IS'Jl, at the age of twenty- 
he removed to Detroit, ^lichi.iran. where lie six years. Two of the sons — Christian and 
also s])('nt ;i .vear clerkin<;- in a iirocer.v store. Frederick — were poi)ulai' in business as well 
On the expiration of that peiiod he came to as public life in .\ew Haltimoiv. Eugenia at 
.New Haltimoi-e, whei-e he turned Ills attention a verv earlv age displayed marked talent in 
to genei-al merchandising, lie also conduct- music, both as a i)ianist aiul vocalist. She 
('(I ,1 staxc and hoop yai'd there ;ind was the attained a position of prominence in musical 
owner of a tatmrry. thus becoming active in circles in Detroit and studied abroad for 
the commercial and industrial circles in this thi'ce years, spending si.\ months in Leipsie, 
l)liice and in his line of business he was (|uite (iermnny. undei- Professoi- Schirmer. after 
s\u'ccssful. .\s he prospered in his under- which she went to lierlin. and studied under 
takings he invested his surplus capital in I'rofessoi's Bart and .Moszkowski. who were 
farm lands in the vicinity oi Srw Kaltimore hci- insti'uctoi's in instrumental nnisic. while 
and about IStil^ lie retired from active busi- Professor .Julius I h'y superintendetl her voice 
ncss as a merchant. He retained his farn\s. cultui-e. An indication of her talent is given 
however, and look gi-eat jiridc in improving in the fact that while she was studying under 
these and in supervising the work which was .Moszkowski he told her that he could not 
carried on. The lands were brought to a high leach her but could oidy criticise her work, 
state of cultivation, were e(|uipped with good After a three years" course abroad she re- 
bnildinus and in fact were su|)plied with all turned to Detroit, wiiere in IS!):^ she married 



iikmIci'ii niiprovements. 



)r. Ives. She sang for a uund)er of vears 



.Mr. Schnooi- was also deeply interesteil in i" Hh' I'nitarian church at the corner of 
public measures that t.'uded to benelit his Woodward avenue and Edmond place in that 
town or county. In fact his was an ideal <'ity and at the sanu' time taught both piano 
character- and the spirit of helpfulness was 'nul vocal. In the spring of IS!).") her health 
one of his most marked traits. He had a began to fail and she went on a visit to north- 
motto. ••Help the poor and needy,"' which ern .Michigan : aft.-rward going south to Santa 
he put inio almo.st daily practice. His lit".' i'^'- ^'''"• Mexico, where siie was much ini- 
was lillcd with many acts of kindness and l>n>ved. She then returned to Detroit for the 
deeds of charilv and he was always willing summer but in the fall her health began to 
to extend a lie'lpiui;- hand to the " desei'ving fail and she was sent to Nice. France, but the 
poor. Ih' was entirelv free fi-om ostentation change did not prove bendicial and she died 
.ir disi.lav in his -ivim;- and in fact alwavs -M>''il ■''• l*^!'"- l"''" «'>*ti'i" Caroline being with 
avoided publieitv. There were nuinv wiio '"''"■ l'"''" f'-mains were intei'ivd in the Lit- 
benefited bv ids l)eneHcenee and have reason "'' English cem.'tery. overlookmg the :\ledi- 
to hold him in sacred remendu-ance. terranean sea. The other dauuhter. Caro- 

.\li-. S,-hnooi- was married in Detroit, in bne. is also a talented vocalist ami completed 

1S42. to .Miss Doris Kleinfeldt, a daughter of ■' '■'""•^'' '" ""' ^'i-'lH-Uiin Conservatory of 

Kran/. and Annie (Xiebuhr) Kleinfeldt. both ■^'"^"■- '" I'''f"it. m the spring of IfltU. Sh,> 

of whom were natives of Cermanv. Tliev "<'"' n-sides at home with her mother who. 

formed their ac(|uaiutance uiuh'r somewhat ^"'"' <'>^' ^'^'""' "' """ Imsband and father, 

romantic conditions, meeting mi board a ves- '"'^ continiu'd to ivside ui .\"ew Baltimore, 
sel on which they were coming to .\merica. 

^liss Kleinfeldt being accompanied ii.v her 

brother and sister. The acipiaintance thus 

formeil tei'ininated in marriage at Detroit DWhlH'l' N l,(i\VKI.I, 
two years later. Thirteen children were liorii 

unto" them, Imt only five passed childhood. Dwight .\. Lowell, one of the prominent 

namely: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Charles attorneys of Macomb county and the oldest 

llubel. of St. Clair. Michigan; Christian, who i" yi'ai-s of continuous i.ractice, is equally 

married Mrs. Sarah Van Eps. of Mount Clem- prominent in public atfairs. He has wielded 

ens. and died .lanuaiy lil. IS!):^; Frederick. » wide influence and has been and is dis- 

who married Miss .Minnie Collins, of Vpsi- tinctively a man of atVairs. Few are better 

lanti. :\lichiuan. and died December :il. 1S9S: informed cmicerning the liistory of this por- 

Caroline. wlio marri.'d Cilbert llatheway and tion of the state and his knowledge is that 

is living in New Baltimore with her mother, "f active participation in the events which 

and Eugenia, who became the wife of Dr. have formed its annals. 




DWICII'I' X. LOWKLL 



PAST AND 



KKSKXT OF MACOMB COIXTY 



37 



.Mr. Ij)\\('11 was horn -laiuuu-v 1."). 1S4;J, 
<iii his father's ianii. located in vdv\\ timi's 
l)y llialy. just south of Romeo, and traces 
his (li'sci-nt t'l-oni .Xorniaii and Scotdi ances- 
try. I'crrival Lowell, the American ances- 
tor, was the ninth in descent from William 
Lowell (A. i). lL'.")OI of Yardslry. Somerset 
county. P^nglanil. His ancestor came over 
with William the Conqueror and was in the 
liatlii' of Hastings. Percival Jjowell came 
to Xewbnryport from Bristol, Eni;land. in 
1689, with wife, two sons and daughter and 
all the Lowells of this country trace their 
ancesti'.v through him. Tiie mother of I'l'r- 
cival Lowell, a Percival, traced her ances- 
try through Elides, yovcreign Duke of Brit- 
tany, to Charles ilartel. 

The great-grandfather of Dwight .X. Low- 
ell was a native of ^lassachnsetts and served 
in the siege of Louisliurg and in the Revo- 
lutionary War. 

The grandfather. Josiah Low<'ll. moved 
successively to New Hampshire. N'ei'mont, 
and finally to iloriah, New York, where the 
father, .Xelson Lowell, was Ihh'u. Li early life 
he went west and worked some years in 
.Middlebin-g, New York, for Samuel Ewell, 
whose daughter, Laura Ewell, he married. 
The Ewells were of Scotch descent and trace 
their ancestry to John Ewell, who came fi-om 
Scotland in"l7;:!4. In 1831 Nelson Lowell 
came to .Michigan, settling at what w;is then 
known as Indian Village. He sul)se(|uentl.v, 
in 184-lJ, moved to the farm tlien known as 
the llealy farm, where he I'csided until his 
death, in ( tctober, 188"). Laura Lowell, the 
mother, passed away at Adrian. .Michigan, 
in Februars'. 1881. In the territorial ilays 
Nelson Lowell served in the militia and was 
commissioned lieutenant. 

There were in this family two sons and 
two daughters: Jiidson Clark, who gradu- 
ated from the L'niversit.v of Michigan, class 
of Mi), and was for many years i)rineipal or 
the schools at Saginaw and Jackson, died 
in Chicago in Septendier, 1892: .\nn S. Doo- 
little. who taught many years in the .Vdrian 
schools, has I'esided there since her marri- 
age in LS(;i(; and ilary L Lowell died at 
,\drian, Michigan, in .1!)()2. 

Dwight N. Lowell, the youngest of the 
family, jiassed the early years of his life on 
the fai'm, where he eai'ly l(>arned the neces- 
sary habits of industry and economy. He at- 
tendetl the district school in winters until 
the openinpT of the Dickinson Institute, in 
Octobei-, 18.')4. when he commenced his 
course of studies in that institution and 



spent tlu' greater portion of bi^ preparation 
for entering the universit.\' under Professor 
I). B. Briggs and D. J. Poor. In Ibe fall 
of 1862 he entered the high school at -lack- 
son, then under the charge of Professor 
Hi-iggs, and completed his |)reparatory stud- 
ies. Entering the I'niversity of .Michigan he 
was gi-aduated A. B., .lune 26, 1867. lie 
was elected poet of the (dass during the 
senior year and as such took part in the 
class-tlay exercises at the closi' of the course'. 

Following his graduation he sj)ent a short 
lime canvassing for life insurance and in 
the early fall of 1867 entered the law oflice 
of Hon. E. F. Mead. He was admitted to 
the l)ar on examination in opt'u court before 
Hon. Janu's S. Dewey, -lune U, 1869. He 
was clerk of the .judiciai'\- connnittee of the 
house of representatives in the regular ses- 
sicm of the legislature, 1869, and special ses- 
sion, 187U. He opened his office Xovembei- 
1, 1869, and has since continued in the active 
])ractice of his profession at Konieo. .Michi- 
gan, with the- exception of six months spent 
in the surve.vor geiii^ral's office at Yankton, 
Dakota, where he was chief clerk, ilis prac- 
tice has been general and has called him into 
many other counties of the state and he has 
been engaged in many imjiorlant litigations 
and has the well eai-ned reputation of being 
among the best of .Macomb county's law- 
j-ers. He was the republican candidate for 
circuit judge in 1899. He has served the 
village of Komeo as attorney for nuiny years 
and was for seven years consecutively its 
l)resident and at one time its treasurer, by 
appointment to till vacancy. At the ju-esent 
time he is president of the .Macomb ('ouiity 
Bar Association. 

Upon the removal of 1. 1). Ilanseoni in 
1882 Judge Stevens appoiideil liim to till 
out the term as prosecuting attoi-ney of Ma- 
cond) county. He early to(d< an interest in the 
schools, was elected township examiner and 
since 1882 has been coidiniiously the diri'c- 
tor of the Romeo schools, lie was elected 
a delegate to ibe re|Miblieaii national con- 
vention in 19U4, which nominated Theodore 
Roosevelt, and for uearl.v thirty years has 
been a delegate to the rei)ubliean state con- 
ventions. In his career no public oi' private 
trust or duty has been neglected oi' abused. 

Mv. LoAvell has been twice married, first 
to Nellie J. Morton, September 2t), 1882, 
whose death occurred October 26, 1884, and 
in October, 1899, to .Marion Stone, daugh- 
ter of Jonathan and Marion Stone, of 
Romeo. 



38 



PAST AM) rUKSKNT OF .MATOMH COl.NTV 



In rt'liuidiis faith he U>ans to the Coiiirrc- 
Lratioiial, hut is not a meniher of any cluirch. 
.Mr. Jjowell lias served his Masonie l)retlircn 
in the eapaeity of iiiastei' of the h)dgi'. hitrli 
priest of the ehapter and eminent i-oni- 
niander. of the eonunaiidery. in whicli last 
order he served for m-arly twenty years 
as junior warden. 



IIAHVKV .AIELLE.X. 

A strenuous life eruwned with a gratifying 
measure of sueeess ; au honorable career char- 
acterized by fidelity to duty in all its varied 
relations — such is the history of llarvey 
.McUen. who fui- many years lived in Komeo. 
lie was born in Middlehui'g. New Voi'k. April 
■i. 1822, and his paivnts were Leander and 
(_'ynthia (Selleck) Mellen. The father, who 
was l)orn in Uuhhardton. Vermont. Februai-y 
17. 1797. was a farmer by occupation and 
after residing in Xew York for a time came 
to the we.st. ari'iving in Macomb county in 
IKil. lie settled Hrst in Washing-ton town- 
shi[) antl in 1841 located in Lenox township 
on a farm of one hundre(l anil si.xty acres. 
the improvements of which were the work 
of his hands. He assisted largely in pro- 
moting the early agricultural developinent of 
the county and as one of the |)ioneer set- 
tlers aidetl in laying the foundation for fu- 
ture growth and ])ros|)(>rity in his commun- 
ity. He continued to follow fai'ming luitii his 
death, which occurred in Lenox t()wnshi|> in 
18(i4. In the family wei'c nine <-liildren and 
as the father was in rather straightened 
tinancial cii'cumstances it was necessary that 
the children should early provide for their 
own support. 

Harvey .Mellcn pursued his education in 
the public schools of his native state and of 
.Michigan, yet his knowledge was largely iic- 
quired outside the schoolroom. .Mthougli he 
was in Intel- years a well-informed man it 
was due to the imi)roveiiient of his leisure 
honi-s tliriaigh reading. ex|)erienee and in- 
vestigation. When eighleen yeai's ot agi' he 
left home to earn bis own living and in 184ii 
.joini'il a part>- under .ludge Hurt, making 
])ublic surveys in the upper peninsula of 
.Michigan foi- four \-cars. In 1848 be took a 
govertniient contract for making i>nblic sin-- 
veys in the ii'on regions near Marcpiette and 
.Mr. .Mellcn was with the corjis under .ludu-e 
liili't when the discovery of iron was made. 
It was noticed when they were just south 
of Islipenung that the solar compass needle 



was dying about in all directions. Judge 
Hui-t was anuizetl and said: "That is won- 
derful. Boys, look around and see what you 
can find."" llarvey ilelleii then came uj) and 
said: "I have got .some iron.'" It was mag- 
netic iron and was the first indication of the 
mineral i-esonrccs of the penin.sular state, the 
develo]unent of which has added so largel.v 
to the wealth ami iiiilnstrial and conunercial 
status of .Michigan. In later years Mr. .Mellen 
eniiaged in linubering. forming a partnership 
with Charles Tackles in 185") and operating 
in Inda.v township, Lapeer county. In 1871 
he was in the same line of busine.ss at Fish 
Lake, L:ipeer county, and later at Hagley, 
Otsego county, anil at the tinu> of his death 
was associated with the Ste|ihen Lmnber 
Company at Waters, Otsego county. 

.\ot only because of his activity in business 
but also because of his ussefulness in other 
walks of life did .Mr. .Mellen deserve recog- 
intion as one of the leading, ]>rominent and 
intlueutial citizens of Macoiub county and of 
the state. He gave eiulor.-ement and co-oper- 
ation to all nu'asnres which he deemed would 
jM-ove of benefit to his conui.unit.v ami to the 
conunonwealth anil his aiil proved a valued 
factor therein. In his political views he was 
an old-time .Jacksonian democrat, ami he 
could tiace relationshi]) to Andrew Jackson, 
whom he miu'h i-e-embled in his vigor aiul 
strength of purpose. He kept fully in touch 
with the great (|uestious and issues of the ila.v 
up to the tinu' of his death and advanced in- 
telligent argument for his political faith. He 
was elected and served as a mendier of the 
house of ivpresentatives from the second dis- 
trict of .Michigan from 188!) until 18!t2 and 
as state senator in 189:{-4. and his cour.se as 
a legislatoi' was markeil by a fearless devo- 
tion to the right, as he saw it. and to a strong 
oi)position of evei-y measnri' whii-h he be- 
lieved would prove inimical to the best in- 
terests of the state. 

In .March. 184;t, in .Macomb county, Mi-. 
.Melliii was mari-ied to .Miss Klizabeth .\. l'>o\\ 
erman. a daughter of iMichael and Sallie ( Le- 
Fevrei Bowermau. who wer<' fai'mir.g peo- 
ple i-esiding in the vicinity u\' liomeo. Her 
father reached the advanced a^e of ninet\- 
two years. Mrs. .Mellen passed away March 
2. 1S8!I. at the age of sixty-three years. The 
meiiibers of their faniil.v were as follows: 
I'^llen Iv, born December 28, 184!l. is living 
in Romeo; Sarah .M.. born September 2(1, 
is.")i;. was mari-ied March :!(•, 187ti. to llenr\' 
Stephens ami their childri'u are Henry, horn 
\'ii\eiiihei' 7. 'SS:!; (iaie, born (>etoher 27. 






>> 



W 




7/ A-^-i^i-c^i 



1 



^ 



CCc^t 



I'AS'r AM) im;ksiv\'I' of macomi; corx'i'v 



41 



ISST; Mild .l;U'(|iiclilir. I )ci-cllllicr 1. ISilll; 

.Mnriciii 1^., Ixirii l)i iiiln-r '2'2. ISoS, is in 

K(iiiu'<i; llcrsi'hcl L.. wild was horn May 1.'). 
IS(ii). (lii'd in infancy. Fni- liis sci'inul wifr 
Mr. .Mcllcii cliosf Ellen K. Procter, to whom 
he was niai'i-ied in ISill, and who still sur- 
vives him. 

Mr. .Mellen was lontr a prominent Vinson 
anil was one of the oldest meiiitiers of loo- 
med eomniandery. .\'o. (i. K . 'I'. liis social 
relations weiv alwa.\s marki'd by rurdialily 
and sincerity. He .indeed a man liy his char- 
acter, not hy his ])ui'.se. and in his old aiic 
he stood just whei-e he did in eaiiy manhood 
— th(> chami)ion of those qualities which bring' 
self-ivspect and the confidence of others and 
as an admirer of .jiistici', truth and eoiisid 
eration — elements which were alwa.vs found 
in his own career. The innnediate cause of 
his deatli was an injury and shock caused hy 
hein.ir struck liy a mail train on the Chicago 
& (irand Trunk Railroad, near lmla.\' C'it.\', 
.Michiuan. August <^. ISli;^. There are men 
who through a life of fidelity lo principle 
and scriipnloiis exactness in all Imsiness 
transactions gain a reputation which is above 
question, and such a man was .Mi-. Mellen. 
lie was more than this — he was kind-hearted, 
gi'nial and considerate of others, and though 
his mannei' was sometimes hi'u.stiue it al- 
ways covered a gentle spirit. Komeo lost one 
of her most respe(^ted and revered citizens 
when Harvey Mellen passed away. During 
his active life of seventy-three years he was 
in many commercial and industi'ial enter- 
I)ri.ses and had business i-elations with a large 
numbei' of men, and thei'e is yet to be found 
one who questioned his honesty of jiui'pose. 
his fairness to all and his sterling integrit\'. 



CllAULKS IKU/rZ. 



Chaiics Unit/., who follows I'ariiiiiig on sec- 
tion 21. Chestei'field township, was born in 
lirandenberg. (iermany. a son of William and 
Louisa (.Miiiidi Holt/,, also natives ol' tliat 
country. The father was a fanner in (ier- 
many and came to Aiiici'ica about 1H7"2. I'cach- 
iiig Chesteiiield lowiisliip on the liath of J)e- 
cemhei'. There he and his family I'cmained 
with friends for several W(>eks and aftei-ward 
took up their abode near the ( 'heslerdeld 
deixit. l"'or three years he worked on thi' 
James i'atton farm, after which he and his 
son Charles ])urchased a farm liom Henry 
Dedratf, which the.v cultivated for ten years, 
when they ti'a<led tliis |)ropei'ty to Joseph 



Omeig for their iireseiil farm in 188(). Here 
the father still lives at the age of sevent.v- 
seven years. Altiiough he owns a half in- 
terest ill the property his son Cliaiii's has 
lieeii the active factor in makiiiL: the im- 
provements upon the |)iace. 

Cliaiies Holt/, began at once to improve 
this farm, di-aining it by means of ditelies 
which run into the county ditch. He also 
rebuilt the fences and repaired the barns, and 
in 1!)()() he I'cmodeled the residence, i-aising 
it and placing it upon a I'ouiidation and dig- 
ging a large cellai- under tlie entire house. He 
also built a large addition on to the real' and 
remodeled the entire interior'. He has |)iped 
water to the kitchen and. in fact, has now a 
most convenient home. His ne.xt step was to 
improve the snri'oundings and he has devel- 
ojied a heautiful lawn, both in the front and 
rear, on which he has Hower lu'ds so arranged 
that in snnnner the place looks like one heau- 
tiful flower garden. Although living in the 
coiinti'y. the family enjoys every convenience 
known in city life. The Rajiicl Railway ear 
stops in front of their door, while they have 
a rural mail route Avhieh hrings the daily 
liaper and other mail to the dooi-. In 1903 
he liuilt a lai'ge tool shed, sixtei'ii by forty 
feet, in which all his farm implements, hug- 
gies and wagons ai-e sheltered from inclement 
weather. He follows general fai'iiiing and his 
stock includes some thoroiighhi'ed Jersey 
mileh cows. He dispo.ses of the milk to the 
Chesterfield Creamery, of which he is a stock- 
holder and was one of the oi'gani/.ers. He 
started out in life with ver,v limited capital, 
hut he possessed detiM-mination and energ.v, 
and jilacing his I'eliance \ipon these substan- 
tial qualities he has steadil.v worked his wa,v 
upward. 

Charles Holtz was married. .Ma,\' "JS, ISTti. 
to .Miss Ijizzie Damm, ;i daughter of William 
and Mai',v (Rekoffi Damm. Wrv jiarents 
came from (iermany in iS.'id and settled lirst 
ill Mitchell. Ontario, Canada, where the father 
followed the weaver's trade, but on account 
of low ])rices paid for that work he expe- 
rienced great difticiilt.v in pro\iding Wu- his 
famil,\'. His health, too, failed under the 
great .strain, and thinking that In- might bet- 
ter his condition elsewhere, lie ii'iiioved to 
.Michigan, pui-chasiiig twent.\' acres of land in 
]-5riiee townshij).' near Armada. I'liable to 
siip|)ort his faniil,v on the farm, he went lo 
Detroit. He worked at weaxini; and while 
there met one of his count r,\iiieii who i)er- 
suaded him to enlist in the rnioii arm.x. He 
joined the .Seventeenth Regiment of the 



42 



I'AS'I' AND IMiKSKNT OF .MACO.M]^ COrXTV 



I'liitril States ai'iiiy in iMtil!. then statiiiiii'd at 
Foi't Wayne, near Detroit, lie returned 
home tliat iiiirlit witli a iiylit heart, thinking 
that he could at least lu-ovide for liis wife 
and eliildren and iiitendinu to have tlicm 
move near the fort, but misfortune still fol- 
lowed him. for within a month after his en- 
listment the rejiiment was ordered to the 
front and upon the wife devolved the siip- 
jiort of their chikli-eu. After two year.s of 
hai'dsiii|is and severe tiiihtiuL;' he was taken 
jx'isoiiei- at Atlanta and sent with others to 
Libby i)risou. where his health gradually gave 
way before tin- exposures and ])rivations there 
borne, and after three weeks he answered the 
la.st bugle call. His remains were buried near 
the prison. Dui'ing th(» two yeai-s of his 
ai'iiiy life his fannly saw him but twiee. lie 
left a widow and two daughters, who. after 
his death sold the farm. ^Irs. Damm after- 
ward beeame tile wife of Fi'ederiek Penee of 
-Macomb coiuity, and she and her daui:hters 
then removed to his farm on the old Koineo 
plank road, where they lived for two years, 
when her second husband died. .She married 
a third time to .loseph (^meig of .Macomb 
township, who soon afterward bought the fai'iu 
upon which Charles Jloltz is now living. 
There they lived in comfort until 18.S7. when 
-Mr. Omeig traded the farm to ^Ir. Iloltz and 
his father and I'etiring from active business 
life, took up his (d)ode in Blount Clemens, 
where he and his wife are still living. The 
younger sister of -Mrs. Holt/, is -Mary, the wife 
of William Stewai't of Deti'oit. 

Cnto Mr. and Mrs. Holt/, were boi'ii six 
children: -\gnes. who was born January 'MK 
1877, and is tlie wife oT -\lbei-t Schott- of 1lic 
lirm of Ilubai-th iV Schott. contractors and 
builders of .Mount Clemens ; Edward, who 
was born Jaiuiaiy '2\K 1S7II. and learned the 
cai'pent<'r's trade with Hubarth t^ Schott. but 
is now assisting his father on the farm; Li/.- 
ette W., boi'n Xovember IS. ISSd. a saleslady 
in the A. W. Koenig dry goods .store at De- 
troit; Enul J., born September 7, 188:J. a con- 
ductor on the Deti'oit United Kailroad, living 
in Detroit: Carl Albert, liorn March 1. 1S87 ; 
and Ilattie ,M.. born -March 20. ]88l». is at 
hoine. The lii-st fotir childi'cn wei'e bom on 
, the old home fai-m in Uay township and the 
,,iOthers on the present homestead, 
,it Mr. Holtz was a mendx'i- of the school boaid 
in district No. 1, Chestci-lield townshii). for 
si^f years, and at the same time held the office 
of as.sessoi-. He is a member of Lakside Tent 
;No. l.'iS, K. (). T. M.. in whicli lie was lieu- 
tenant (•(imniandcr for several years, lie is a 



dev<»tcd member and faitlifid w oi-|<er in thi' 
<ierman Lutheran church of ,\(\v Baltimore 
and is serving on its board of trustees. In 
his business cai-eer he has always been found 
ti-iistwoi-tliy. never taking advantage of the 
necessities of his fellowmen, but through his 
own well directed efforts has won a desirable 
success, making him a substantial citizen of 
the count \', 



I'lHlddl' \. KXKiHT, ,M, 1), 

I'liillip -V. Knight, for more than a half 
century an active member of the medical 
fraternity of -Macomb county, has led a life 
of signal usefulness to his fellowmen. his 
\aluable service being not only manifest 
along ju'ofessional lines but also in the fiu'- 
Iherance of the material, iuti'llcctual and 
moral jirogress of the community. He is 
now living retired in .Mount Clemens in the 
eii.joyment of a well merited i-est, respected 
and honoretl li\' all who know him — and his 
ac(piaiiitance in the county is a wide one. 

Dr. Knight, now seventy-seven years of 
age. was boi-n in Webster, ^loiiroe county. 
-New York". He was graduateil from the 
jnedical (le]iartmeut of the -Michigan I'ui- 
\cMsity in .Marcli. 1S.")4. and establishing his 
home ill Ctica. Macomb county, the same 
s])ring, he <-ontiiiue(l in the active i)raetiee 
of his jirofcssiou until lOU-t, when he re- 
moved to .Mount Clemens, where he has since 
lived retired. He has led a very busy life, 
having a large practice, for he socui denioii- 
st rated his ability to cope with the complex 
problems which c-onfront the physician in 
his efforts to restoi-e health and check the 
ravages of disease. Heading and investiga- 
timi ke])t him in touch with the progress 
made by the metlical profession as tlit> yeai's 
Avelit by. and Avhile he did not (piickly dis- 
card llie old methods, tlie value of which 
111' had proven, he was nevertlieless idways 
ready to take up any new ideas or improve- 
ment which he believed would prove effec- 
tive in ])romoting his work and increase ins 
efficiency in his practice. He assisted in 
organizing the Xortheastern District -Medi- 
cal Society in 18.")4. was elected its ju'esident 
seven different times and is now the only 
survivor among its original members. 

While residing in Ctica. Dr. Knight took 
a very active and hel|iful |)ar1 in public 
allairs. He was a member of the I'tica high 
school board foi' thirty-five years and did 
much to auaken a deep intei'cst in Ibis 





J'HILMl' A. KNKIII'I'. Al. D. 



I'AST AND 



'IJKSKNT OF .MACOMi; COIN'I'V 



45 



si-liiKil ;ni(l t(i i-jiisc its slMiidanl of cxccl- 
k'llcc, lie is ill! earliest, eiiiisistent deiiKi- 
crat aiul lias always taiceii a di'i'p iiitci'esi 
in. political affairs. He scrvi'il as chairnian 
of the di'Uiocratie county comiiiittee for sev- 
eral years and wliili' oecui)yinji- that ]iosition 
the larijest democratic majorities wctc 
polled that have ever been i;iven in .Maeoiiili 
eonnty. lie h;is al\va\s persistently refused 
to hold ot'Hce. preferrinji' to devote his atten- 
tion to his |)rofe.ssional duties, lie was a 
ehai'ter meinliei- of I'tiea lod^c. No. 7.). A. 
F. &. A. .M.. and ser\-ed as its mastei' For twen- 
ty-five \ears. His life has been in entiii' 
harmony with its henefieent teaehiniis. ami 
in his practice he has found ample ojipor- 
tnnity to follow its tenets concei'nin.y- mutual 
helpfulness and ln'cithiMly kindness. lie 
lu'ver refused to respond to any call made 
U|ion him foi- meilieal assistance or profes- 
sional aid. even thons'h he k'new no remun- 
eration would he I'cceived. 

Dr. l\ni^;ht was iiuu'ried. .March 'M), 18o5, 
to .Miss ( larissa A. Kwell. of Shelby, with 
whom hi' ti-aveknl life's journey ha])i)ily un- 
til July 19. 1899, when she was called to 
her final home. Dr. Kuifjht, uow livinji' re- 
tired in Blount Clemens, commands the 
esteem of all who know auyht of his careei'. 
for thou^jh he has never souiiht public prom- 
inence, he has so lived that his life has been 
of much benefit to his fellowmen, and has 
exenii)lifled in his eai-eer maii.v stei-liuK 
traits of character. 



(IKOHCH CKAllAM. 

(ieor^'c (Iraham. who follows fai'iiiiuj^', 
stock-r.iisinL; and daii'yinn- <in section (i, Kay 
township, where lie owns a farm of one hun- 
dred and si.xty acres, has lived in Michijiau 
since 1884 and in Macoud) count.v since 1898. 
He is a native of Englaiul, his birth havin<r 
occurred in count.v Dui'lnnn, .March 9, 18r)7. 
He comes of ohl English aneesti-y, his ]iai- 
cuts. Edward and Isabella (Snrtees) (ii-a- 
haiii. liiith i'i'|)resent inir nld families of that 
cduiitry. 'The father was Ikh'ii in Manchester 
and fiilldWed I'ai'iniiiL; in his native land. 
Tntii him and his wife wt're born four 
sons antl three daujihters, and with the excep- 
tion of one dauuhtei- all are .\-et living;'. One 
son, Edward (Iraham. is now a resident, of 
Colorado. The motliei'. now eifi-hfy-.seven 
years of ayi'. resides at tln' old home |)lace. 
A sister, Anmi, is the wife of (ieoi-ye Wilson 
of count>' Diii'liam, iMiLiland. Sarah, who is 



nnmai'i'ied. resides with her brother William. 
I'riscilla died when abont four years of age. 
(le(M'ge (ii'aham was reai'cd in his luitive 
land and is indebted to its public-schoc)! sys- 
tem foi' the etlucational |)rivilei;es he en- 
joyed. He was married in En^;land, June 22, 
ISS-J, to .Miss Ennna Hrown, who was born 
in Northmnberland county, England, w'here 
she s|)ent the days of her u'irlhood and youth. 
Her father was J)aniel Hrown. .\fter his 
marriatic .Mr. (iraham cari'ied on farming in 
Enaland for two or three years, hut thinking 
that he might enjoy better business opportu- 
nities in the new world, he came to .\merica 
in 1884, first visiting in Canada. .\ .\e;ii- 
later he located at (li'e<'nlield. .Michigan, 
where he rented a fai-m, continuing its im- 
provement for abont thirteen yeai's, dui'ing 
which time he devoted his energies largely 
to market gardening and the dairy business. 
He was within a half mile of the Detroit 
city limits. In the spring of 1897 he bought 
the fai'ui upon which he now i-esides antl soon 
began its further development and imin'ove- 
ment. Teai'ing down the old flouring mill 
which .stood here, he built a good b;irn and 
has since fenced the place with a woven wire 
fence. He has made oflu'i- permanent and 
substantial improvements an<l has enhanced 
the |n-oduetiveness of the Kelds by the liberal 
use of I'ei-filizers. I'pon the place is a large 
antl siibstantial brick residence which was 
erected by Dr. (iray. This is one of the most 
commodious homes in the township, having 
been erected at a cost of eight thou.sand dol- 
lars. In atldition to his fai'ming interests, 
Mr. Ci'aham is a stockholder in the creamery 
association and he keejis plenty of milch cows 
upon his faian. selling the ei-eam to the creauL- 
ery. lie has a skimming station upon his 
farm. .Mi-. (Iraham was in limited tiuancial 
circumstances when he came to the new world, 
but though emjity-handed, he possessed en- 
terprise and detei'mination and by frugal liv- 
ing, resolute purpose and unfaltering energy 
III' gained a good start and in due eoiirse of 
time has become one of the substantial res- 
idents of his adojifed counts'. lie lias been 
greatly assisted by his estimable wife, who 
has indeed been a faillifill com]ianion and 
lielpmate on life's journey. 

riilo .Ml', and .Mi'S. (iraham lia\'e been liorn 
lour cliildi'i'ii. .\ima S., who is the wife of 
.Neil (lass, a farmer of Hay township, b.v 
whom she has two children. Dale (J. and Clara 
(i.; .lolin A., at home; Eillian I', and (leorge 
K. They also lost one child. l''loreiiee Ma.v, 
who died when lint live weeks (ild. 



46 



I'AST AND I'1;KSKN'I' OF .MACOMI! CorXTV 



Politically .Mi', (irahaiii is a i-cpuhlicaii 
where national issues are inxdlved. I)iit at 
local eleetious he votes iiidepeiideiitly of 
party, ties. He is a believer in "iood seliooU 
and competent teachers, and while servint; 
on the school hoard has doni' iiim-h to pro- 
jnote thi' etiMciency of the system of public 
education in liis locality, lie and his wife 
are nicmbei-s of the Konieo Methodist Epis- 
copal chui-ch and he is also a iiiciiiber of the 
Grange and of the Maconil) County Mutual 
In.surance Company. lie has the entire con- 
fidence and esteem of all with wliom he has 
been associated and his life record i)roves how 
valuable are file traits of I'lier-jA' and deter- 
mination in the world's i;-rc;it Held of labor. 



JOIIX A. BREWEK. 

.bilin .\. Urcwcr is a typical business man 
of till' middle west, alert, enterprising' and 
progressive, capably conducting varied in- 
terest.s. his effoT-ts being .so discci-niugly di- 
rected that he has realized at every ixiiut of 
his career the utmost possibility for accom- 
plishment at that point. He is now engaged 
in Jocjiting. buying and dealing in town lots 
in .Michigan. Wisconsin and Miiniesota. lie 
is mnnhcred among the early settlers of this 
part of the state, liaving located in Oakland 
county, al)out six miles fi'om Romeo, in Au- 
gust, "l 8:5:1 

Mr. Bi'cwer was boi-n in (ireene county. 
New York, February 12. 18:5:5, and his fathci'. 
Peter Brewer, wa.s born in the same county, 
in 171 it. The family comes of Holland an- 
cestry anil was founded in Massachusetts in 
early colonial days. Peter Brewer was i-eared 
in the place of his luitivity and was married 
in that comity to Miss Mary Turns, a native 
of Ireland, who was brought to the new woi'ld 
in hiM- infjincy and was reai'cd in (ireeni' 
county, .\ew York. Mr. Bi'cwer learned and 
followed the mason's trade in early life and 
in is;!:! be I'cmoved with liis family, then 
consisting of his wife and four children, to 
.Michigan. ai-riving in Oakland comity in .\n- 
gu.st of that year. There he cntei'ed land 
from which he cleai'cd the timber and then 
plowed and ])lanted the lields. ultiiiuitely im- 
proving a good farm of two hundred acr<'s. 
Tlierc he reared tiis family and spent his 
renniininu- days, passing away in ISfKJ. when 
about se\'en1y-livi' years ol' age. liis wife 
died on llie same day and tliey w<-i-i' interred 
in Ibe s:imc grave. In tlicii- faniil.v wei-e nine 
cliildreii. of wliom six are \et living: .\nn 



K. is the wife of ( ieorge llanna. of Tuscola 
county, ilichigan. Peter ^V. lives in Saginaw. 
John A. is till- next liviui;-. Abraham N., 
now deceased, owni'd and operated tiie old 
bome.-itead and passed away there. Mark S., 
who wa.s a lawyer and prominent politician 
of Michigan, residing in Pontiac. repre- 
sented his district in the .state legislatui-c and 
was consul to lierlin under Pi'csident Gar- 
field for four years and was for some years 
a membei- of the Naval Service Conntiission 
in Washington. 1). ('.. where he died March 
IS. 1901. :Maiw \j. is the wife of :Moses 
'luran, of Flusliing, Genesee county. Lydia 
is the wife of George ]\larvin, of Ovid, Michi- 
gan. Sarah is the wife of Daniel McMas- 
ters, of St. Clair county, this state. Addison 
P.. who had always associated with .John A., 
died May T). PtO.i. 

John A. Br-ewer was reared to manhood in 
( )akland county upon the ohl hoiiH'stead farm 
and pursued his education in the district 
schools. Through the months of sunnner he 
assisted his father and after ])Uttiiig aside 
his text-books altogi'ther he contiiuied his 
woi-k upon the home farm until he attained 
his ma.iorit>-. lie had studied surveying and 
foi- over thirty years he did survey work in 
the ]iine lands. This br(night him an excel- 
lent knowledge of the forests and realizing 
their value he has luu-chased and owned lai'gc 
ti'acts of pine lands and also located such 
lands for others, continuing in the business 
until I'MH). lie also dealt in lands in some 
of the southern stales and in Wisconsin and 
.Minnesota. For a number of years he nuiin- 
tained his residence in Saginaw. 

In 187"J .Ml-. Brewer was united in marriage 
in Saginaw to Mi.ss Arvilla Johnson, who was 
born in Canadii, January •"). lS4(i. a daughter 
of .Moses and Mary l.McGarvini Johnson. 
She came to iliehigan in her childhood days 
and was reared in Bay City and Saginaw. 
Her parents lived with iier for many years, 
and tile father died in 188:i and the mother in 
1887. 

At one lime Mr. Hi-ewcr u as co]mecte<l with 
the Soo canal and he si'rved as iMJunty sur- 
veyor and continued to locate lands for nine 
years. He afterward weint to work for the 
F. & P. M. Railroad, loo'cing after the land 
granted for building tlif I'oad, and he con- 
tinued to serve in that c?(iaeit,v for seven or 
eight years, .\boiit 1S77 he removed his fam- 
ily to Oakland county, where he resided for 
several years, this place adjoining the old 
family homestead there. Hi' has a farm of 
six liundred acres which is well improv(>d 



PAS'i' AND im;i-:sk.\'|' of .MAcoMi! corx'rv 47 

anil is ciiiniiiii'il with iihk ,ri-ii liiiildiiiLis. lie lircssivi' man. lie was in aiham f llic times 

devoted liis eiicriiics to its fiiftlier eidt ivat ion in whieli lu' lived, in inteli<'etnal as well as 

and devi'lopment until ISS"). when he fe- proTessional attaiinnents. lie possessed tri'eat 

moved to Koimo, w heie lie ipui'ciiased I'esi- stfeniitli and auility. was a s|)lendi(l athieti; 

deiK'e i)roi)ei-ty and fi-oin this town he j,nves and in making liis |)fofessioiial visits always 

liis supervision to his t'aim. lode hoi-sehack. utilizing that method of 

I'nto Mr. and .Mrs. Hivivei- have been liorn travel when, lieeaiise of the pioneer eondition 

four children: .John .1.. a ho was horn -Ian- of the stale, he was foreed to ride many miles 

uary •"). lS7(i. was married to h'lora (ioesehel. to see his ]);iti<'nts. He married .\aney Wall- 

of ]-?a\' ('it\. and is a h isiix'ss man of Ar- ini;'. who was horn in ( 'oiineet lent, in 17!l!t. 

niada : .Mary A., horn .\'';\-eiiilier S. IST^f. is and died in 1S7I'. She was rcare(l liy ( lov- 

at llomo ; Lillian M.. horn No\'emliei- :!l), 1871S. enicn- lloi-atio Seymour's family, at I'tiea. 

is the wifeof Frederick S nil h. of Wyandotte. .\e\\ Ynyk. Uy her marriatze she heeamethe 

]\Iiehijian; and Clarence Arthur, horn Xo- mot her of two sons ami t wo daiii^litei-s : Marii-. 

veinher 2-i. ISHa. died Mi^y 11. 1SS7. L<iuise. llem\\' and •!. Se\iiioiir. Imt all are 

Politically Mr. lirewcr is a stanch repiih- now deceased. 
lican hut lias never lii> ii an aspirant for I leiiry Taylor, dr.. father of I )r. 1 1. F. Tay- 
oftiee, {livinL: his time and attention to his loi'. was hoi-n in Mount Clemens and. beeom- 
hu-siness affairs. His wifi is a menihei- of the mi;- a meiiiher of the medical fratei'uity, prae- 
Haptist church. Few readenis of this sec- tieed in this eity from 1H51* until 1889. He 
tion of IMichipm have so loni; heen connected practiced for a year liefoi'c attainiu.K his ma- 
with tile state, hut .Mr. Hrewer lias for sev- .jority and then returned to .\iin .Vrhor, Micli- 
eiity-twi) years heen a witness of the work isian. where he completed his education in the 
of improvement and development here. He State I'liiversity and received his diploma, 
was only a few months oM when hrmmht to He was vei-y successful in liis chosen life 
tile west and as the years luive siniie hy he wurk and secured a lai'Lie jiracticc. In con- 
has seen the changes whi.-h have i;aine(l for neetion witli his fatliei-. he was the originator 
.Michijran all the conifoi-ts. eoiiNenieiices and of the liatliiic/ interests of .Mijuiit Clemens, 
advanta.ucs of the older eivili/.al ion of the for tlie\-. with others. Iinilt the lirst hath- 
east. In an active husin(>ss career he lias dis- houses here, afti'r the chemical analysis of 
played mai'ked ])ersisten /y of |)urpose and the water was made in lS7l!. its value as a 
keen discernment, and the. e i|ualities, supple- remedial auency heine- thus demonstrated, 
menting his indefati^ahle eiici-i:y. have heen His death occurred .Marcli II. 1SS!». when he 

stroii},' points in winninj;- liim tl omfortahle was fifty-six years (d' a^v. His wife, who 

eoiniietence whicli is now his. hore the inaiileii name of Maria i"'crris. was 

also a native of .Mount ('lemeiis. 

Dr. Harry Ferris Taylor was horn in 
.Mount Clemi'iis. duly :il. 18(iL'. and was erad- 
nated from the Mount Cleniens lii>;h school. 

Dr. Harry Ferris Taylor, eni^aeed in the a de])artnieiil of tiic I'liion school, in 1880. 

practice of medicine in Mount (lemeiis. with lie then went to Lansini;'. Michiiraii. and 

a iarfife iiathinjr practice, is a meiiiher of a occupied tiie position of dei'ic to tiic sccretai'.v 

family whicii tlirousili three successive j;''i'- of state for two years, wlien determinine- to 

erations iias heen i-<'presente(l in tiie incdiciil en^!ij;e in the professional service whicii Ids 

fratei-nity. His patei'iial ufjiiidfather. iienr.s' fatiier and urandfather had made their life 

'I'aylor, was first licensed to pi'actice hy tln' work, he niatricidated in the Detroit ('olley;e 

Ohio state hoard of medical e.\aniiners and (d' .Medicine, from whicii he was eraduated in 

later hy tlie Miciiiean state hoard. He prae- 1S8(). The same year he heean practice in 

t iced in .Mount ('lemens fi-om ISL'l! until l87li, .Mount ('lemeiis. where he has sinc'c remained. 

coverillfi; more than ;i half ci-nlury. and his and from the heeiiinini; ic has met with fjrati- 

professional laliors were ended hy death. De- f\iim success, iiavine' now a lari;e patroiuifje. 

cemher i:!. lS7(i, lie was a xcry prominent Wlietiier this is due to inhei'ited tendency, 

fieiire in this locality, aidiiie lari;i'ly in siiaj)- natui';il lu-ediicction or to ids careful and 

intr its |)ioiieer develoimieiit ami later-day thorouiili preparation, it is impossiiile to de- 

profiress. an<l he was om- of the e;irly mem- termine. i'eriiaps all liiive coiit rihiited to the 

hei-s of tile .\meriean .Medical Association result, hut at all events lie lias for- a numl)er 

and one of the first presidents of the ]Miciii- id" years i-anked with the leading;- memi)ers 

i;an Medical .\ssociat ion. .\ n extremely pro- id' the medical fraternity in this city. In 



llAi;ivV Fi-:KK1S TAVi.Oi;. .M. D. 



48 



PAST AXU I'KKSEXT OF .MACOMli CorXTV 



Novfiiiljer, 1888, lie ht'canu' nicdical dii'ector 
of the Original Bathhouse, and thus eoutiuued 
for twelve years, since which time he has eu- 
uaged in o:eneral practice. <,nvinp: much of 
his time, howevei'. to bathing- practice. He 
is a member of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation, the Michii;an. Macomb County and 
Xoi'theastern Disti-ict Medical Associations. 
lie has had no business connections outside of 
his practice, save from 189t) until litOO when 
he eondncteil the Avery Hotel. 

Dr. Taylor has a daughter, .Myrtle Avery 
Taylor. lie has a very wide and favorable 
ac(inaintance in the city which has always 
been the place of his ivsidence and the con- 
sensus of i)ublic opinion accords him hiyh 
rank in his profession. 



WILLI A. M 



.MAHVIX. 



The kintUy s[)irit wliieli has ever been one 
of the marked charai-tei-istics of William II. 
^larvin and which has won him many warm 
friends, is manifest to all who come into con- 
tact with this leading and irpivsentative cit- 
izen of Utica. A native son of Michigan, he 
was born (October 14. 184'J. in Vpsilanti. this 
state, while his ])ai'ents were natives of Xew 
York. Ilis i>i'eliminary cdueatioii was ac- 
quired in the district schools and for several 
terms he was engaged in teaching in similar 
institutions, but not content with the advan- 
tajres he had enjoyed in that direction he en- 
tered the State Xormal School of Ypsilanti. 
in 1866, remaining there as a student for 
three years, but his elose applieation to his 
books caused ill health and he had to relin- 
(piish his cherished desire of trrailuatinfr from 
that noted institution. For almost two years 
his health was in a perilous condition, but 
improvint: he turned his attention fm- two 
years to the real estate and insuranee busi- 
ness in Ithaca, (Jratiot county, canvassiuL: 
amouir the fai'mers on foot in or-der that the 
outdoor life mjirht restore ins old-time viiiin- 
and health. There he conlinmil in business 
until 1871. when he i-emoved 1o Toleilo. Ohio. 
where he conducted an insni'anee ot'liee and 
latei- imblished the lirst local railroad eui,|,. 
ever issued there. Tlw outcome of this was 
a pros[)erous publication. In 187:^ he tiu'ued 
his attention to .journalistic work and o|)ened 
a .iob office in Toledo. Init not lindin-i this as 
successful a venture as he had anticipated he 
shijiped his materials to Utica in 1876 and 
bewail the |inblication of the Sentinel, the first 
paper ])ublished in this villa^'c after the col- 



lapse of the I'tica Hnterpi'ise. more than sixty 
years befoi'C. 

While livin>r in Ithaca Mi-. .Marvin w;is 
married, October -1, 1868, to Miss Laui'a E. 
Smitli, who died January 30, 190:3. leavinj; a 
dauehter. Pearl, who is an active assistant in 
hei' fathei'"s ollice and is also an officer of 
the Oi'der of the Ea.stern Star and or>ranist in 
the Coneieeational church. 

.Mi-. .Mai-vin also had another daufrhter who 
died in 1896, leaving a son at her death, 
who is now a member of ]\Ir. Marvin's famil.v, 

Mr. Marvin has served as chairman of the 
board of trustees of the Congregational 
church tor a number of years. He is active 
and ])i-ominent in affairs of the village and 
for some years has served as its chief execu- 
tive He has also been secretary and treas- 
nrei- of the Eastern Michigan Press Club and 
the .Michigan Village Officers' A.ssociation, 
and these organizations have done effective 
woi-k under his guidance and through his co- 
operation. In all i)ublic affaii-s he is deeply 
interested, and is the champion of every meas- 
ure contributing to general progress in the 
village. His attention naturall.v is given in 
the largest measure to his business affairs, 
and he has a good printing office well e(piip])ed 
with all moilern imi)rovements ami showing 
the latest inventions in machinery and all 
accessories. In Utica not to know .Mi-. .Mai- 
\in is to argue oneself unknown and there 
is no resident here who en.joys in higher dc- 
gl-ee the full confidenci' and esteem of tlie 
communit v. 



ALDEN (;il)l)I\(;S. 



.\ldcn (iiddings. now deceased, was for 
twent.v years an active Imsiness man of 
Uoineo. and was well known in coniinereial 
cii-cles ill this cit.v ami .Macomb count.v. 11<' 
was numbered aiiu)ng the early settlers of 
tile i-mnit.v, having arrived here in 1807. 
.\ nati\e son of Xew England, his birth oc- 
i-nrred in StaH'cu-d. Connecticut, in 1S'_'I(. and 
hi' lliei-e pnrsiu'd bis eiliication and in early 
lite began work in a sash and blind faet(n-y 
ill Hartford. Connecticut. Later he was eii- 
eau'ed in that line of business on his own ac- 
count for a number of years. 

While still residing in the east .Mr. Oiil- 
diugs was married to .Miss Eliza Seymour. 
Ilie weddine taking jilace in Hartford. Con- 
iii-elicnt. in 1849. The lady was a native 
of that city and the years of her i-hildhood 
and youth were there passed. It was in the 




ALDEN GIDDINGS- 



I'AST AND 



|;KSKX'|- ok MACOMB COINTV 



51 



\'i'iir 1857 tliat Mr. .-ind Mrs. ( liildiii^s Irt't 
Comu'ct icut ;iii(l cMiric to Mirlii^'jiii. scttlini;' 
in l\(iiniMi, wluTi' liis twn lirnllnTs, E. \V. aiul 
M. A. (iiddiiiiis. had ])r('vii)\i.sly locati'd. hc- 
coiuiut;' pi'oiiiinciil Imsiiii'ss iiini of the lowii. 
Akleii (liddiii.as cst.dilislKMl his Ikiihc in 
lioiiieo, oj)i'iiiii.ii: a dry i>t)()ds storo licrc and 
secured a jj^ood trade, his i)atr()nag:e steadily 
iiicreasiii",'. so tliat he annually reeeived a 
irodd income upon his investment, llis store 
was well stocked with a modern line of iioods 
and his reasonahle ])riceK and fair dealiuii 
secured him a trade whicdi was lilieral and 
jiratifyin^-. For twenty y<'ars he continued 
a factor in mercantile life here and then sold 
out, after which he lived retired, havinji' 
accumulated a comijetence sufficient to sup- 
I)ly him with all the necessities and many 
of the comforts antl luxuries of life. Tie 
was also a director and stockhoidi'i- in the 
t'itizens Bank and hecame I'eco^iiized as ii 
financier and capitalist of ability. He ])os- 
sessed sound business .iudRinent ;iud what- 
ever he undei-tooU he carried foi-wiii-l to 
successful comiiletinn, 

Mr. and Ml's. (ii<ldini;s became the pariMits 
of foul' children but luily one is now living: 
Helen S.. the wife of Edward Phelps, a busi- 
ness mi\ii of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who 
for twciily-five years has been connected 
with the comptroller's office in thai city. 
One sun and daughter died in infjincy. while 
(Jeort;'e AV. reached uuiture years and mar- 
i-ied Sarah Stewart, of Homeo. who was bor-n. 
rcarccl and educated in C'aiuida. There arr 
two dau)ihters of this iinion — Marjiaret and 
Lillian, who are now students in the \\\'j:\\ 
school. ( Jeorfre Wiflht (liddings was a liii.iii- 
cier ami enterprisini;' busin<'ss man. who suc- 
ceeded his fathei' in the manaticmenl of his 
atfairs and conilucted th<' business with suc- 
cess until his death, which occurred .lanuarv 
•IS. 1904. 

.Mr, (liddings died in (October. iSMi;. lie 
Would never hold office, jireferrinji to <>ive 
his undivided attention to business iitil'airs 
whi'n ciuniected with mercantile intei'csts in 
Komeo. In mattei-s of cit/enship, howevei-, 
he was proi;i'essive and i)ublic-s|)irited and 
his aid was never .sought in vain in behalf 
of any pnblie measure for the general good. 
Ills son held iiieiiibei'ship ill the Congrega- 
tional church and was one of its liberal con- 
tribut<u-s while the father gave generously 
toward the erection of the ju'esenl line house 
of worshi)) in Homeo and served as a member 
of the building committee. .Mrs. (Jiddings 
anil her (biuyiiter-in-la w. .Mrs. (ieorLfe AV. 



(iiddinys. and her I'amily resiih' at the old 
home built by tlii' husband and father. This 
is one of the attractive residi'uees of Homeo. 
They are also membei-s of the ( 'ongregational 
church. Both ladies have the solace that 
their husbaiKls were of value in cit i/eiiship 
and respected in i)ublic and private life. 
The loss of both was deepl.v felt in the eoni- 
munity. where they had so directed their 
etforts as to win recognition because of their 
success and also by reason of the honorable 
methods which thev ever followed. 



TIIO.MAS n. KNCLEIIAUT. .\1. 1). 

Among those who devoti' their time and 
energies to the pr;ictice of medicine and have 
gained a leading jilace in the ranks of the 
profession is Dr. Thomas B. Englehart. of 
.Mount Clemens, lie was born on the 9th of 
July, 182-t. ill the wild woods of Ohio, when 
that state was on the frontier, and is a son of 
William and |{achel Englehart. His ances- 
tors came to this country from (ieriiiany some 
years before the He\olut ionary war and set- 
tled on Chesapeake bay in the state of l)<'la- 
ware. Kepri'sentatives of the family later 
migrated to Pennsylvania and in eomin.i;' still 
further west established homes in Ohio. 

In that state Dr. Englehai-t passed the days 
of his boyhood and youth and acipiired his 
early education in the log schoolhouse so 
common at that time. It was decided that 
he should learn the car|>enter's ti'ade: but as 
his taste was for books, he timilly determined 
to enter the medical |)rofession and studied 
with that end in view. In 1S44 and 184.5 he 
atteiidiMl the Literary and Scientific Institute 
at Cincinnati. Ohio, and after his graduation 
he entered the Physio- .Medical Institute, of 
the same city, from which he was graduated 
ill 1847, with the degree of .M. 1). 

After leaving college Dr. Englehart en- 
gaged in the general practice of inediciiK' in 
()hio for five yeai's, but since that time has 
made a sjieeialt.v of the treatment of chronic 
diseases. He spent several years ill .New 
York city and Brooklyn, and in 1872 re- 
moved to Buffalo, to take charge of the Medi- 
cal and Surgical institute, being at its head 
lor a ((uarter of a century. For the past five 
>ears. however, he has made his home in 
.Mount Clemens and has an office at No. l2il 
South (iratiot avenue. He has met with ex- 
cellent success in his chosen profession and 
his ability is recognized by all. As a iiro- 
gressive member of the medical fraternity. 



52 



I'AS'I' AND I'KKSKXT OF MACOMl! CorXTY 



he belongs to sevei'al incdical socii'tit's and 
takes an active ititci-csl in llieii- woi'k. 

The Doctor was in 1lir iiiililary scTvice of 
liis country for a few weeks at tlie time of 
.Morgan's raid on Cincinnati during the Civil 
war, and lie has heen an iirdent suppoi'tei- of 
the rei)Td)lican party since its hirth under 
the oaks at .Jackson. Michigan, hut he h;is 
never cared foi- the honoi-s of public t)tHce. 
preferring to devote his entii'e time and at- 
tention to his pi-ofessi(inal labors. For tift\'- 
five yeaj's he has i)eeii a member of the Inde- 
pendent Ordei' of Odd Fellows and has lieen 
eonnected with the Koyal Ai-caniuii foi- twen- 
ty-two years. He affiliates with m> elmi-ch 
organization, being radical in his views on 
religious ipicstions and ;ni advocate of hu- 
manitarian i)rincii)les. A man of deep ]'e- 
search and careful investigation, his skill and 
ability have won him a prominent place in the 
medical profession antl he is very jxijiulai- 
with all classes of people. 

MARTIX CROCKER. 

ilartin Crocker was l)(U'n in Xew Haiti- 
more. Macondi (-"uuty. Febi-uar.v 7. 1858. a 
son of Judge Thomas .Mai'tiu Crocker, whose 
sketch appears elsewhei'e in this wiu-k. and 
Fandira Emory, of X'ei'Uiout. a descendant of 
early New England colonial stock. Her grand- 
father was a Revoluutionary soldier and her 
father and jnothei- were Michigan territorial 
settlers in thi' early 'Ws. Miss Emory 
taught school in .Mac<ind) county a few terms 
before her marriage. 

The subject of this sketch had three grand- 
fathers who fought in the war of the Revolu- 
tion for the in(lei)endence of the United 
States. He was i-eared in his native county, 
where he has s])ent almost his entire life, his 
early education being acipiired in the iniblic 
schools of Mount Clemens. su|)plemented b.\' 
some elective studies in the Michigan I'ni- 
versity. He entered upon the study of law 
in the winter of 187t)-7 in the law (itfices of 
Crocker & Hutchins. the former his father 
and the latter his brother-in-law. H. H. 
Hutchins. the ju-esent dean of Michigan's 
great law school at Ann Arboi'. .Martin also 
attendetl the law school at Aim Arbm-, being 
admitted to the bar in 1880 and at once en- 
ferd upon the practice of his profession. For 
nine years he was alone, during which time 
he atteiuleil to all soi'ts of law business. 

Martin Crocker is politically a democrat. 
In 1881 he was elected alilei-man of the first 
wai'd of Mount Clemens and in 188:^ Avas 



chosi-n alderman-at-large. Xot withstanding 
his \duth. he was, during his service, chaii'- 

man of the street conimittee and the < i- 

mittee on claims and accounts. He was also 
seli'cted president i)ro tem of the council. In 
188.') he was appointed city att(U-ney. serving 
luitil 1888. when he accepted the federal a])- 
pointment of sjx'cial dejjut.v collector of cus- 
toms at Port Huron, with fifty enii)loyes un- 
der him. In 1887 he was elected a mendiei- 
of the state legislature, where he was a mem- 
lier of the .judiciary committee. He it was 
who introduced the resolution in the J)a\ton 
case I'csulting in expulsion of that mend)er 
from the house, the first instance of the kind 
in Michigan. While he was special de|iut.\" 
collector of customs at Port Huron he made 
a ruling on the importers. Wilheam i^ 
(iraham. since one of the leading cases in 
the I'nited States courts. He also ilecided 
that the (irand Tnudv railwa.v pay duty on 
its million dollars' worth of imjiorted steel. 
but on the St. ( laii' tuiniel case .Mr. Crocker 
deciiletl the' tunnel ditfei-ed froni the Soo 
i-iver bridge, whereon duty was <'hargc(l. the 
bridge restine upon i)iei's. the steel being 
])laced thereon from boats, while in the tiui- 
nel case the ])arts had to be first landed aiul 
then |)ut uihIci' the river. .Mi'. Crocker held 
the laiuling on the shore made them liable 
to dut.\' and his decision was sustained at 
Washington and is now a recognized b'ading 
ruline- on international ipiestions of that 
character. 

On the election of President Harrison .Mr. 
( rocker resumed the pr'actice of his jirofes- 
sion at .Mount Clemens with his fathei'. the 
firm name being Crocker & Crocker. In 18!»(l 
he was electeil to represent his district in the 
state senate, lie was the recognizetl leader 
of his |)ai-t.\' in that hod.v. He was (diairman 
of the investigation coiinnittee in the cele- 
brated case of Freidlander versus .Morse. He 
had charge of the I)ickins<in county contest 
that awakened national attention in which he 
was a central figui'c. He was also the advo- 
cate in the senate of an act providing for the 
election of pi'csidential electors of the I'liited 
States by congressi(Uial districts in .Michigan. 
The debates on this measure were most stren- 
uous. .Mr. Crocker' being the storm center; 
the |)ress of the entire I'nited States gave 
this (|uestion full atteiitiiui. The measure 
hecame a law; its validity was at once at- 
tacked in till' .Michigan supi'cme court; the 
act was held to ln' good by the .Michigan sii- 
|)reme court ; the contestants securecl a re- 
moval of the cause to the Cnited States sn- 



^^^1 






^^^Hi^v^ -^^^^^^^^^^^1 




Ift . ' ^kl^^^^l 



AFAKTIX CKOCKEH. 



PAST AND PHKSKXT OF :\rA(;O.Ml} COIXTV 



55 



prt'iin' i-iiui-t. wlitTi' tlio constitiilioiialil >■ of 
the act was affii-iiicd in 14() V. S. 1. 

In 18!)ti Mi-. Ci-ockcr was a delegalc tn lln' 
Chicago national convi'Tilion wliicli nominat- 
ed Bryan for [jrcsidcnt. In the sprinir of 
1902 he was olcctcil mayor of Mount Cli'in- 
ens, giving tlie people a progressive, satis- 
factory administration. In the fall of 1!I0'2 
he was the choice of his party for congress, 
and although defeated by the Hon. Henry 
McMorran, he received the largest vote 
given any democratic candidate in his dis- 
trict in ten years. 

ilr. Crocker is a Imsy man, his pi'iictice 
having covered an uinisually wide range. lie 
has a comprehensive and thorough under- 
standing of many departments of jurispru- 
dence, with a clientage of a distinctively rep- 
resentative character, and has been coiniect- 
ed with causes in all tin' state and fedci'al 
courts. 

Jlr. Crocker has not contined his attention 
entirely to legal anil political labors, but has 
manifested excellent business ability in other 
lines. He has contributed in a lai'ge and im- 
portant measui-e already to the growth and 
development of .Mount Clemens, having 
platted seven ailditions to the city, besides 
purchasing three others already platted, 
while as tin- champion of many progressive 
liul)lic nicasnrcs he has pi'omotecl her wel- 
fare. 

In ]^S7 .Mr. Crockei' Avas married to Miss 
Emily Sabin, likewise jxissessed of a Revolu- 
tionary ancestry. She is a daughter of the 
late Carlton Sabin, who came to ;\Iichigan 
in an early day, .settling in the northern part 
of Maeond> county, where he founded the 
village of .Alemjihis. They have one child, 
Sabin Crocker, l)oi-n in 1Hi}'S. 

'Sir. Ci'ocker was made a .Mason in INSI, 
belonging to the lodge and chaptei', and he 
is also a Maeeabee. His life has been one 
of untiring activity, crowned with a high 
degree of success, being highly esteemed 
both as a citizen and lawyer. His kindly 
impulses and chai'ming coi'diality of man- 
ner have rendered him eN<'eedingly popniai' 
with all classes. 



JOTTX L. TTOTn.\:\r. 



John L. Ilotham, carrying on general I'arni- 
ing on section 21, Sterling township, was 
born on section 17 of the same township. 
January 27, 1S44, his pai'enis being Ivichanl 
and Jane (llinman) Ilotham. They came 
from a place near Heiil'lle. I'lngland. and 



ucM-e maiTied in that countr.\. When the 
father came to .Macomli county he had to cut 
his own road i'or a mile. lie took up land 
from the govei-niiieut. for much of it in tliis 
])<irtion of the state was yet nnclainu'd. He 
workeil in Detroit foi' a lew wi'i'ks and could 
at thcit time i'asil>- have piii'ehased the land 
wliei'e the city hall now stands for ten shil- 
lings ])ei' acre. llowe\-er. he purchased ten 
acres at Bloomlield, near where he lived for 
a year, after which he e.inie to what is now 
known as the llotlnim homestead, residing 
thereon up to the time of his death. As the 
years passed he prospered in his undertakings 
and liy judicious investment became tlii' 
owner of six hundred and foi'ty acres of land, 
of which two hundred and sixty acres is .still 
in j)o.sse.ssioii of his children, lie was eighty- 
two years old at the time of his denusc' and 
his wife was eiglity-si.x years of age when 
she jiassed away, tluMr r(>mains being interred 
in the rtic;i cemetery. There were five chil- 
dren in their family when they emigrated 
from England to the new world and here 
six children were addetl to the household. 
Four of the nundier ai'e yet living: Mrs. 
Betsey Andi'ews. who resides in Washington, 
.Macond) county; William, who I'csides nixin 
a i)art of the old homestead: Harriet, who 
married Korton Chapman and lives in Holly, 
^lichigan: and .lohn L. 

In the di.strict schools John L. Ilotham 
])ursued his education, |)utting aside his text- 
books at the age (d:' nineteen years when he 
began farming foi- himself on his fathei''s 
land. He worked this ])lace until his brother 
William i-eturned from Califoi-iiia. where he 
had been engaged in mining for thirteen 
years. As a companion and helpmate for 
life's journey .Mi'. Ilotham chose iliss Bertha 
Smith, their nuirriage being celebrated De- 
cember 26, ISfit). She is a daughter of John 
and Ilari'iet (.\nderson) Smith. The father 
came from .\e\v York wIk'Ii he was a small 
child with his pai'ents, the gr-aiulfather set- 
tling at Seven Mile House ue;ii- Detroit, while 
the .\udersans took up theii- abode three 
miles south of Hoche.ster, .Michigan. .Mi', and 
.Mrs. Smith were the pai-ents of eight chil- 
dren, but only three ari' now living: John, 
who resides two miles south of Kochester: 
.Mrs. Ilotham. who was educated in the dis- 
li'ict school of .\von and lived at that place 
until the time of lier marriag(>; and llattie. 
who makes her home with hei' bi'othei'. Both 
.Mr. and .Mi's. Smith hiive ])asse(l away, their- 
remains having been intei-i-ed in Kochester. 

Futo .Mr. and .Mrs. Hotham wei-e boi-ii nine 



56 



PAST AM) riiKSKNT 



.\IACO.MI5 CorXTV 



childivn: Editli. the witV nf l),iy SuiiiiiitTs. 
who resides <it Iiiilay City. LMpcri- cduiity, 
.Michii;<iii, ;ukI liy whoiii she lias two ehil- 
ili'eii ; Minnie, who died at the aj^e of twent.\- 
tive years; Bird, the wife of William .Mason. 
a farmer of A\(>n. .Miehiyaii, l)y whom she has 
one ehihl : Friink. who married Jjena Eei<- 
stein. a danuhter of Lambert Eckstein; ("ai- 
rie, who died at the age of four months; 
.Jennie. Uose. (ioldia and Pearl, all at home. 
The children were educated in the disti-iet 
schools and Bird and Fi'ank also attcndrd 
the Ptiea hitiii school. 

.Mr. llotham is a demo<Tat in his political 
views where national ([uestions are involved, 
hut at local elections vt)tes independ<'iitly. 
lie has been a loyal advocate of Masonr>' 
for twelve ycai's. holdin;.;' mend)ei'ship in I'tica 
Lodge No. 7.'). .\ F. & A. .M.. and both he 
and his wife arc connected with the East<Mii 
Stai'. lie has been (piitc successful in his 
farming oiierations and is to-ilay owner of 
and operating one hundred acres of land on 
section '21. Stei'ling township. His entire life 
has been ])assed in this locality and he is thor- 
oughly ( x'ci'sant with the best methods of 

caring for his fields and crops. As the years 
I)ass he has prospered and is now one of the 
substantial iigi-ienlturists of his commnnity. 



().M.\i; DANIEL TllO.MI'SON. 

Omar JJanicI Thompson has for a half 
century been identified with educational 
work in ^lacondi county and no man within 
its borders has done as much to fui'ther the 
l)ublic school intere.sts as he His l)irth oc- 
curred in Millport, New York. Decembei' "_':!. 
1835, his i)arents being Daniel 15. anil Elvira 
Thomjjson. The Thomi>sons were (u-igimilly 
from Connecticut, being inunbei'cd among 
the i)ioneer families of that state. Both 
^Ir. and .Mi's, Daniel Thompson wei'c natives 
of Chemung county, New York. Shi' died 
during the early boyhood of liei- sun ()mar. 
while the father, who ^vas boi'n in ISO'), 
l)assed away in 1M84. 

Omar I). Thompson is indcblel to the pub- 
lic schools of his native town for the early 
educational privileges which he eli.ioyed and 
which were supplemented b.\' a tiioiongh 
coui'se of instruction in Oberlin College, at 
Oberlin, Ohio. lie came to .Miidiigan in 
1S.')7. locating at Grand Ha|>ids, where be 
liegaii teaching. He has since followed this 
line of work and he has attended all stale 
tcachei-s' conventions since IS.")!!, with excep- 
tion of three held when be w,-is in the army. 



and he was the president for one year. For 
twenty-five consecutive years he was princi- 
pal of the schools of Komeo. At the present 
time he is counnissioner of schools and on 
the expii'.ition of this tei'm he will have com- 
pleted fifty years of continuous school work, 
save for a brief jx-riod of three years when 
he was inimbereil among the tlefenders of 
his country at the time of the Civil war. 

Professor Thompson enlisted as a private 
in lSt)2, becoming a meudier of Company B, 
Twenty-second Michigan Infantry. He was 
with the western army in all of its engage- 
ments. ])ai-ticipat ing in the battles of Mur- 
frei'sboro, Chattanooga. .Mission Ridge, At- 
lanta and the celebrated mai'cb to the sea. 
He faithfully iierformed evei> duty that 
devolved upon him. whether it called him 
1o the firing line or stationed him on the 
linn'ly picket line, the Fnion cause finding 
in him indeed a stalwai't champion. He was 
mustered out in July, 1SG5, having served 
for two years anl eleven months. 

On the 1st of August, 1859, Professor 
Tliompson was mai'ried at Romeo, ^NHchi- 
gaii. to Miss Emily Craves Cooley, a daugh- 
ter of Di-. Dennis Cooley. She died Febru- 
ary 4. l!)(n. leaving five childi-cn; Charles 
1). (_'.. who married CTara .Xcll .Jennings, of 
Fenton, ^NHehigan: Sarah E. : Howard iL ; 
('. Fred and Omai' 1).. while .Mien died in 
infancy. Omar D. married l-'ranees E. Xca\- 
bcrry. of Komeo. 

Professoi' Thom]ison is a member of the 
.Masonic lodge at Komeo and has attained 
the Ivnight Templar degrt'i'. belonging to 
Uonieo comnmndery. in which he has served 
as eminent commander for sevei'al years. 
He is in heai'ty sympathy willi the princi- 
ples of Masonry, is thoroughly informed con- 
cerning its tenets and teachings and in his 
life exemplifies the spirit of the craft. He 
is a nnni of fine personal characteristics, 
scholarl\- attaiinnents and strong intellec- 
tuality and he has iloni' more to advance the 
cause of education in .Macomb county than 
any other nmn, while his influence in eduoa- 
tional circles in the state is extended. His 
efforts in behalf of public insti'uction have 
been far-reaching and beneficial. 

\V1LLI.\M II. TINSMAX. 

William II. Tinsman. who carries on gen- 
eral faiMning and stock-raising, owning and 
ojjerating three hundi'ed and ninety acres of 
land in AVashington township, nmkes his home 
in l^omeo. He was boi-n on 1bi> farm which 




o.MAi; D.wiKL '^ll().Ml'S()^:. 



I'AST AM) l'i;KSK\'r OK .MA((».MI! (OrXTV 



59 



is \i't his |ii-(i[ii'rty. Aiitiiisl 1^1. is:iii. His 
fathers people lived in New .)ei-sey at an 
early day. and his mother's ancestors were 
Seoteh. His |)aternal grandfather was Wil- 
liam Tins;iian and his father was .lolui ,\. 
Tinsnian. 'I'lie latter was liorii in Wari'en 
eonnty. New Jersey, in ISdll. and there spent 
his liovhood and yonth. He wedded .Miss Sa- 
rah, a dauiihter of Jaeoh McCraeken, natives 
ol' the same state, anil he followed ag'rienl- 
tnral pursuits in New .Jersey until 1834, when 
he removed to Miehiiian. residinji' in ilaeouib 
eount.v. His tiist pui'ehase of land comprised 
one hundred and sixty acres and he afti'r- 
ward liouuht more land, cleariiiu'. feneiny and 
cnltivatintr the different tracts, lie erectetl 
i;ood liuildinjis and developed a farm of much 
value. He was a pi'ospei-ous ,ind well-to-do 
a.uriculturist. for utilizinji- the natural re- 
sources of the state in this direction he found 
that his efforts were ivpaid in the acipiire- 
nu'Ut of a comfiH'tahle eompeteiire. He i-eared 
his family on the old homestead, and when 
liis chiKli'cn were grown lie removed to Komeo, 
where his last days were passed, his death 
occurring in September, 1894. when he was 
nearly ei,irhty-six years of age. His wife de- 
parted this life in 1870. 

William H. Tinsm;ni is the eldest in a fam- 
ily of four children, the othei's being: ]jidia, 
who was born in 1889 and is the widow of 
]jouis Davis, by whom she had two children, 
her home being now in Di'troit; Chailes (I., 
of Holly, ^lichigan, who was born in 1S4"J. 
and by his marriage has three children; and 
]\Iargai('t A., who was born in 184"), was mar- 
ried and ilied several years ago. William H. 
Tinsman spent his boyhood days as a fiii'mcr 
lad. and having nuistei-ed the elementary 
branches of learning in the disti'ict schools hi' 
continiii'd his .studies in the high school a1 
Komeo. He afterwai-d engageil in teachinu 
for one winter tei-m when a young man. and 
in 18r)8. in liruce township, he Avas married, 
the lady of his choice being JIary .). Ilosnei'. 
a ilaughtei- of Hugh and Klia (Sulplieii) llos- 
ner. early settlers of .Miehiuaii. .Mrs. Tins- 
maii was boi'o in Xrw N'ork. .lime (i. 1S:',7, 
liut was reareil in .Mii-higan. followiiig his 
marriaiiv .Mr-. 'I'insman sellled upon the old 
homestead and cai'ried on fai'iiiinL; there, con- 
tinuing the cultivation ol' llial place foi- sev- 
eral yeai-s. lb' then purchased the (imcI 
upon which hi' now resides and rebuill and 
impi-ov<'il a larue brick residence, one ol' tln' 
most commodious and al tractive homes in tln' 
county. In 1871 he renled his farm and look 
up his abode in K'omiti, but in 1S!I1 he aizain 



took charge ol' the Imnie placi'. He piu'chased 
and carried on a general store in the town 
for seven years. <lealing in <lrv goods anil 
olhei' conunodit ies. lb' has bought and owns 
two business houses in Romeo and he has 
several resideiii-e propi'i't ies. He also owns 
stock in the iiomeo Savings Hank, in which 
his father was one of the original stock- 
holdei's. 

In lilOd .Ml'. Tinsman was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife. 'I'lieri' are four 
childi'cu by that mai-riage: V. W ., who is a 
traveling salesman, residing at -Muskegon, 
^Michigan; II. K.. a practicing lawyer of Chi- 
cago; Florence 'SL. at home; and J. L., who 
is now identitii'd with business interests in 
Detroit, his father having t;iken the maiuige- 
ment of the business al Roniec}. 

Mr. Tinsnuin has been a life-long republi- 
can, casting his fir.st presidential vote for 
Abraham Lincoln, aiul has given his ballot for 
CfU'li pi-esidential nominee of the party since 
that time, lie served on the village board 
fill- two yeai's, but whether in ottice or out 
of it he has always been loyal to the best in- 
t<'rests of his locality and his aid can be 
coiuited upon to further any ju'ogressive meas- 
ure. He jjossesses considerable musical talent 
and i'oi' thirty-seven years was a member of 
anil for ten years conducted thi" choir in the 
]\Iethodist chui'ch. His services in this direc- 
tion have also been called upon foi' many pub- 
lic gatherings and farmers' clubs. His entire 
life has been spent in ilaeomb eount.v, though 
he has traveled both east and west, visiting 
the Xew England states and points in Can- 
ada. He has long lieeii a member and for 
seven years has been ])residi'nt of the Komeo 
Club, composed of a large luunbei' of the 
liromini'ut citizens of the town. What lu' 
undertakes he accomi)lishes, if it can be 
gained through itersistency of i)uri)ose and 
honorable methods. This is true of his ])ublic 
actions as well as his business life, and he is, 
therefore, classed with the leading and repre- 
senl;iti\-e men of his native couutv. 



AI.FIiKD .1. I'AliKKK. 

.Ml'i-i'd .1. Tai-ker. pi-aclicing law at the 
bai' of .Macomb eonnly. was boi'u in SI. Clair 
connt.x'. .Michigan. January 11, 1878, and is 
a representative of one of the old families 
of Xew Kngland. His great-grandfather was 
John r. I'ai'ker and his grandfathci- John 
S. I'aiker. Si-. The I'arkei's were a numerous 
family and many of those who bore the name 
followed the profession of t(>aehing. Tic 



6o 



PAST AND rKKSKX'l" (>K MACO.MU CorX'I'V 



New Enirlaiid aiicestoi-s lived in Connecticut 
and later irenerations of the family were res- 
idents of the Empire state. John S. I'arker. 
Sr., removed from New York to Hell Uiver. 
St. Clair county. Miehiijan. sixty-three years 
a«ro, and there he en<raired in farmiuir and the 
hotel business for a few years, during: the 
early .settlement of that part of the country. 
.\fter a time they disposed of the hotel in 
St. Clair county and removed to .New Haven. 
.Macoml) county, and there estahlished the 
I'ai-ker Hotel, which was known far and near 
for the hospitable nuumci- in which it was 
conducted. John S. I'arker. Sr.. was vci-y 
sueeessful as a hotel proprietor and accunni- 
lated a trood fortune. He possessed sound 
judirment and foresitrbt and in coiniectiou 
with bis other business interests he ci>nducteil 
a moitiraire and tax title business. He came 
into the wilds of Michigan a poor man. and 
his carefully directeil efforts, the husbaudinix 
of his resources and his judicious investment 
made him a prosperous citizen, and at the 
same tinu> he couti'ibuted in substantial meas- 
ure to the upbuildiuiT of his community. He 
died at the rijic old atrc of eitrhty years, while 
his wife, who bore thi' maiden name of Delia 
I'almer. died at the atrc of eisrhty-six years. 
She was one of the jirominent famil.v id' 
I'almcrs of St. Clair eoinit\'. 

At the death of his father. Jobii S. I'arker. 
Jr.. became sole owner and manaiicr of the 
hotel i)roperty. which he conducted for fifteen 
years as a temperance house, and also con- 
ducti'd a mercantile business. He mai-ried 
.Miss Helen A. Farrar. who was born in .Mount 
Clemens sixty ycai's airo, a dauirhter of .Man- 
son Farrar. The Fari'ar family also came 
from .\ew Kusxlaml. Amoni;- its members have 
been several who have served llieir country 
as soldiers, includinir some wlio participati'd 
in the battle of Bunker Hill, the war of 1S1:2. 
the i-ebeilion and the war with Spain. Both 
.Mr. and .Mrs. John S. Parker. Jr.. are still 
liviniT. and Alfred J. Parker is the fourth in 
order of bii'th in their fandly of three sons 
and two dau<,diters. the others beiuir: Kstelia, 
the wife (d" Walter Lowell, of Macondi town- 
ship: Manson. who is livintr in Chicairo: John 
v., of New Haven. Macond) county : and Delia, 
the wife of Klmer Hall, of Hichmond town- 
ship, Macond> count.v. 

Alfred J. Parker jMirsued his more speciti- 
call.v literary education in the jiublic schools 
of Xew Haven and Kichmond. Macondi coun- 
ty, and early in life he determined to euirairc 
in the practice of law, believinir that he would 
find it a eou^enial piii-suit. He eidered the 



law ortice of Cantield lii; Spier, at Mouut Clem- 
ens, in which he .studied from September il. 
18!t-l, until .March 16, 1895, after which he 
continued his readiuir with U. C. Lungerhau- 
seii. of .Mount Clemens, nidil October, llltlo. 
At the same time he atten<li'd the Detroit 
Colletre of Law and was iri-aduated in the 
si))-in,tr of 189!t, after which he was adnutted 
to the bar. In the fall of liKIO he besan prac- 
tic<' alone iuid is mow located in the postoftiee 
liloek. He has made his own wa.v ])racticall.\' 
unaitieil from boyhood, obtaining,' his eiluca- 
tion with little financial assistance and woi-k- 
iuii his way ujiwai-d in the face of ditlicnl- 
ties and obstacles which would have iitterl.v 
tlisconratred man,v a man of less resoluti- 
spii-it. He carefuU.v ])repared for his profes- 
sion and his thoi-out;h and comprehensive un- 
derstandiiiir <d' lei;al ]u-inci|)les forms one of 
the stroutr basic elements of his success. Since 
he be-ran practice he has appeared in neai-l.v 
I'vei'.v term of court and has had actual prac- 
tice in all Michigan courts from the .iiistiee to 
the supreme court and has been successful in 
winniui: several close and bitterl,v contested 
cases. He is to-da.v regardeil as one of the 
leading youm: lawyei-s of the Macond) count.v 
bar. 

On the 27th of December, IHOO. .Mr. Par- 
ker was married to Miss Edna Beruard, a 
daughter of Fraidv and Aiieli/.a J. (Hatha- 
way^ liernard. of Kichmond. Michigan. Theii- 
children are Sanford \V. and James F. Par- 
ker. In his |)olitical views Mr. Parker is an 
earnest and a<-tive democrat and he was a can- 
didate for circuit court connnissioner at the 
time he cast his tirst vote. In 191)2 he was 
elected .justice of the i>eace and he is treasurer 
of the democratic count.v connuittee. He has 
been an exemplarv member of Mount Clemens 
lod-c No. (i, F & A. M.. since 1902. and 
also belongs to the chapter and the council. 
He is a Kinght of P.xthias and is past ven- 
erable council of the .MiHlern Woodmen of 
America. Although a young man, he has at- 
tained jironnnence and leadership in political, 
fraternal and legal circles, and his intellectual 
streuiith anti laudable ambition argue well 
for future advancement. 



\AR.\r.M J. BOWERS. 

Varinnn J. Boweis, whose piominence in 
political cir<-l<'s and advancement at the i>ar 
entitles him to mention among the men of 
distinction in .Macondi count.v. was born in 
Laiue>iburi.'. Shiawas.see countv. Michigan. 



I'AS'I' AM) I'lv'KSKNT oK MACOMl; COIN'I'V 6i 

SrlilrlillicT Is. ISIIT. Ills |iarcllls liclIlL; A lull'i'W w.-inl. lie Wiis cIkiscII pn'sidclll |)lii Iriii. Ill' 

J. and IliUiiuili E. (Shout) Howits, tlic lor- ihc city council and is now scfvintr in tliat 

nwv a native of Ijakevillc, Oakland county. ca|iai'ity. tlic cily lindini;' iiini an carncsl 

ilii'liiiran. and tlic latter of Kni,dand. 'flic cliaiiipicm of its best interests ami a stalwart 

father was a foiindryHian and died when his protccloi- of its I'iiihts. 

son X'arntim was hut three .vears of a.sre. 'flic .Mr. Uowers was married. Xovciiilicr l^d. 

|)ateiMial jimndfatlier. Jaeoli Bowers, was one ISSS. to Miss Blanche IjiifUiii, a daui;litcr of 

of the early I'csidents of this state and rei>re- l''lci.\<l K. and Mar.\' Lufkin. of Mount C'lem- 

scnti'd ' 'akland eount.v in the lej^islature. lie lUs. and they have two children. .Myrta and 

died at liakeville. .Miehi-ran. ( ieiicvicxc. Mrs. Bowers' lallicr was for 

When four years of iiire, his father having' iiiaii.\ .vcars I'lieaeed in the inanufacture (i\' 
died. Mr. Bov.ers went to live with his unch', lu'ick at .Mount ('Icnicns and is now deceased, 
Fraid\lin Monforl, a prominent attorney of while her mother passed awa.\- in 1890. 
Mount ('lemeiis. with whom he remained initil f'ratcrnall.x . .Mr. Bowers is connected with 
he had attaiiu'd his ma.joi-it.v. His education the Kniehts of I'ythias. In(lc|)enden1 Order 
was ohtiiined in the ]uil)lic schools of this eit.\' id' (idd Fellows. Kniehts of the .Maccabees, 
and in ('lear.\' Business Colletre, at Y])silanli. Woodmen of the World. Dramatic Order of 
Michijran. lie he.i^'ati the study of law in the the Knights of Korassaii and the Loyal 
otitiee of the uncle with whom he lived anil (iuards. lie has been \ ice "rand of the Odd 
was examined b.v .ludge Moore in open court. Fellows, was the lirst deleuate of the Kniiihts 
in 0^d\land count.\-. Michigan, thus securing of Pythias of Mount Cleiiiens to its state con- 
his admission to the liar in ISlt."). For a brief vention and is now past chancellor comniaud- 
time he was coiincctced with business afl'airs ei', bcini;- senior past ehaneellor of his lodge, 
and in iSilS he was admitted to i)raetice in ||c is a man of strong purpose and unfalter- 
tlie I'nited Stales and district courts and was iug deteiaiiinat ion. is an iiulefatiuable worker 
admitted to ])raetiee in the interior depai't- and is not daniiled by I'ailure oi' opposition. 
nient at Washington. 1). ('.. in IDOO. lie lie believes in working for principle as well 
now comlucls a general [iractice, having se- as results. Krom boyhood he has made his 
cured a good share of the public patrona.ue. wa.\' unaided by linaiicial assistance, and 
and he has eontinuall.v grown in [niblic regard although the .struggle ;it times has been a 
as he has demonstrated his abilit.v in his pro- hard one he has come off eon<(ueror in the 
fession ;ind his |)ower to eo[)e with the intri- strife, and to-day. while linancially succes.s- 
eate and involved jiroblems which coiitinnally ful, he has also gained more than a comfort- 
confront the legal |)ractitioner. able competence, havine developed a strong. 

.Mr. Bowers is a democrat in his political |iurposeful character and eained the adiiiira- 

views and an active and influential worker in tion and esteem of his fellow men. 
the raid\s of his ])art.v in eastern Michigan. 

He was nomimited for cit.v cleik of Mount 

Clemens in 1S!I;{. but was defi'ateil. The fol- 
lowing year he was ;i candidate for .justice (.11 ,1.1 i.'^ | )ri"|'l! I( '1 1 
of the peace and was elected. lie accepted 

the chairmanship ol' the coiint.s- committee of Charles iJittrich. who lor more than a half 
the people's ])art.\- and a strone contest fol- centur.y has been a resident of .Macomb conn- 
lowed, the entii-e re|)ublican ticket being t.v and who belongs to that class of (ierman- 
elected. In lS!)(i he was au-ain a candidate American citizens that has jiroveii a valued 
for .justice of the |icace and was elected for factor in the develo|)iiient and |>rogress of 
the long term of foni' years. While serving the community, came to .Michigan on the Mi 
on the justice hench he tried o\ei- sixteen hnii- of .lul.\-. 1S4!I. and is now successfully en- 
dred cases aTid less than one per cent were gaged in general farming and stock-raising. 
ap])ealed. ()wiim- to strenuous opposition in having eight.v-five acres of good land in Clin- 
the reptiblican camp, hi' was defeated for a ton township. He was boi-ii in (iermany, Xo- 
third term in this oftice. His decisions were vember 2, .IS.'U, and is a son of (iotlieb Ditt- 
strictl.v fair and impai'tial, being based upon ?-ieli. who with his family cmigi'atcd to the 
the cipiity of the casi' and the law aiiplicablc new wurld in 1S4I). He made his wa.\- at once 
to the facts. The year following his retire to .Michigan, settling first in .Macomb town- 
nient from that office he was elected alder- shii), not far from .Moiuit Clemens. Charles 
man from the third ward and was re-elected Dittrieh was then a lad in his early teens, lie 
ill 1!tl)4 hv the lai-eest vote cvei- iiiven in his is laruch- self-edncaled. for at an eai'ly age 



62 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MAcnMB COI'.XTV 



lie started mit to make his owu way in the 
workl. aiul therefore had no opportiniity of 
attending- school. He first worked by the 
month as a farm hand through the summer 
seasons and for a time continued as a student 
in tlir district schools through the winter 
months. The value of liis sei-viees in the 
fields, however, soon made it necessary that 
he give his entire attention to the tilling of 
the soil, and throughout his entire life he has 
carried on aui'icultui'al puisuits. 

As a comjianion and helpmate for life's 
journey .Mr. Ditti'ich chose i\Iiss Hertha Stid- 
cer, their marriage taking place in Macomi) 
township. Octoher 25, 1864. She, too, is a 
native of Gernniny. Following their marriage 
the.v settled npon the old farm homestead in 
^lacomh township for ten yeai's and on 
the expii'ation of that period Mr. Dittrieh 
]iurchascd a farui in Clinton township, be- 
coming the owner of a tract of eighty acres, 
lie also bought twentv acres ad,ioiniug, so that 
he had a good place of one hundred acres, 
and he continued its cultivation until ISft.'), 
when he disposed of that property and bought 
the farm upon which he now resides on sec- 
tion 4. Clinton township, comprising eight,\'- 
five aci-es wliicli was known as the Witrig 
l)lace. This is a finely improved farm on 
which is a large two-stoi'y brick residence, to- 
gether with two brici; barns and all other 
buildings necessary for the shelter of grain 
and stock. His land is very fertile, yielding 
one hiuidred Inishels of coi'u in a year to 
the acre, and his place jiresents an excellent 
ajjpeai'ance, owing to the great labor which 
he bestows u])oii it and to the rich productive- 
ness of till' soil. In connection with general 
farming he carries on a daiiying business 
and both bi-anches of his activity have been 
jirotitaltlr. lie started out with small meaus 
and. in fact, by working by the mouth gained 
a capital tliat cualilcd liiiii to licgin farming 
on his own accnunt. 

In lS!i:i .Mr. Dittridi was callrd u]ion to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who died in 
.Marrli iii' that year. They were the parents 
of fivr children, but (nily two arc now liviiii;-: 
Ijcna, the wife of Charles .Millci-, of Detroit: 
and Charles W.. who was born and reared in 
Viacom!) township ;uid wedded ^lary Hoeling, 
a native of .Michigan. There are four chil- 
dren of this nuirriagc. but they lost theii- tii-st 
boi'u, Enniui. who died in inl'anc.w The 
others arc: Nornuin 11., Uuth Ennna and 
fjdna. Politically Mr. Dittrieh is a demoei'at 
and has served as road supervisor, while for 
twelve vears he was highwav commissioner. 



I'xitli he an<l his wifi' hold iiiembiTshiii in the 
(ierman Lutheran church, as do the son and 
his wife, and the father was one of the trus- 
tees of the church. He has ever been an in- 
dustrious farmer and his frtigality and ear- 
nest labor have constituted the basis for his 
success. For fifty-si.x years he has lived in 
this county, having been acquainted with its 
histor.v when the district was lart:ely unim- 
proved and gave little jiromise of rapid prog- 
ress or uplmilding. He has contributed his 
full share to the woi-k that has wrought a 
change here, nud<ing it one of the leading 
counties of this great connnonwealth. 



JAY F. COTTON. 



•Ia\' F. Cotton, who carries on general 
farming on section 19, Chesterfield township, 
was born Jul.v 11, 1841, in this townshij). 
his father being Otis W, Cotton, who is 
represented elsewhere in this work. He ac- 
quired his education in school district No, 
1 in his native township, although his ad- 
vantages in that direction were somewhat 
limited. His boyhood da,vs were spent on 
his father's farm ami in August, 1861. he 
eidisted in Compan,v I. of the Ninth ^lichi- 
gan Infantry, from which he was honorably 
discharged Decend)er 11. 1862, on account 
of disability brought about by expostn-e to 
a severe rainstorm while he was suffering 
from an attack of measles. He re-eidisted 
in Company I. First Michigan Cavalry, No- 
vendter 7. 1S63. and afterward served with 
that regiment in Virginia luitil the close of 
the war. lie wi-nt with his command by 
wa.v of the lialtimore & Ohio Railroad to 
I'arkerslnu'g. \'irginia. thence down the 
Ohio and up the ^lississip|)i and ^lissouri 
livei-s to F(n't Tjeavenworth. Kansas. The 
brigade, consisting of the First. Fifth. Sixth 
and Seventh Cavalries, thence made its wa.v 
aci'o.ss the ]ilains through Kansas, Nebraska 
and W.voming to Ctidi, and after guartliiig 
the overland I'oute against hostile Indians 
until Xovendn'i', 1865. the rcginu'ut went 
into winter cpiartei-s at Fort Hridger and at 
Salt Lake. Ctah, In March, 186ti, ,AIr, Cot- 
ton was discharged at Fort Hridger. On 
the back of his discharge paper is the fol- 
lowitii:- record: ".T. F. Cotton enlisted in 
the .Nintii .Michigan Infantry .Vugust 1."). 
Istil ; |)romoted corporal October 12, 18()1 : 
discharged for disability Decembei' 11, 1862; 
re-enlisted in the First Michigan Cavalr.\'. 
Cinniian.v 1. Novend)er 7, ISli;!: prt)moted 




MR. AXI) MRS. J. F. COTTON 



I'AST AM) i'i;ksk\t oi-' MAcoMii (■()|■^'^^• 



scruciirit. l)rcciHl)i'i' 7. ISIiii : proiiiiiti'd first 
siTyt'iiiit. -liiiniai'y 1. ISd-l:; coiiiinissiiiiicd si'c- 
oikI lieutt'iiant. May Ki. ISti.") ; was wimiikIciI 
at 'I'rcvilliaii Statimi. •luiic 11. 1S()4; has jiar- 
ticipatcd ill llic t'liildwiiiLi cnfrHji'i'iiK'nts : 
\Vil<l(>riicss. Yi'lldW Tavt'i'ii. .Mcailow liriiliic 
Heaver Dam. llanovcrtowti, Ihiwcs Slin]). Old 
('iiiircii. 'I'rcvilliaii. Woodstock, Diinviddic 
( ross J\oails. White Oak. Five Forks. Sailor 
Creek, Appomattox and at least fift.v minor 
eiij^ajfenieiils and skirmishes. His discharj^'e 
is siyned li.x' I'. Stat;ii. colonel First .Miclii- 
ii'aii (.'avalr.v and hrevi't liriuadiei' i;ciiei'al 
coniiiiaiidint;' tiie regiment. " 

After reeeivini;- his tliseharii'e Mr. Cotton 
and fifteen others jiroceeded with two teams 
and wa^oiii^ t" Nebraska City, a man being' 
hired to take them in that way. Arriving 
at Salt Creek, Lancaster county. Nebraska, 
May 13. ISfiti — the place being then the ad- 
vance guard of civilization — Mr. Cotton was 
so cliarmetl with the green, rollini;' prairie 
iind its tree-bordered streams that ln' un- 
loaded his baggage and bade adieu to his 
army comrades, preparing to take up his 
life work there. He purchased tliire hun- 
dred and sixty-seven acres of partly im- 
j)r()ved land, one-half of which by agi'ce- 
iiient was. a year later, turned over to his 
brother. Owen W. In September. LStiti, .Mr. 
Cotton married .Miss Jennie Ensminger. the 
daughter of a jiioneer settler who had re- 
moved to that locality a year before from 
Terre Haute, Indiana. Two years latiM' the 
state capitol and all of the state public 
buildings, by act of the legislature, were 
erected five miles north of his farm. In lS(i9. 
however, he sold his ])ossessions in Nebraska 
and removed to Iowa, where he engaged in 
the hardware trade at (irand Junction. The 
following year he disjjosed of his store there 
and in the spi-ing of 1871 went to Washing- 
ton territory, but not being satisfied in the 
northwest lie returned to l)es .Moines. Iowa, 
in the fall of the same year. 

In l!S7(J .Mr. Cotton was called npun to 
mourn the loss of his wifi'. who diccl in 
.\l)ril, leaving- him with fcuir children. The 
living children of that marriage are : Mrs. 
Abbie Mills, of Alpena county. .Michigan; 
Mrs. Jhittic Li'onardson ; and Frank, of 
Cleveland, Ohio. Following the death of 
.Mrs. Cotton, and at the solicitation of his 
father, he then returned to the old home 
in .Macomb county, .Michigan. In December, 
1878, Mr. Cotton was again married, his sec- 
ond union being with .Maria, a daughter of 
William J. and .\nn .Milton. She was at 



that time a widow with two childi-en — Fred- 
I'l'ick .M. Tucker, and Hose, now the wife of 
Dr. \V. \. Salisbury, of .\nii .Vi-lmr. .Michi- 
gan. Her parents were William •!. ami .\nn 
(Starr) .Milton, and .Mrs. Cotton was the 
second in their family ef ten cliildr :i. She 
was horn in Kngland and was brought to 
this country by her i)ai-ents in IS.'i."). Her 
father was born in Somersetshire, neai 
Wells. England, and came to the rnited 
States in IS.")."), settling in Chesterfield town- 
ship. Macomb county, on what is still called 
the Cotton road. lie conducted a butcher 
shop and meal inarl^et in Kngland, but on 
account of ill health had to retire from that 
business and decidiMl to come to .\merica. 
Here he secured a tract of land and he re- 
mained on his first farm until about 18t)8, 
when he purchased a farm from liis uncle, 
Robert O. Jlilton, on the (iratiot road. At 
once taking up his abode there he continued 
to engage in farming until his death, which 
occurred in .\pril. 1883. .Although he avoid- 
ed public ofiici' and public notoriety of any 
kind he was always an earnest worker in 
behalf of any enterprise that tended to ben- 
efit his community. He was in.strumental 
in establishing the first disti-ict school in his 
ncighboi-hood, called District No. (i of Ches- 
terfield. This school provetl of great benefit 
to the children of that vii-inity. for many 
of them had been unable to secure any pub- 
lii' instruction. His eldest daughter, Mrs. 
•lane Earr. of New Haven, was the first 
teacher and conducted the school for two 
\-ears. The .Miltons were all well educated 
and were a family of ])i-ominence and iiifiu- 
ence in the community. They claim descent 
from John .Milton, the jioet. 

Eollowing his secontl mari'iagc .Mr. and 
.Mrs. Cotton continued to reside upon the 
home farm, and after his mother's death 
in 1887 he purchaseil the old home place. 
buying the interest of the other heirs until 
he became sole owner of the entire trad 
e.\ce]it twenty-eight acres owned by his sis- 
ter. .Mrs. Roberts. 

I'nto !Mr. and Mrs. Cotlcni liy their sec- 
ond marriage there has ln'cn horn .-i daiigli- 
ter. .Maria Antoinette Ilerrim.in. who is now 
living in New lliiven, .Michigan. While in 
Iowa .Mr. Cotton united with the Christian, 
oi' Disciiiles church, but as there is no 
church of that denomination here he attends 
the First Methodist church of .Mount Clem- 
ens, where his wife has been a meinijer for 
nearly forty years. She is a most sincere 
and earnest Christian woman and can be 



66 



PAST AND I'HKSEXT OF .MACOMB COrXTV 



relied upon to g:ive her support and eo-oper- 
ation to all ehnreli woi-k. ]\lr. Cotton is a 
member of 11. D. Terry I'ost. G. A. R., while 
his wife beloniis to the II. D. Terry Relief 
Corps. No. 1(J8. Both are members of ]\Iil- 
ton (ii-ani;'e of the Patrons of Husbandry 
and MM' pi'iipK' of liie highest respectability, 
enjoying- the warm regard and unqualified 
eonfidenee of all with whom they have been 
assoeiated. 



V. C. :\IILLER. 



F. C. .Miller, a well known and popular 
citizen of WashiuLiton township whose time 
and energies are devoted to agricultural ]nir- 
suits. was horn on the Tilth of September. 
1845. in the townshi|i wliirli is si ill his home. 
His father. Hiram \V. .MilliT. was a native 
of New York. Imrn in the town of Hampton. 
AVashington i'duhIn'. NovcmbtM' 26. ISl-l. and 
was ;i sdii of .loscpli .Millrr. who was also 
born in that state and was a soldier of the 
war of 181:2. Coming west about 182(1. the 
latter settled in .Maeomb county. Alichigan. 
and entered the land in Washington township 
where our subject now resiiU's. Upon the 
farm which he hei'c opened up and improved 
Hiram W. .Millci- grt'W to nuinhood amid pio- 
neer scenes and aided his father in the devel- 
opment of the ])lace. He wedded Aliss .Mary 
.Mc(iregor. wlu) was born near .\lbany. New 
York, ill the town of Hunter. (Ireene county, 
Septendier :i. 1817. and they began their do- 
mestic life upon the old homestead, where 
they continued to reside throughout life, the 
father dying in 1887 and the mother in 1869. 
In their fanuly wei'i' llucc childi'en: Ben.ja- 
Hun -M.. the eldest, was a soldier of the Civil 
war and was tinally ti'ansferred to the invalid 
(■(irps. .M'ter the war he settled in Altnuit 
\'ernon. .Michigan, where his death occurred 
in 1869. Hiram •!.. the youngest, is now 
living retired in Orion. Michigan. 

Din-ing his boyhood 1-'. C. Miller pursued 
his studies in tlie home school and he re- 
mained under the |)arental I'oof until his 
father's death, wlien he sui-eeeded to the farm, 
now having in his possession the original 
patent for the land signed by President James 
Monroe. To the improvement and cultiva- 
tion of the phiei' he has devoted his time and 
iittention throughout his active business life, 
and in connection with general farnnng he 
follows stock-i'aising to some extent. 

In AVashington townshi]). .March 10. 1870. 
Mr. Miller mari-ied .Miss Flora Lockwood. 



who was also l)orn in this county and is a 
daughter of Timothy Lockwood and a sister of 
C. E. Lockwood. represented elsewhere in this 
volume. Mr. and Mrs. ililler have three chil- 
di-en : Edgar J., whose sketch is found on 
another page of this work: Arthur C. who is 
now a student in the State University at .\ini 
.\rbor: and JIary 1.. at home. With the fam- 
ily also i-eside Airs. Miller's two nieces. Mabel 
and Agnes llazleton. who are the daughters 
of hei' sister. Mi-s. Clai-a I. ( Lockwood i lla- 
zleton. and who are being reared and edueat<'d 
l)y .Mr. and .Mrs. .Miller. 

Mr, .Miller has never faltered in his alle- 
giance to the republican part.v since easting 
his first presidential vote for General U. S. 
(ii'ant in 1868, but he has never eared for 
the honors nor emoluments of iiublic office, 
though he has sei'ved on the school board for 
a luunber of years. Both he ami his wife 
are members of the Union church of "\Yashinu- 
ton iind he belongs to the blue lodge of M;i- 
sons at Davis, the Rochester chapter and the 
.Mount Clemens council, while both he and his 
wife are connected with the Eastern Star 
chapter. 'I'hey stand high in the eonuniuiity 
wliei'e they have so long made their home and 
no citizens in Alacomb county are moi-e hon- 
ored oi- highly respected. 



•l.V.MKS E. AVETER. 



The business interests of the enterpi'ising 
little city of Richmond find a worthy repre- 
sentative in James E. Weter, who is a whole- 
sale dealer in eggs. He is also the president 
of the Macomb County Savings Bank, at Rich- 
mond, and his enterprise, business diseern- 
ment and diligence form the basis of his very 
desii-able success. He was born in Palmyi'a. 
Lenawee county. Alichigau. April 3. 18.")7. his 
|)arents being Thomas S. and Mary .\nn < Up- 
ton) AVeter. natives of New York. They 
.Mine to .Michigan in 184(1. locating in Pal- 
myra, and with the exception of the years 
18."):2-:i, which he spent in California, the 
father has contimied to make Palmyi-a his 
home. He is now eighty-four years of age. 
having lieen born March 3. 18'_M. and he is 
yet en.joying good health. For many yeai-s 
he followed farming, but is now living re- 
tired. He has always been a public-spirited 
citizen and is yet deeply interested' in his 
county and state. His first wife and one 
<-hild of that marriage died ])rior to his trip 
to California. Following his return he 



PAST AXn I'K'KSKNT oF .MACO.MI! COIXTV 



67 



wi'ddcd -Miss .Mmiv Ann rplnn and tlii'i'i' wen' 
live cliiltli-cn (if this niiirriaiii'. 

•lanics K. WeU'r six'iil tlic days oi' his boy- 
hood in his native ])hie('. I'l'inaininj-' at llic old 
lionii'stcail until ISS."). wlicn lie t-anu- to Rich- 
mond. lIiTc he li<'i;an Imsini'ss as a whoh'sali' 
di'alcr in cuiiis in partniTship with Tiionias 
h'aniiiiiL; and Martin Krch'i-, nndcr the lirni 
name of Wrtcf, Fanning' i: ('oni|iany. This 
relation was maintained nntil ISHi'. when .Mr. 
Keeler witlidr-ew and ('. S. .Miller was ad- 
mitted t" a part nershi|). They honuht ont 
the linn of II. II. l-'i-eeman iSi Company, who 
had lierii in business for fonrteeu yeai's. They 
have a main warehouse, fifty by eiuiity feet. 
two stories in lieiuht and basement, built of 
brielc. The shook I'oom is thiity-eiglit by 
si'venty feet and that building' is two stories 
with bascnienl. The storjiuc wai'ehouse of the 
.same lieii;lit is thirty by one hundred feet. 
These buildings were contained in the original 
plant and tlie company has since addetl a 
storage room, built of brick, two stories with 
basement, fift.v by one hnndred and ten I'eet. 
They also have stable room foi' twehc horses 
and twelve wai^ons which are used in collect- 
ing the eggs, and the,v have handled as high 
as one million dozen eggs in a season. At 
the beginning of the business the,v handled 
only about three hundred thousantl dozen, luit 
Ihi'ir business lias steadily increased until it 
has reached the present e.xtensive Hgui'e. 

Tliey make slii]imeiits jargi'ly to Xew York. 
Mr, Wcter lias continued as senior member 
of the linn and has been active in the man- 
agement of the business since its beginning, 
its success being due in no small degree to 
his capable efforts, business eapaeit.v and 
powers of management. Jn 1898 he was one 
of the promotei's and leaders in the oi'gan- 
ization of the .Macomb County Savings ]^ank. 
at Jxichniond. and from the hegiiuiing has 
served as [iresident. Since opening its doors 
foi' business the bank lias liad a verv suc- 
eessfid cai'cer and is now regarded as one of 
the substantial financial institutions of the 
county. He is also one of the original stoek- 
holdi'rs and is yet tinaneiall.v interested in the 
nirieli Savings Hank, at Mount Clemens. 

In 188() .Mr. Weter was married to Miss 
Emma Whitnuirsh. of Lenawee Junction, 
^liehigan, a <laugli1er of ('. ('. Whit marsh of 
that jdace. Their children are: Hlanch. 
< ir; and Mildred. 

.Mr. Weter is pre-eminently a man of af- 
fairs and one who has wielded a wide intlu- 
enee. lie has served as |)i'esident of the vil- 
lage for si.\ eon.seeutive \cai-s. and in 18!)!) 



and again in l!l()l he was cl.'cted to the state 
legislature, serving for four years. During his 
lirst ti'i'in the k'gislature lia<l four sessions, 
three special sessions being <-alled. Fratei'- 
nally. he is connected with the .Masons, the 
Olid l>'c>llows and the Knights of .Maccabees. 
.Mr. WetcM- is w idel,\- and favorably known 
Ihroughoul the communit.v, his abilities well 
littiiig him for lea<lership in political, business 
and soeial life. The terms progress and j)a- 
tr'iotism might well be considered the keynote 
of his character, for throughout his cai'eer 
he has lahoi'ed for the imin-oveinent of every 
line of business oi' ])ublic inten'.st with which 
111' has been associatetl. and at all times has 
been actuated by a fidelit.\' to his count r\' and 
her welfare. 



ArtU'ST 



IX. 



The (lei'nian-.\mei-ic;iii element has long 
been an important one in the citizenship of 
the new world, .\iiiong the representatives 
of this class in .Macomb count.v is Augu.st 
liein of llalfwa.\', ^\ilo. 1 hough born in l"]riii 
townshii), on the I'-ith of flune 18()7, is of 
<lernian lineage, his parents, Charles and 
Wilhelmina (lloffmeier) IJein, being natives 
of (lc'rman\-. The father was born in 1837 
and was brought to Michigan by his jiarents 
ill 18-14, the fanuly home being established 
on section 30, Erin township. .Macomb count,v, 
where, in assisting his father in clearing, de- 
velojiing and cultivating the hunl. In; en- 
dured man,v of the hardships and trials which 
usually fall to the lot of the early settlers, 
lie was active in comnninity interests and his 
worth was \videly acknowledged bv his fellow 
townsmen who called him to the offtces of 
township treasurer, townshi]) supervisoi' and 
.justice of the peace. lie filled the last men- 
tioned position for several .vears. He was 
married in 1^')^ to Miss Wilhelmina lloff- 
meier and tlie.v became llie ]iarents of twelve 
ehihiren, of whom ten are yet living, namel.v: 
Charles, a faniu'i- of .Macomb count.v, Au- 
gusta, the wife of (ieorge l']berlein of Sebe- 
waing. ^liehigan : (iodfrey, of Ixoseville; Au- 
gust; William, who is a. school teacher at 
Woodmere, Michigan: Ilenr.v, of Deti'oit : Al- 
bert, of i;ose\ille; Thomas, of Di'troit; ]\lin- 
nie. the wife of Ed Deimi-iek: and Martin 
upon the home fai'm. 

August Ti(>in jiursued his education in the 
])ai'ochial schools and in Detroit Business 
i'ni versify. eom])leting his course in the latter 
bv gi'aduation in 188"). At the age of six- 



68 



I'AST AND rKKSKXT OF .MACO.MH COIXTY 



teen years lie Irt't Ikhhc to Ix'yiii his L-iirctT, 
accepting a jjosition in Alexandei' llund's 
f^roeerj- store in Detroit, where he remained 
for five years, retiirnint,' to p]rin townsliip in 
1888. He then opened a "eneral store and 
saloon at Halfway hut closed out the latU'r 
l)ran('h of the business in 18!I4. He lias eon- 
tinned to deal in oroeeries and ;dso carries i\ 
line of sIkh's. dry iroods. fancy snoods, jiaints 
and oils. For two years after opening his 
store he rented a building' antl then purehase<l 
the buildinu which he now occupies and four 
and a half ;icres on which it stands. He is 
painslakiiiir in the niaiiageiiient of the store 
and careful in his liusiness affairs and has 
acquired fi-oni the jiublic a libei-.d patronage. 
His attention, aside from mercantile iiitci'- 
ests, is devoted to the cultivation of fruit. 

ilr. Rein is interested in the welfaiv of his 
liome community and has done creditable 
service as ti'casurer of school district No. 2. 
He is a niembei- of St. Peter's (u'l'niau Kvnu- 
gelical IjUtheran church at Halfway, in which 
he has served as a trustee, and hi> is also a 
member of the Lutheran Society of Michigan. 

On the 23d of May. 188!). .Mi-. Kein was 
united in marriage to Jliss Anna (ierlach. 
a daughter of Fi'e<lerick (ierlach. one of the 
pioneer residents of Erin township. 'I'lu'y 
have five children: Viola. I'aul. .losepliine. 
Hulda and Loren/.. The family is widely 
and favorably known in this locality and the 
members of the household en.joy the hospi- 
tality of many of tlie best homes of this sec- 
tion of th( unt\'. 



ALKXA.XDKK .MdNNlS. 

Alexander Mclnuis. who is filling the ot'ticc 
of sheriff of .Macomb county, and makes his 
home in .Mount ('leiiiens. was born at ( hven 
Sound, Ontario. Canada, .March (i. IS.').'). His 
])aternal grandfather, -lohn .Mcdiinis. emi- 
grated from Ireland to Canada and died in 
the latter country in 18.")7. .lohn Mclimis. 
• Ii-.. father of our subject, was l)oi-n in Ire- 
land and was seven years of aiie at the 
time of the emigration of the famil\ to 
America. He became a farmer 1)\ occujia- 
tion and followed that pursuit for some time 
in Canada, but in ISti.') became a resident 
of Macomb county, ,Michigan, si'ttling in 
Kay towushij), where he again engaged in 
general agricultural pursuits until 189"), 
when his life's labors were ended in death. 
He was then seventy-four years of age. In 
early manhood h(> married Miss Susan Hoag. 



a nativ<' of Canada, and her death occui'red 
in WHVA, when she was sev<'iity-tive years of 
age. She was a tlanghter of .\lexander 
lloag. who ri'sided in Canada and i)assed 
aw.iy at the age of eiglit\' years. TlKunas 
.Mclnnis. a l)rother of John .Mclnnis, Ji'., 
who ix'canic a resident of Macomb county, 
;dso locateil in Kay township, where he died 
at till- agi' of sixty-two year.s. These broth- 
ers wri-f iiieiubers of a large family. 

.Mexander .Mclnnis |iursucil his education 
in the |)ublic schools of Mux towushij), al- 
I hough his educational ])rivileges were some- 
what limited, as at an early age he began 
earning his own living as a farnihand. He 
continued to engage in agricultural i)ur- 
suits on his own account for a long time, 
or until about fort\' years of ;ige, when lie 
turned his attention to mercluuulisiug, 
establishing a store at Davis, .Macomb coun- 
ty, where for ten years lie has continueil 
business. In his agricultur;il and commer- 
cial undertakings he has been (|uitc success- 
ful and has become the possessor- of a coni- 
fortabU' cum])etcncc through his well direct- 
ed, systematic and carefully managed busi- 
ness interests. 

.Ml-. .Mclnnis has iieen hoiioreil b_\- his fel- 
low townsmen with several ot'ficial j)ositions. 
While living in Kay townshi|) he served as 
.justice of the jieace and as township treas- 
urer. In 1!)0l' he M-as elected on tlii' repub- 
lican lick<'t to the ot'fice of eount\- sheriff. 
The contest was vei-y chise and it was at 
first thought that his opj)onent was elected 
by a very small ma.jority, but upon a recount 
of the votes Mi-. Mclnnis was dcchired elect- 
ed. On the expiration of his term he re- 
fused a re-election in l!t04, his untiring en- 
ergy while sei-\iiig his county having im- 
paired his health. It is generally colici'dcil 
that Mr. .Mclnnis Inid a very satisfactory 
term and much real gootl was done by liis 
ceaseless cani|)aign against vice and for law 
and order. 

On the L'dth of Febriiaiy. 1878. .Mr. .Mc- 
lnnis was united in niarriai;c to .Miss Emma 
(ireen, a daughter of .Vbial and Louisa (De- 
graft') CJreeji, of Kay townshi]). They now 
have one child — Da\ton. Fraternally Mr. 
.Mclnnis is connected with .Macomb lotlge, 
.\o. (14. F. (}i .\. M.. of wlii(di he became a 
member in lIMll. lie also belongs to the 
Knights of the .Maccabees and the Ancient 
Order of (ileaners. He is a man of gen- 
erous imi)ulses. faithful in friendsliii) and 
straightforward in liis business transactions, 
;ind he is accounted one of the representa- 




aij-:\'am)i-:k .McIxxis, 



I'AST AND IM.'KSKXT OF :\rACOMP. COIXTV 



71 



tivr nit'ii 111' his ailoiitiHl nMiiity, wlid'c he 
h:is li\-c:l from I'arh' b(i\iiiiiiil (la\'s. 



KMCIIAEn T. W. AVKIil!. 

Uv\. Uirhard 'I". \V. Wriili. icrtdr oi (iraee 
Episcopal cliiiri-h. at .Mount Clniiens, was 
horn ill liOiuloii. Eiiglaiul. .Mar<'li -■'), 1860, 
and is a son of Tiionias and Kli/.a ( Dailies) 
\Vehh, hotli of whiiiii were natives of London. 
'I'lie niateriiid i;raiidfather. Ricliard Dailies, 
was for twenty-eight yi'ars a ])ilot on the Eng- 
lish channel after haviiiii- served for iimriy 
years as master of an ocean-poiiig' vessel. 
Jjater hi' heeaiue a mcmher of Ti'inity llotise 
and he died in 1865. at tlie agi- of seventy-live 
years. It was his daueliter Eli/.a who he- 
came the wife of Thomas Wchli. one of the 
cleverest tleeorators and restorers of damaged 
works of art in London. In 18()!t tliey crossed 
the Atlantic to the new world, h)eating in 
Oakville. Ontario, Canada. The father died 
at tlie age of fifty-two years and the mother 
])assed away in 1901. at the age of seventy -one 
years. In the family were five children, 
naiiiel.v : Hicliard '!'. AV. ; Ocoilic 11.. who is 
rector at Strathcona. in tlie province of Al- 
berta, Northwest territor.v ; Willi,-im K., arch- 
deacon of till' diocese of ('algary. in the 
.Xorthwest tei'i'itory; Klizahelli. who died in 
infaiiey: and .Martin \V.. a dry goods mer- 
chant, in Calgary. 

liichard T. W. Wehli was etliicated in a 
chnrcli school, in London. England, ami early 
became interested in religious work. lie also 
pursued liis studies in the juililic schools of 
Ojikville. Ontario, and i-ontinued his study 
under private instruction with a xiew of en- 
tering the minislry. Bishop Fuller, of tiie 
diocese of Niagara, on c.xainining .Mr. Welih, 
lironoiiiiccd his examination the most perfect 
of any that had tak'eu plaee in the dioeese 
and so expressed himself in a li'tter to .Mr. 
Wehh"s mother. This ronimniiieat ion is still 
in ])osscssion of oiii' suh.jecl, lie was or- 
dained as deacon in Christ Chureli ('atliedral, 
of Uainilton. ( >nt;irio, on the liath day of May. 
188;!. The ordination sermon was ])reaclied 
li.\' the l\ev. Charles .Mockridge, now rector of 
tile Chiireh of the .Messiah, at Detroit, Mich- 
igan. I >n .Inne 8. 188-}-, this being Trinity 
Sunday, he was ordained jiriest by IJishop 
Fuller at St. ( Jcorge's churcli, in (iueljih, On- 
tario. 

While lu'i'paring for ordinal ioii lie\'. Kicli- 
ard T. W. Webb was for foiii' years a member 
of the .\ssociate .\[ission. at tliaiid X'allev, On- 



tario, and ;ifter he heeanie a niemhcr of the 
priesthood he acted as lieail of the mission, 
remaining there for six and a half years. His 
health failed him, however, in 18811, and he 
took charge of Christ Chureh mission, at East 
Tawas. .Michigan, wheie he lemained from 
April, 188!), until -luly. isn.',. His work was 
so effective there that he sueeeeiied in jilae- 
ing the mission on a permaueiil basis, and an 
excellent church edifice was erected at a cost 
of forty-five huiidred dollars. Kev. \Vebb ac- 
cepted the pastorate of (!race Episcopal 
cliurch at ]\Iouiit Clemens, in IS'.I."), and has 
since I'emained here as reetor. lie has ]ilaced 
improvements on the ehiireli propei'ty to the 
value of thirty-iive hundi'ed dollars and has 
organized the work along various lines until 
the church in all its departments is now in 
thriving condition. lie is a most earnest par- 
ish workei-. his life consecrated to the cause 
of Christ, and he is deeply and thoi-oiighly 
interested in all matters relating to the church 
and the welfare of the i)eo|)le. 

On the 14th of July, 1886, l{ev. Wehli was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary M. 'SI. Lewis, 
a daughter of Charles .J. Ijewis, of Ilavaiit 
Hants, England, and .Matilda (Dawson) 
Lewis of Islington. Ontario. Their children 
are: Charles Thomas, Ambrosse Anthony, 
Margaret Lewis and .Martin Kiehai'd. The at- 
inosphere of the home is that of hospitality 
and good cheer and Kev. Webb and liis wife 
exercise a strong influence in social circles. 
He is a man of scholarly attainments, of nat- 
ural intellectual vigor and force, in whom is 
an abiding charity and iiiiabating sympath.v, 
which has rendered liini popular with all 
classes and won for him the uni(ualilieil i-e- 
s])ect of his fellow men. 



WILLIAM F. Td.MLlXSON. 

William F. Tomliiisnn is almve all else a 
business man, alert and enteri>rising, and bis 
is a successful career. Success is not a mat- 
ter of genius as held by many, but is rather 
the result of experience and sound .judg- 
ment. Self-reliance, energy and honesty are 
the traits of character wliieli insure the great- 
est prosperity and at the same time win an 
honorable name, and to these qualities we may 
attribute the position to wliieli .Mr. Toiiilin- 
son has attained. He has varied business in- 
terests in Macomb county and in control of 
these manifests keen discernment and marked 
enterprise. He was born May 14, IS'u. in 



72 



I'ASl' AM) i'lJKSKXT OK MACOMI! CorX'I'V 



lii'ach tdwiislii]). Oiitiiiid. ('.luaila. liis pai-riits 
l)finji- William and I'liii'lio ( N'aii Ilonii Toin- 
liiisdii. His palcriial L;raiull'atlirr. .laiin-s Os- 
boi'iii'. was Ikii'ii in the ('ardiinas. ami at tlir 
bejriiiniiii;- ol' tiir Hcvdintionai'v \\ai- lie nwnrd 
many Jaruc tracts (if land, iiirlndinu: almut 
scviMi hnndrcd acfi's wlicn' tlu' i-ity of \Vasl\- 
inL;tiin miw standi. 'Pliis land was all rdii 
liscatcd liy tlir iMi^lish y'ovci'niiicnt, -lames 
Oshornc lia\ini;' licm a captain in the liritisli 
ai'my. His dau,!iiitci-, Sai'ah ( )sliiinie. hccame 
the wife of Jonathan 'I'omlinson. and in |ios- 
scssioii (d' William F. 'I'dndinson. of this i-c- 
vicw. there is now an old deed wiiich was 
made ont to licf foi- lanil sitniitcd in the 
townsinp of Ijoho in the <-onnt\' of Middlesex, 
in the London disti'ict of Canada, and siirncil 
by till' governor t;-etieral of Canada in \f^'2'i. 
Thi' wfitine-, thone-h now somowhat faded, is 
still distinct and the seal is still attiichcd. 

William 'Pondinson. fathei- id' onf subject, 
was nintcd in nniiriaec to IMiichc \^in Horn, 
a daniihtcr of Abraham Van Horn, who was 
lioi-n in .\cw .Ici'scy and remoscd to Canada 
alioni ISdO. when si.\teen yeais id' auc. set 
t\\u<i in .Markam township, near 'I'lioi-idiill. the 
district at that time lieiin^' an nnliroken wil- 
derness, Ihei'c lieine only on<' loe ealnn where 
the city of Toi'otito now stands. 

Willi;im F. Tomlinson. whose name intro- 
dnccs this record, came to thi' I'lntcil States 
in February. ISSl, aftci- having piirsm'd his 
edvieation in the pnhlic schools of his native 
l)rovince. He selth'd at Monnt Clemens. 
whei-e h ■ wdrked in the stave mill of Snook 
>.^ Robinson for ahont a >'ear, and dnrinL; that 
time he jinrchased a snuill tr;ict of tindiei- land 
on tlu- Lake Shore i-oad in ( 'hcsti'i'tiehl town- 
ship. He at once lieL;an to clear this anil for 
several years cnltivatcd a part of it. al'tei- 
which he sold to .\lirahaiii WaLiiier. t >ii lea\- 
illj;' .Mount Clemens he bejian work on t he 
farm of -loseph .Milton, in Chestertield town- 
ship, and in 1SS2 he took chai-t;e of this place, 
on which he made many inipi-ovenu'uts. He 
tiled tln' land, icbnilt the barns and other 
()utbiiil(lin<;s and continued the work of de- 
velopmeld alone- the most proe|-cssi\e lines. 
The two laree mihI substantial baiais upon the 
]ilace ai'e well woi'thy of note. (>iic of tlii'se 
was ci'ccted by .Mr. 'ronilinson in 1SII:{ and 
the other in llKlii. The second h.is sever.d 
features about it not usually found in farm 
buikliu^is. It has a cement llooi- in the base- 
ment, threshini; rooms and eranarics. and. in 
fact, there is no wood used in the const I'Uc- 
tion of the tloors of this bai'ti. There is a 
self-supportini;' roof and alto.uetlier the barn 



is one of the finest to be fonnil in the state. 
Its dimensions are thirty-six by t'is'hty-six 

feet. -Ml 111' the bnildiues ai' |ui|)peil with 

the latest improvements in unloadine appa- 
I'atns and in connection with the barns he has 
built two lai'ec silos with a capacity of two 
hundred tons. 

.Ml'. Tomlinson is likew isc a stron>;- aiL'ocate 
of the daii'.\' as a pa\ine- investmeiit for the 
farm and he has on his place about tliirty- 
li\c head of .lirsey cattle, all thorone-hbred, 
toeether with t went.\-li\i' milch cows. He is 
the owner of a tine t horouiihbred reeistered 
.Jersey bull, purchased from T. F. .Marston of 
Hay Cit.w .MichiLian. In connection with the 
dairy is a lar^e cement tank in which he places 
the cans of inilU and tliroiii>h this tank cold 
water continually i-mis, beiii"' ]nniiped by 
windmill power, and thus the milk is kept cool 
throueh the nieht and each mornine it is 
delivered to the Chest eriieli 1 ('reamery. wiiei-e 
it has received the hiehest test of any milk 
delivered there. In lll(;i' the a\-ei-ai;(' test of 
the milk fill' the season was .").:!' ^. pei- 
cent and he has nevei- had a test lower 
than o pel' cent. Hi- takes eood care of 
his stock, erinils all his I'eeil in his own 
mill and abo does his own threshiiie. He 
was one of the chief |)romoters of the ('lies- 
tertield Creamery, solicit iiie- nearly all of the 
stock. The first Imildine was erected in 
LS9"_* and this was destroyed by lire in ISIhl. 
the company losing everythiii';'. as it had 
no insurance. With resolute ])urpose. such 
as overcomes discouraeement. Mr. Tomlinson. 
with the aid of the late -Indi;!' Eldred-i-e. be- 
ean at once to plan for rebnildinc'. and beinc: 
made head of the biiildine committee he 
rushed the worl< tliroueh. mi that in .just 
live weeks from the time of the hi'e the new 
plant was in runnine order. He was the lirst 
vii'c president and a director of the company 
until ll'tH. when he retired from all ot'tices, 
but is still one of the lai'eest stockholders. 
In if^'.H .Mr. Tomlinson built a l;iri;e cider mill 
with a cajiacit.v of one hundred and twenty- 
five barrels. This business has steadil>' iii- 
I'reased from the lieeinnine' until last year he 
had a run of about forty tlioiisand bushels, 
inclndine custom work as well as his own. 
Till' eider which he nnmufactures is always 
])uri' and sweet, but contains no ilrues or 
spirits. He uses his own formula, which the 
|)ure food commissiou of the stale has ap- 
proved. He also makes apple Jelly and ships 
both eider and .jelly to almost t'xrvy state in 
the riiioii. Last year he made lar.u'e ship- 
ments to liisln'c. Arizona, to Texas and to 



I'AS'r AND I'K'KSKNT OF .MACOMl! CorXTV 73 

S\c,-iiniirr. Illiniiis. ^iihI lie \\;\\ iiiiw plai-nl the is liviiij^ ill Dctniit; iiiiil W'nrlli l'',iii'l. wlio is 

industry in such sliiipr tli;it lie r.-ui i-\rciilr with his I'jithrr <iii thr lanii. Mr. 'roiiiliiisdii 

iwdi'i'N nil short niiticc. is a iiicnihiT nt' Mdiiiit (Mfiiicns Ijixh^c. I. ( ). 

Altliouiih .Mr. 'riiiiilinsdn 's faniiiii^ and i ). I-'., wliich lie joined in ISSl. lie is also 
kindred intcri'sts cover sucli a wide raiiiic of a iiieiiihcr of (!e()r>;e \Vashin^;loii liodiic. In- 
activity that many a man wmihl feel that he dependent ()i-(h'rof l"\n-ester's. and is likewise 
had no lime f(U' any outside interests, .Mr. a iiiemher (d' .Milton (Irantic .Mr. 'romlinsoii 
Tomlinson has iievertlielcss e.xtended his cf- is a man to whom the mosts envious can 
foi'ts to other fields of lahcu-. He assisted in scarcely i;rud>;e success, so well has he earned 
or^iUiizinu' the National Sand ami (emeiit it and so admii'ahly does he use it. lie is 
liloek Company, at .\d. 44 .IctVer.son avenue, kind, nnafifected and appi-oaehalile and cver.\' 
DetiNut, which is capitalized for fifty thou- cimier has a claim on his courteous attention, 
sand dollars and of which he is vice pi-esident There has heeii nothiiii^' seiisalional in liis 
and a director. The company owns its own career, every step has heeii thoiieht ftillv and 
sand and e|--|\-e| pits and I'lirnishes sand. deliherately made and ever.v advance has been 
yravi'l. cement and ot her eoiiimodit ies to liuild- at the costs id' hard and self-deny in;;' lalxir. 
iny contractors. In addition to this they e\- lie stands to-day in his inatiire years a 
peel soon to manufacture cemi'iit hlocks for stront;' man. stroiie' in the consciousness of 
huildiiii:' luirposes. .Mr. Tomlinson also owns wi'll-speiit days, stroni; to ])laii and |)erl'oriii 
some iiood pa_\ine stock in oil wells. lie is and strong- in his cri'dit and i;(iod name. 
a man id' remarkalile business disccriimeiit. 

his .indtiiiient lieiiin seldom, if e\er, at fault. 

and whatever he undertakes is manaei-d with 

such care and re-iolution that it lieeomes a ('\1'T\1.\' WILLI \ .M f .MILLK.X 
profitable investment, lie likewise^ belongs to 

that class (d' representative American citizens Captain William F. .Milieu, who for many 
who. while ]iroiiiotine- individual success, also ,\ears was a sailor on the Creat Lakes and for 
contribute in laruc measure to the iicneral thirty-live years commanded vessels as cap- 
welfare, tain, is now living- retired in b'omeo, whei'c 

(In the (Ith of April. ISSli, .Mr. T liiison lie eslablislied his home in ISS."). lie was born 

was m,-irried to .Miss .Mirtliy Tri'asure. a in •lel'IVrson eoiiiit.w New ^■ol•k. Aujiust .'). 

ilaiii;hti>r (d' Joseph and Speedy .Milton, id' 1S4:!. 1 1 is father. llii;iiland Milieu, emiizrateil 

.Milton. Che.stiM'field township. Her falher from the north of Ireland to the m-w werld 

was born in Somei'sctshire. Ivieland. and when a yonni;- man. setlliiii;- in .lelTerson 

came to America in ISIil!. settline on a farm i-ounty. and became a hotel proprietor at .Mil- 

iiowdwned by .Mr. Tomlinson. Hedied.\pril leiCs Hay on the St. Lawrence river, which 

14. 1S7!I. His wife was a daiiiihter id' .Joseph iilaee was named in his honor. .Ml of his 

Herriman of .New .Jersey, and came to ('lies- children were born there and he afterward 

tei-tield township. .Macomb couiit.w .Michi'^an. took up his abode ii|ioii the farm which he 

in ]S:i\. her husband arriving:' here tlu' follow- cleared and improved, makiiii;- it a valuable 

ini; year. They took u|) a tract of wooded tract, the i)roductive lields returnin-;- him uood 

land and bei;aii at once t ake this a pro- harvests. He carried on a-iricuHural pursuits 

dlictive farm. .Mr. .Milton burned the limbei-. there 1 hroii-iioiit liis irmainilifi: days, passing' 

;is there was ii arket for w 1 in llio>e awa.\- in ISSO. Ilesei'ved as a custom house 

da.\-s. Tlie\- e.\|]erieiieed many of the hard- oflicer for two years and was prominent and 

ships and dil'ticult ies incident to pioneer life. inliuential in commiiiiit\- affairs in his home 

but in due course of time develo|)ed a t^ood locality, h.iviiii;' an extensive aeipiainlaiici' in 

farm property and as the count r.\' bee.-iiiie set- that part of the countr,v. 

tied their products broueiit to them a eood Captain .Milieu was boi'ii on the old home- 
return when placed on I he city markel . .Mrs. stead and assisted in devel()])ine- the farm. 
.Milton was more than si.xty years a resident while in the schools of .Milieu's Ua.v he pur- 

of this eoniit.\' and her deal h iirred ( )etober ^ueil his education. He bei;an sailini:' when 

17. 1ll(i:i. .Mrs. Tomliiisoii is the younjivst of a yoiine- man of si.xteeii years and was upon 

li\e children, haviiii: one sister, .Airs. Walters the (Ircat Lakes and the St. Lawrence river, 

of New Baltimore, and three brothers, who laiiiim- as far as ( )y(li'nsburi;'. He sailed be- 

aic liviiie; oil fjirms in Chesterlield township. tween ( )ji(lensl)urfr, Chicaeo, Duliitli and Uul- 

Cnto .Mr. and .Mrs. William Tomlinson falo. luindlin^r t;rain and iron ore. and was 

wei-e born two children: jlatta Amber, wlifi i-aptain of ;i vessel of tweiity-tivc hundred 



74 



PAST AND PRES?:XT OF :\rACO:\rB COUNTY 



tons, which was tln'ii i-oiisiderccl one of tlie 
lafiiv boats atloiit. Such was his life, witli 
the vai'ied experiences of storni and calin up 
im tile water, until 1!H)(I. wheu he retired and 
look uj) his al)ode in JJonieo, niakini;- a per- 
iiument location hiTc lie was, at times, in 
scvei'al wrecks and his vessel siitt'ereil con- 
sic k'ral)le dania-ie. hut no life was ever lost. 
In early life he fell to a distance of sixt.v feet 
upon the deck of the vessel and was badly 
in.jured, this cripplinj:' him for almut a year, 
hut when he recovered he again went upon the 
water and his entire business life has been 
spent as a sailoi-. In 1!(01 he erected a neat, 
substantial I'csidence on St. Clair street, in 
Konieo, and is now en.ioying a well earned 
rest. 

On the 2Stli of .lannarv. 1867. at IMiilen's 
Ka.\-. New Yoi-k. .Mr. .Millen was mari'ied to 
-Miss Delia Ma.ver. a native of tlie P^nipire 
state. They bt'came the parents of twt) chil- 
dren: Clara, now the wife of Clarence Hi-cm- 
er of Romeo, b.v whom she has thi-ee chiklren, 
(rladys, ilarceline and William: and (irace. 
who is the wife of .Mei-ton P>. Smitli. editor 
of the Observei' of luinico. 

I'olitically Captain .Milieu is a democi-at. 
He cast his tii'st iiresidential ballol for Al)i'a- 
hani Lincoln, but has since changed his alle- 
giance to the democracy, to which he now 
gives earnest support. He has served on the 
bo;ird of r<'view and was chairiTiaii of tin' 
watei- boai'd. 1 1 is wife is ;i mi'niber u\' llie 
Congregational chui-ch and he attends its ser- 
vices and contributes to its su|i|ioi-t. He has 
invested in farm pro|)ert.v as well as in realty 
in the village and is now thoroughly identified 
with the interests of Macomb count.v. He and 
his famil.\- ai'e much esteemed here and the 
hospitality nl' the best homes of Homed and 
the surroundine' district is freely accorded 
them. Captain Milieu is a man of social lui- 
lui'c. genial disposition and is an entertaining 
companion, who can ri'late many interestiuL: 
incidents of life (HI the i;i-i'at lakes. 



JOACHIM .M. M.\TTIIK\VS. 

Joachim .M. .Matthews is one of the wor1h.\' 
sons that (lerman.v has furnished to this 
state, his birth having occin-red in .Mechlen- 
bui'g, Ma.\- !l. ISoll. His ]iarents, Christian 
and Julia irplaei;cri .Matthews, were also 
natives of (ierman.v. In 187(1 ho came to 
America, iirriving in this cotinly on tin' 4th 
of July of that .\'ear, and when he had 
been a resident of .Macomb count \ i'nv twn 



and a li;df years, his home being in ilaconib 
township, his parents cami-. Christian Mat- 
thews settli'il on a farm in Chesterfield town- 
ship ;ind carried on agricidtni-al pursuits 
there throughout his remaining days, his 
deatii occurring in 18!ll!. when he was sev- 
ent.v-three yeai's of age. His wife is still 
living in Mount Clemens. Althongli the 
parents came from Germany the Matthews 
famil.N- is originally ICnglish, the ancestors of 
our subject having lived in P^ngland many 
centuries ago. I'nto Christian and Julia 
.Matthews were born eleven children, of 
whom seven are now living: ilar.x'. the wife 
of Fred S|)aller, of Chesterfield township; 
Joachim; Christian, of Blount Clemens; Lu- 
cetta, the wife of John Kranse ; Annie, the 
wife of Hammond Shtdtz, living on the old 
homestead farm in ( hestertield township: 
Tlieodore, of Ionia, .Michigan: and Henry, 
who is living in Seattle. Washington. Those 
deceased are: Williairi. ,\ueusta. and two 
who died in infancy. 

Ml'. .Matthews of this review |)nrsued his 
ediicatitui in the pidilic schools of Cerman.v 
and in 1870 he started for the I'nited States. 
He was first employed on a farm. He then 
cauie to Macomb townshii). Macomb coiuit.v, 
.Michigan, and purchased land in 1S72. he- 
comiiie the owner of about one huntli'cil and 
twent.v acres, on which he er<'cted good out- 
buildings and made other substantial im- 
provements, remaining there \'ur sixteen 
.\'ears. (In the exiiiration of that period he 
took uj) his abode in the cit.\' of .Mount Clem- 
ens, where he opened a saloon which he con- 
ducted for fourteen .ve.irs. when in 18!Ji) he 
sold this business to his sons. In 1903 he 
erected a larec building lor liver.\' purposes, 
at the cornel' of ('oiirt and .Market streets, 
and the liver.\' barn is now conducted by his 
sou I'aul under the firm name <d' tin- Mat- 
thews Livery. It is splendidly eipiipped and 
a u'ood patroiuiei' is en.joyed. 

.Mr. .Matthews was married, in 1S7"_'. to 
.Miss .Mar,\' Sanders, a daughter of John and 
Frederika (r|)laeger) Sanders, and unto 
them have been born five children: I'aul. 
the eldest, who is engaged in business with 
his lather, was married in 181)4 to .Miss Nel- 
lie Carton, a dauuhter nf Ki<'hard Carton, 
(d' Detroit. .Miehieau; .\lbert is engaeed in 
the saloon business: John was marrii'd in 
llMKi til Julia I'ringritz. nf .Mount Clemens: 
Joseph and ( hristian are also residents of 
.Mount Clemens. .Mr. .Matthews has been 
]ii(iminent in political cindes in his cit.v and 
count V. He served as alderman at large for 




lOACllLM .M. .\rATTIlEW8. 



PAST .VXD I'Ki'isi'ix'i' (>!•" MAco.Mi', (■(»|•^•■^^■ 



77 



six years and at'tci-warcl as aldiTiiKiii nt' tlir 
third ward for throe years, lie was also 
poor coiiiiinssioner for one term, was school 
iusjx'etor in his township for several years 
and in ISIOli was candidate foi' sheriff of .Ma- 
comb eonnty. It was at lirst thoniiht lliat 
he M'as eh'eted. hut ujion a reeount he lost 
the eieetiiin liy twenty-one votes. His politi- 
cal views are in accord with the democracy 
and in ];)04 he was again candidate upon 
that ticket for the office of sherifiE. This 
time lie ])olled a strong vote, the presiden- 
tial vote heing nineteen hnndr<'il and he only 
ran sev(Mity-seveii votes heliind that ticket, 
showing that he was a |)0])ulai' candidate, 
lie also received sDiiie of the votes of the 
prohibition i)arty. and in his office he has 
discharged his duties in a most commend- 
able manner, lli' is a member of the Ger- 
man Lutheran clnirch. lie comes of a stnrdj' 
race, is a man of good l)usiness judgment, 
self-reliant, firm of purpose and enterpris- 
ing. He began in the business world with- 
out capital and steadily worked his way up- 
ward, and to-day is the possessor of a com- 
fortable competence. In the discharge of 
his duties he is jirompt and fearless and 
what he has duni' awakens high connneuda- 
tion and trust. 



ROBERT POSNER. 

Robert Posner, who is engaged in the un- 
dertaking business in ilount Clemens and is 
a prominent factor in political circles, was 
born in AValdenburg, Prussia, Uermauy, Jul}' 
10, 18.50, his parents being August and The- 
resa (Leyer) Posner, who were natives of 
Prussia and Bohemia respectively. They 
came to America in 185-1, settling in Macomb 
townshij). Macondj county, where the father 
followed the occupation of farming and also 
engaged in the maiuifacture of potash. He 
was a brick-maker by trade antl cai'i'i(>d on 
work along that line for a brief period. He 
died at the advanced age of seventy-nine 
years and his wife pa.ssed away at the same 
age. They were the jiarents of five children, 
l)ut Robei't is the only one now living. The 
othei's were August, Charlotte, (Christina and 
Throngott. August was also an und(>i'taker, 
having carried on business at Crand Kapids, 
jMichigan. 

Robert Posnei-. the fourth in order of birth, 
was educated in the German schools, at Wal- 
denburg, ^lacond) county, and he enteretl 
upon his business cari'er as a clerk in a hard- 



\\are store in Mount Cleuiens, his enii)loyers 
being Robertson & Daley, lie entered their 
service in 1871 and remained with them for 
nine years. He then purchased the business 
iind formed a |)artnersliip with William Chit- 
tenden uniler the firm name of Chittenden & 
Posner. When three years liad jiassed he 
purchased ;\lr. Chittenden's interest and ad- 
luitted Anthony Czizek to a partnership under 
the firm name of Posner & Czizek. Two years 
later I\Ir. Posner became sole proprietor and 
conducted the btisiuess alone for four years, 
at the end of which time he sold his hard- 
ware store and turned his attention to the 
livery business, which he conducted witii suc- 
cess foi- eleven years. During the last three 
years of that time he M'as also engaged in 
the luidertaking business, beginning in this 
line in 1896. On the 1st of January, 1904. 
he admitted his son, Robert W. Posner to a 
partneiship luider the firm style of Posner 
& Son. He has prospei'ed in his luidertak- 
ings and has now a very extensive patronage. 
He is a pi'ofessional embalmer and under- 
taker, thoroughly understanding the latest 
improvements in connection with the busi- 
nes.s. i\Ir. Posner introduced the first ambu- 
lance in ]\Iount Clemens. 

On the 17th of .May, 1870, occurred the 
marriage of 'Sir. Posner and Miss ^lary Krue- 
ger, the only daughter of John Krueger of 
]\Iacomb township, this county. Their chil- 
dren are : Robert W., Theodore II. and Clar- 
ence C. On IMay 14, 190,5, Mr. Posner was 
called xipon to mourn the loss of his wife. Mr. 
Posner gives his ])olitical allegiance to the 
democracy, is deeply interested in its success, 
does all in his power to promote its growth 
and has been elected to office on its ticket, 
having served both as alderman and super- 
visor from the third ward. He is a man of 
fine physi((ue, genial temi)erament and social 
disposition and he makes friends wherever 
he goes. His success in life is due entirely 
to his own well directed efforts, for he stai'ted 
out in the humble capacity of a clei'k without 
capital and has steadily worked his way up- 
ward until he is now one of the substantial 
citizens of ]\Iount Clemens. 



JOHN I. CRISSIMAK. 

John 1. Crissman. who operates the Canal 
Holler ]\Iills in the village of Utica and is 
also ])resident of the village, was boim June 
12, 1859, in Washing-fon township, IMacomb 



78 



PAST AXD I'KHSENT OF .MACO.Mli COIXTV 



(•(iiiiity. his pai-ciits liciii<;' Diivid II. and Olive 
M. (MiH'kci'l Ci'issiiiaii. 'i'hc fatlu'r was Ijorii 
ill Xmv .Icrsin- and was uf Duti-li iiiR-airt', 
while the iiKithcr's people eaiiie Iroiii New 
Vork. and in the pjinpire state her birth 
(leciiried. David II. ("rissiiiaii folhiwed the 
iieeiipat inn 111' fanning' and on li-avinti' .\ew 
• leisey eaine to Miehit;aii in lH'.i'2. settliiit;' in 
\Vasliiiij:ton township, where he purehased 
land that was wild and uninqiroved. His 
father hati l)oni;ht a lar<;e traet of land wliii-h 
the sons inherited and in addition to the 
share which he received David II. Crissnian 
hoiljiht lor hiiMself alioilt forty acres. This 
traet now helonus to a hrother of our subject. 
Jii the family were four sons and one dau>;li- 
ter. iianiel.v : Px'ii.jaiiiin A., who is married 
and lives in I'tica. devoting;- his attention to 
farmiii.u': Jlieliael .1.. who is married and owns 
one (d' the old home farms but makes his 
home in K'omeo; .loliii I.; Chai'les ( )., who is 
liviiiL,' on the old family liomestea<l ami is 
married and has two sons and three dauiili- 
ters: and Mertie E., the wife of (leorii<' K. 
Pk'kert, a lawyi'r of Detroit bv whom she has 
one daujihter. 

John 1. rrissmaiL jmrsued his education in 
the country schools and in the i^radetl schools 
of Washington. si)endiii,ii' a year tlu'i-e. He 
early became familiar with farm work in all 
its departments and eonlinued upon tlu' home 
farm until he attained his ma.jority, after 
which he spent a year as a clerk in a sieneral 
store in Frankfort. On the e.\])iration of that 
])eriod he came to Utica to take cliar','e of the 
ndlls here owned by his father. These are 
the Canal Holler ^lills, with a capacity of 
sevent.v-li\e barrels |)er da.v. The ])lant is 
operated b.v both water and steam jiower and 
does custom work. .Mr. Crissman took chariic 
of tlie mill February l!4. ISSi!. and has since 
been manager. He also handles some real- 
t'state in Bay Cily and othi'i- points in M;\- 
coinl) count.s'. 

In October. iSSIi. .Mr. Crissman was mar- 
ried to .Miss .leiinic Mullen, a daimhter of 
^Vndrew and Priscilla iConnilli .Mullen, who 
resided in Utica. Her father was an eii.ui- 
neer at different times on a number of rail- 
roads but afterward retired and thus lived 
until called to liis final I'cst. The .Mullens 
were of Huiilish lineau'e and more remotely 
of Scotch descent, the name formerly beiii'^ 
.Mac.Mnllen. The mother of ;\rrs. Crissman 
was of Irish lineage. The daushter pursued 
her education in the schools of Utiea and for 
about six years was successfull.v cniraKed in 
teachini;- in ]Macomb and Oakland countii's. 



liilo .Mr. and ]Mrs. Crissman have been 
born two sons: I. Stanle.v, who was born 
-Inly lit), lS9:i: and John Sherman, born De- 
cember 31, 1S!)(>. Both are ])ublic school stu- 
dents in I'tica. ;\Ir. Crissman frives his jioliti- 
cal support to th(> democratic part.v with 
which he has aftiliated siiK-e attainiiii;- his 
ma.jorit.v. lb' luis served as towushij) clerk 
and treasurer in Shelby township, lillinii the 
latter iiosition for six years and at one time 
was a candidate for eount.v treasurer hut was 
defeated. For sixteen yeai's he was a mem- 
ber of the town hoard and for twelve years 
has been its president, while for eiyht years 
he has serveil on the school board. In all 
these ofKces he has discharued his duties with 
l)romptness. fidelity ami cajiabilit.v. ])uttini.' 
forth etfective and far-reachiiiir etfort for 
the general good. He beloiiiis to I'tica lodge. 
.Vo. 77\ A. F. & A. .M.. and both he and his 
wife are members of tln' ( )i-der of Kastern 
Star, in which she is holding office. .Mr. 
Crissman is also connectetl with I'tica lodge, 
.\'o, 7."), I. O. O. F., and the Maccabees tent. 
\o. 1S4. He has been steward for two years 
in the .Masonic lodge, is noble grand in the 
OiUl Fellows and tinance keeper for the .Mac- 
cabees. His wife is a member of the Con- 
gregational church and was worthy matron 
of the Eastern Star for several terms. They 
are prominent and intluenlial in communit.v 
atfairs in I'tica and he is regarded not only 
as a leading business man here but also as 
one whose efforts have been of material bi'ue- 
fit in behalf of geinM-al |irogress. 



AI'CFST DITTIHCH. 



.\ugiist Dittrich, livin.u' on section S. Clin- 
ton township, and lu'ominent in public atfairs 
of his localit.v. is classed with the early set- 
tlei-s of Macomb count.w ha\'ing arrived here 
on the 4th of .Inly. 1S4'.I. Hi- was born in 
Saxony, (Jerman.v, December II. ISliT, and 
was brought to America by his parents when 
a lad of eleven or twelve years, the family 
home b(Mng established in .Macomb count,v. 
He had fair school advantages which pre- 
pared him for the transaction of business and 
the |)ei'form;ince of life's jii-actical duties and 
his training at farm labor was not meagre, for 
from an early age he assisted in the cultiva- 
tion of the fields on the old home place. 
.\fter arriving at years of maturit.v he was 
mariied. in iSd."). |o .Miss Caroline Dittrich. 
He retiuneil to tile fatluM-laiid and was there 
iiiarrii'd. after which he bronulit bis bride to 



PAST AM) 



KSKN'I' (»K .MACO.MH CorN'I'V 



till' new \v(irKl and srttlctl ii|khi the i'ariii 
wiiich is yet his lioinc. Ilo sociiivd tills hiiid, 
bilildint;- tlu' feMiecs and Dpciiiiifr up the tichls, 
caiTviiifi' on a<;iiL'ultur;d ])iirsiiits with uDod 
success. When he liad followed 1'ariiiinu here 
for a nuiiiiiei- of years after his niarriaL;e he 
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, 
who i)assed away about 181)7. leavinji' one son. 
Krank Ditti'ich. who is now in .Mount Clem- 
ens. .Ml-. Ditti'ich of this review was mar- 
ried ai;ain in ISSi). lijs second union lieini;' 
with lleni'ielta Kox. who was horn in .Macoiuh 
county and is a tlaui:hter of (Justaviis Fox, a 
native of Coniiectieut and a son of Joel Fox. 
who came with his family to .Michiiiaii about 
IS.'id, beini;' one of the early settlei'S of this 
part of the state anil with its pioneer develop- 
ment he was closely coiineeteil. (iustavus 
Fox w;is married to Miss Sarah Burnham, a 
native of .New \\>rk. He entered land from 
the y:overnment. cleariiii;' and improvinn' a 
farm, and thei'eon I'eared his famil>- and spent 
his I'emaininii- days, his death occnrrinji' here 
when lie had almost reached tlu' very venera- 
ble age of ninety-five years, dejjarting' this 
life in November, 1904. There is one son by 
the second marriage. Harry Dittrich, who is 
a machinist liy trade and assists his father in 
carrying on the home farm. 

August Dittrich has devoted his entire life 
to agi'icultural jnirsuits, is thoi'oughly eonvei-- 
sant with the best methods of tilling the soil 
in tliis ])art of tli(> county and by his persis- 
tent energy and inireniitting diligence has 
gained a place among tlie substantial citizens 
of ('linton town.shij). He never falters in liis 
allegiance to the democratic jiarty, having 
be(Mi true to its principles since casting his 
first presidential ballot for James Buchanan, 
lie was elected and served for nine years as 
highway connnissioner. dui'ing which time 
he laid out roads, built bridges and otherwise 
improved the district in this direction. Later 
lie was elected and served for twenty consecu- 
tive years as. justice of the peace, a fact which 
iiidicati's his faithfulness to duty and his fair- 
ness and e(|uity in the trial of tlu' diffei'ent 
cases which are presented lii'l'iire liiiii. His 
even-handed .justice "won liiiii Liolden ojiin- 
ions from all sorts of |ieople." The cause of 
education has also found in hi;n a wai'm 
friend anil as a school trustee and as school 
director he has given his intiuence foi' the 
impi'ovemcnt of the schools, lie and his wife 
attend the .Methodist K]iis<'opal chun-h bul 
he was I'cai'ed ill the Kviingclical failli. Later. 
however, he .jdiiicd the Methodist church with 
his wife, who is a<'tive in the work of the 



church, esjiccially in the Ladies' Aiil Society. 
-Mr. Dittrich has long been regarded as one 
of the leading and influential citizens of Clin- 
tiiii township, the nmnei'ous official positions 
whicli he has filled indicating the ti'usl and 
confidence reposed in him by his fellow towns- 
men, lie has ever been found worthy of high 
regard anil his name should also be enrolled 
among the pioiieei' settlers, for <luiing fifty- 
six years he luis lived in this jiart of tlu' state. 



I'AII> LKrscil.NHi;. .\l. I). 

I'aiil Leuschiier, physician anil surgeon of 
.Mount ('leiiicns. whose practice evinces a strict 
adherence to high professional ideals, was 
born in Detroit. Michigan, June '24. 1M(J2, ;uiil 
is of German lineage. His granilfather, John 
Christian Leuschiier, was cnga.iicd in teach- 
ing school in Leipsic, (ierniany, and at the 
command of the king, during the war of 1S12. 
he saved a regiment of (ierman soldiers by 
leading them to a place of concealment in a 
wood, while the French army was passing. 
His son. Otto Leiisehner. born in (ierniany, 
came to America in early manhood and was a 
pioneer chemist of Detroit, where for a num- 
ber of years he w.is proprietor of the Inter- 
n;ifional Drug Store. He was married in this 
country, in the '5()s, to ^Miss Caroline Hum- 
burg, whose father was a druggist of Uor- 
ham, (ierniany, and a man of intiuence in his 
city. He served as mayor and in other posi- 
tions of local prominence for forty years and 
died at the venerable a.ae of eighty-nine. 
Otto Leuschiier died in Detroit in IS.'iS. at 
the age of forty-six Ncars. I'lito him and his 
wife were born seven children. 

Panl Leuseliner, the fifth in order of birth. 
bi>gan his education in the public schools of 
(ierniany and lati'f went abroail with his 
mother and brother Kichard. the sons being 
]ilaceil in school in the fatherland. I'aul 
Leuschiier studied pharniac.x' and after his 
n'tlirii to America he became all apprentice 
in that line and was eveiifiially graduated 
from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 
with the class of 1SS7. Hi' then pursued a 
cdiirse in medicine and surgery in flic Miclii- 
tiaii College of ^Medicine and Surgery and 
when III- had won his degree entered upon 
pi'actice in Detroit, where he remained for a 
>i'ar. In ISHS he came to .Mount Clemens, 
where he has since eii.joyeil .-i lui-ral i\'e |>at ron- 
agi'. conliliiiig his atleiilioii 1o oITh'c ,'iiid liatli- 
iic.; pi'actice. 

Dr. Leuschiier is a iiieinbei' of I lie .Xorlli- 
ea stern .Medical Soeiet \ . Hi' is a 1 11. 'I II of linn. 



8o I'AS'I' AND I'l.'KSKXT <•!■' MACOMI! CdlNTV 

rcsdlutr clijiractiT. is raivlnl and paiiislakiiii:' once to iiiiiirovc ami cull i\ ate liis laiiil. lie 
III his |ii'acli(T and ciitrrlaiiis lii^li ideals, huriicd tlu- liiiilicr in order to -ii't rid of it, 
whilr his pror.'ssioiial srrvic.' inanii'ests strict for tiicri' was thru no inarkcf for wood. Thi- 

conl'oriiiily to a hiiili standard of llledi^■^d lirst fi'W yrai-s tin ly croi.s that lir i-oidd 

othics. liis office is s|.lciididly Miiiii)i)cd with raise were eorii ami potatoes, lie ln'lonj;ed 
all iiKxlerii deviees for the fuVtlieranee of the to that class of resolute froiiticrsiiieii, who 
laliors of the |)livsieian. lie is a man of line bravely faced the daiiiicrs and <lifficidties of 
ap|)earance. ami eoimiiamls the resjject and lite in the west in order tliat they iiiis^dit 
iMinlideiice of all. while his friends liohl him maUe homes for their families, and as the 
in warmest rcard. yeai's |)assed liy his labors were rewarded 

by a comfortable competence, lie married 
.Matilda Kirkham. also a native of the Km- 
pire state. 

]jeaiider 11. llerriman is indehte(l to tlie 



LK.WDKi; II. IIKI.'lil.MAN. 



licandcr II. Ilcniiiian, a i-epreseiitati\ e puljlic schools of Macomb county lor the 

farmer of .Macomb county, was born .luiie -f^, eilucatioiial i)rivile^es he enjoyed. When 

1S4(>, ill Chesterlield township. His i^rand- only ten years of ai;-e he bcfjan work in the 

father, .losepli I lerriman, was a native of lields and thus was unable to attend school 

W'w .)erse\ and came to this county ui 11S)51, tliroui;h the sumnu'r months, althou.uh he 

during' the pioiieei' e|iocli ill its development, continued his .studies in the winter seasons 

He purchased about four hundred a<'res of unt il nineteen years of age. He early became 

land in Chesterlield townshi|i from the '^i'\- ramiliar with farm work in all of its depart- 

ernmeiit and while eslablishinj:- his home here ments ami continued to assist his fatiier nn- 

and develoi)iny- a farm he experienced many til thirty-six yeai's of ai-e. when he reiite<l a 

hardships, beiuii' deprived of many of the farm for two years. .\t the same lime he 

conviMiiences and cinnforts to which he had pur<-hased a tract of limber land from which 

been acciislomed in his old I le in I he I'ast . he ciil the trees and then s<dd the wood. 

'I'll,, (.iitiiT trip westward had been made When he was t hirly-ei^ht years t)f ajiv he 
with a team of horses and sleijih and in was uiven his present farm and this has 
scmie ]ilac-es it was necessary to cut their way siiu'c been his home. Its splendid appear- 
throui^h the forests, the trees being so close anee indicates his <-areful supervisi(ui and 
Ihal Ihe sleigh coidd not pass between them. shows him to be a thrifty, energetic agricul- 
Oii reachin.i;" the Detroit river it was foiuid turist. who thoroughly umliM'stands the i)est 
that they would have to cross on ice, but it methods of earing for the lields. .\ll of the 
had not frozen solidl.\ enough and the horses biiildin-s and fences upon his |ilace are kept 
broke through and .Mr. Herriman and iiis in i;oo<l condilion and the farm presents a 
family had a narrow escape from drowning. very neat and thrifty appearance. .Mr. Iler- 
'I'hey'linally reached D.'troit and after mak- riman has made many improvements iu>re. 
ing "several Iriiis into the coinitry surround- !•'' rebuilt a large barn in l!H)-_', the follow- 
ing thai city, the grandfather linally pur- ing year erected a new resi(lene(> and he lias 
,-|iased a tra.M of land in t-hesterfield" town- >*'"<•'' remodeled the hoiis,'. making a very 
ship, four of his childri'ii remained with |>leasant hiniie. During the past ten years 
him to help clear and impi-ove the farm and he has given .•ousiderable attention to the 
iilHiii that properly he s|)eiil his remaining dairy business and his stock includes .s(uue 
<lavs, passinu' awav in ^S^\^^. thoroughbred .ler.sey cows. He sends all of 

."iohii Herriman. father of I, eaiidei' II. Ilcr- his iiiilk to the Chestertield creamery, of 

riman. was a native of New York, born in w'hicli he was one of the (u-gani/.ers and is 

180r>, near I'helps. ttntario cininl.w and he now a stockholder. 

was tweiily li\e yeai-s of a.L;e when, in is:!ll. .Mr. Herriman has been mari'ieil twici>. He 

he came to .Mac(mili coiint.\ , .Micliii^an, set- lirsl wedded l>'aiinie Wariiei'. a daughter of 

llin^;- in ( 'lu'sterlield township, lleri' he pur- Iveiibeii Warner, of New Y(U'k. the wedding 

chased eighty acres n( government land on taking place (ui November '20. ISti'J. 'I'liere 

the (Iraliot road, and in order to reach his were live children born of this marria.ije, but 

jarm he li,-id to ciil his wa,\ tliroii.nh dense only (uie is living- .ludson (1.. who was th(> 

underbrush, for the roails at Ihal time had .voungest and is still with his father. The de- 

nol been laid out to an.\ great extent and ceased are : Edna L., who mai'ried Ki'ed ])er- 

lliere was iiiueh hard work thai fell to the lot ring, of New lialtiinore. and died in .Vugiist. 

of the earh' settler. Mr, Herriman began at IS!)!); .lessie \'.. the wife n\' Monroi' l!lakele\-. 





iMKS. |(1ll\ Ill'.UKlMAN 



lOIIN lll'UKIMAN 




I(>Si:i'Il HEkRIMAN 





1.. 11 lll-.KKI\i.\N 



MKS 1, II lllJ-IklMAN 



PAST AND IMJKSFA'I' oK MACO.Mli (•(MXTV 



83 



of (.licslcrticlil tciwiisllip, her (lr;itll cH-cui'l'illi: 
November 2."). IS!).'); niul William and Allii'. 
Avho ilicd in infancy. The \vifi' ami iiiotlicr 
jiassed .-iway in April. ISSO. For his second 
wife .Mr. llcrriiiiau chose I'hoelie ( Ivoeei's ) 
Todd, a daiii:hter of Willi;nii and Ly<lia 
Rogers, of .\hiia. (iratiot comity. They were 
married (tetoher '-2, 1S84. There is one 
child by Mrs. llerrinian's former marriage — 
l^ydia Iconise, the wife of iUarshall Lefiirgey. 
a furniture dealer and undertaker of Mount 
.Mori'is. Michigan. Mrs. llerrinian's father 
was horn in Schoharie county, Xew York. 
September 1(>. IS'^d. and in 1849 removed to 
,\lina. (iratiot county. Mieliigan. where he 
ojiened a lihicksmith shoii. eonducting: that 
bu.siness until ISiil. lie then enlisted as a 
private of the Kightli .Michigan \'olunteer In- 
fantry. Tlie regiment was at once ordered to 
the front and after experiencing the usual 
hardships and rigors of war he was musteretl 
out with shattered health at the (dose of hos- 
tilities, lie then returned to his home in 
Alma, but not being able to follow his trade, 
he retired from active business life. While 
visiting his daughter. IMrs. Ilerrimaii. in 
l!)(i:?. he became ill and died on the 'J+tli of 
December of that yeai-. his remains being 
taken to Alma for burial. 

-Mr. Ilei-riman is a member of .Milton 
grange and his wife is lecturer therein. She 
has given every motherly care and attention 
to the children of her husband's first mar- 
riage, lie |)ossesses a genial disposition and 
kindly s|)irit that have gained him many 
friends among his neighbors and ac(iuainf- 
ances in .Macomb county. Ilei-e he has spent 
his entire life and is, therefore, largely fa- 
miliar with much of the history, develop- 
ment and progress here, lie has taken .iust 
pride in what has been accomplished and as 
an agriculturist he has borne his full iiart in 
the work of advancement and progress 
along this line. 



.101 1 \ MeCAFFKRTV 



Romeo has a large p(]pidatioii of retired 
men — men who for mans- years have been 
active and enterprisiim- in business alTairs. 
carefully manauing their interests until as a 
result of their close application, diligence 
and keen liusiness discernment, they ha\'e ac- 
ipiired a competi'nce that enables them to put 
aside further lalioi's. To this class lu'longs 
-Mr. McCafferty. who, for a iiniiilier of years 
w;is successfullx- i-iiL;aged in I'arniinL; and in 



stock-raising and shipping;. lie has always 
iieen a resident of .Macomb county, liis birth 
having oecui-red in Bruce township. October 
'20. 1838. lie represents one of the honored 
pioneiM- families here, his father. John .Mc- 
Catferly. Si'., lia\ing arrived in this counts' 
in lS2ti. when the work of progress and im- 
pi'ovement luid been s<-ai-cely begun. He 
took u|) a tract of land in the midst of the 
forest about two miles from Romeo. There 
wei'e no roads and onl,\' a trail leil the way 
to his place. The land was covered with the 
native forest trees but soon the sound of his 
ax awakened the echoes there and he con- 
tinued the work of cultivation until he 
had opened up a good fai'iii which was niade 
to bloom and blossom as the rose. He 
reared his famil.v uiion tliis farm and there 
carried on agricultural pursuits until his 
death, which occurred in 18(51. His wife died 
the year previous. In their famil.v were thi-ce 
sons and four daughters who reached adult 
age, while one sister and a brother of our 
sub.jeet are now living. 
* John ^IcCatferty. Jr., was reared on the 
old homestead farm and like the family ex- 
perienced many of the hai-<lships and diffi- 
culties incident to life on the frontier. He 
was educated in the home school and when 
not occuiiied \\\\h the duties of the school- 
room w(u-ked in the fields, assisting larg(My in 
the ])lowing, planting and harvesting. .M- 
though his educational privileges in youth 
were somewhat limited he lias become a well 
informed man as the years have ]iassed by. 
lie remained with his father until he had 
attained his ma.jority and then began working 
liy the month, being thus i-mployed for seven 
years, remaining with two ineii during that 
eiitii'c period. He sax'ed his earnings and 
purchased a tract of wild land, becoming the 
owner of forty acres which was covered witli 
timber. He cut down the ti'ees, grubbecl up 
the stum|)s and in course of time had rich 
fields where before stood the unbroken for- 
ests. Later, as his liiianci;d resources iii- 
cl-eased. he bought more land from tiiin' to 
time and eventually becami' the owner ol' one 
hundred and eighty acres. This he al'ter 
ward tr-aded for a farm of twn hundred and 
lifty-two acres on section (i. Ray township, 
east of Romeo. This was a well im|)r-oved 
aiul valuable property and .Mr. .McCalVerty 
paid six thousand dollars as the ditl'ereiice 
in 1 lie \allle of the Iwd pljlces. Thus he bi' 

came the ownei- of one of the best fariiis in 
all of Ray towTislii|) and in ciuinectioii with 
the tilliiiLi of the soil he engaged ill raising 



«4 



'AST AM) I'1;KSK\'I' ()!•• .MACOMI', CorN-'I'V 



and t'ectliiiy stdck. uiakiiiii' a specially (il' t'at- 
teiiiiiy laiiilis t'di- the iiiafket. usually feeding 
and fattening- about four hundred eaeli win- 
ter. He was active in his farraing and stock 
i-aising: interests until 1902, when he sold his 
farm and removed to Komeo. Here he is en- 
gaged in loaning money and in investing in 
farm and town jiroperty. He has also been 
a director of the Farmers ^Mutual Insurance 
Company for Hfteeti yeai'S and for twenty 
years he served as a director in llie .Vrma- 
da Agricultural Association. He Ikin ever 
been interested in those things which lend to 
promote the welfare of the agricultural class, 
that render their labors more effective and 
produce better results, and in all his work 
he is progressive as well as pi-actical and by 
his ready adoption of ni(id<iii methods his 
farm was made to yield a splendid financial 
I'eturn. 

Mr. .McCaffei'ty was married, in Aniuula. 
in l>Stil2, to Miss Louisa Hewlett, a native of 
.Macomb county, who was born and educated 
in .\rmada. They had no children of their 
own. but I'cai'eil and ednealed a iiii'ce, Miss 
Belle llewletl, who Was L;radna1ed from 
the liiDiicd liit;li school and died Septciiiber 
1-4, lllO:i. .Mr. .McCatterty lost his wife ni 
1904, her death oecui-ring on the 7th of April. 
of that year. IMr. and .Mi-s. .Mc( 'atVei-ty vis- 
ited her sister in San Fi-ancisco during 1873. 
.spending five weeks in California. .Mr. Me- 
Cafferty jiow has a niece, Lena Hewlett, with 
him. She acts as her inicle's housekei'iier ami 
is also a student in the Komeo schonls. 

In his political views ;\Ir. .McCaft'erty is a 
stanch democrat, but has never souizht or de- 
sired oflice. i)refei'riug to -concentrate his eu" 
ergies and attentiou upon his business affairs 
and other interests. In Masonry Ik^ has at 
tained till' lioyal .\rch detii-i'c and has served 
as captain of the chapt<'r for sevei'al terms. 
While not ii member of any chui-ch he usually 
attends the S(>i'vices of the Congregational 
chui-cli and contributes liberally to its sup- 
|iort. His history is that of a noble life ri-oiii 
the fact that his advancem<'nt has iieeii ac 
cpiii-ed entirely through his own labm-s. 

Though no land is i-icher in opurtunit ies 
oi- offers greater advantagi's to its citizens 
than Amei'ica. success is not to be obtained 
thl'ough desii'e. bpt must be persistently 
sought. In .\irierica ■■|ab<ii- is kim;." and the 
man who i-i'solutely sets to work to aeconi- 
jili^li a pui'po-i- is certain of suc<'ess if hi' has 
but the ipialities of persevei'aiice. \ni;ii-inu' 
energy and ])i'actical couuuon sense. Mr. 
]\rc('afl'ert\' is one whose career excites the 



admiration autl gains the ri'spect of all. for 
throuiih his diligence and jH-rsistent pui'pose 
lie has won a leading place in K'omeo. 



FEKDIXA.NI) AV, .MATZ. 

Ferdinand AV. .Mat/., who is tilliiii; the oftice 
of county treasurer, his pi-oniptness and fidel- 
ity in the discharge of his duties winning 
him commendation, was born in (iermany, 
November 1'."). 18.')7. and is a son of Ferdinand 
A. and iirnestine (Sucow) Matz. who were 
also natives of (iermany and after their mar- 
riage removed to Niagara county. New York, 
while in 187.") they became residents of Clin- 
ton townshi]!. in .Mai'omb county. .Michigan. 
Here the father purchased a tract of laud and 
carried on farming throughoul his remaining 
days. He passed away .March 9. 189S, at the 
advanced age of eighty-four yeai's, and his 
wife died November '28, 1878, at the age of 
sixty-one years. In theii- family were six 
children of whom three ai'e now lisiiig. name- 
ly: Augil.st, a resident of Sterling township: 
Charles, who is living in Clinton township: 
and Ferdinand AV. Those deceased are: Fretl. 
who died in South Dakota: .\ugusta, who 
died at the age of nine years; and Louise, 
who ]iassed away at the age of nineteen years. 

Ferdinand W. .Mat/, was a |iublic school 
student in (iermany until fourteen years of 
age and following tlu' emigration of the fam- 
ily to -Vinerica he si)ent two wint<'r seasons 
in the ]Hiblic schools of Niagara county. New 
A'ork. Later he was a student for two years 
ill Lewiston. Xew York, ami diirinu' the 
suinmer months he worked upon a farm. Jii 
1S7-') he came to -Michigan with his father, 
the family liomi' being established in Clinton 
township, and there he assisteil in general 
;igricultiiral pursuits until 1880. wIkmi he 
bouizht the farm of his father, lie slill owns 
the old homestead, which is splendidly im- 
proved in keepiiiL:' with modei-n mi'thods. 
There is ;i line residence n|>on the place, two 
large bams, other substantial outbuildings, 
excellent wells, the latest improved machin- 
ery, and in fact everytlliu'.;- needed to keep 
his farm in first class condition. l-'or si.x 
years hi' has been secretai'y of the (Icrman 
l-'armers l'"ire Insurance ('ompany of Ma- 
comb and Wayni' counties ami during llu> 
period of his iiicumbency the ca])ital stock 
was increasi'd from two million, li\-e hundred 



PAST AM) I'l.'MSKXT ol-' .M A( i ).\l I; I'orN'l'V 



85 



tlidiisand (Idllars tn IImtc inilliini. tlii'ci' liiiii- 
(lrc(l tlumsaiiil dollars. 

In public affairs he is dci'iily iiilrrrsliMl and 
is a well known advocati' (if n'inililicaii prin- 
fil)l('s. ddiui;' all iu his power to promote the 
•rrowtii and insure tiie success of ins ]>arty. 
He was cleclcd treasui'rr nl' Maconil) county 
on tiie rcpui)lican ticket in lllill! i)y a majority 
of three liuudrcd and sixly-five, and no iiii;h- 
or testimonial of his capahU; service, his 
promptness and reliability can be given than 
the fact that lie was re-elected in 1904, by a 
majority of thirteen hundred anil eighty-six. 
He belongs to the (lerman lj\itheran church 
of Mount Clemens and is interested in all 
that pertains to the nl^dcrial, |iolitical and 
moral progress of his connnunitv. 

On the lOth of March, 1880, .Mr. >\rat/. 
was uinted in marriage to Miss ^Finnie Bahl- 
nuin, a daughter of .lohn Hahhnau of Clinton 
township, ^Macomb county. Unto them have 
been born seven children. Those living are: 
Minnie E., the wife of Alfred RoUc. who re- 
sides on the old homestead farm and has one 
daughter — Loretta : Ottilie, Edgar J., Wil- 
liam, and ^lary, all at home, 'fhose deceased 
are: Helen, who dird .)anuai-\' 1-^. 1S!)2; and 
Ferdinand J. W., who died M:\y 2S, VMVl. at 
the age of seventeen years. Mi\ Matz has 
now made his homr in .Macomb county for 
thirty years and tluring this period has wit- 
nessed nuiny changes as consecutive progress 
has been made aloiio' lines of normal iin]irove- 
ment. 



AVlLLlAil V. KKACllT. 

William F. Kracht. who is tilling the posi- 
tion of city clerk and is also connected with 
the manufacture of the Ktaeht pianos, his in- 
ventive genius adding nnicii to the improve- 
ment of tiuit instiMuiieut, was i)orn in Detroit, 
.Michigan. August l^S, ISIili, and is a repre- 
sentative of one III' thi- (lid Taiiiilies of this 
state, his paternal grandl'athei-. Fr(>deriek 
Kracht, having located lieie at an early day. 
The father. John Kraciil, was a native of 
(jcrinany, but in early life came to flu! United 
Stiites and was here mai'i'ied to .Miss IMiiuiii' 
]5raridt, also a native of Cermany. His death 
occuri'cd in Mount Clemens when lie was 
si.\ty-four years of age. He had devoted his 
time and energies to farming during the early 
part of his business career. In his family 
were tlii'ee children. The maternal grand- 
father. Frederick Urandt. w,-is \n>v\\ iu (Jer- 



niany and following his emigi'ation to .\mer- 
ica became a resident of Koseville, .Macom!) 
county, .Michigan, whei-e he engaged in farm- 
ing. He died in ls71. at the age of sixty- 
eight years. 

William F. Kraeht pursued his education 
in the couunon .schools ami after juitting aside 
his text-books he li'jii'ued the trade of a cabi- 
net-nuiker and piano manufacturer. lie was 
employed in that way for seven years in De- 
troit, during which time he mastered the busi- 
ness in everv dejiart nieiit. In 18S4 he came 
to Blount Clemens, w liei-e he established a 
general mercantile store which he conducted 
with success until 1!)()2, when he was elected 
to the office of city clerk. He still has busi- 
ness interests here, however, having been one 
of the promoters of the Kracht Piano Com- 
pany, and lie now devotes the greater part 
of his leisure time to invention, having made 
a number of improvenu'uts upon the jdano 
and several new devices, which the nnisical 
world recognizes as valuable. He is greatly 
interested in his work along this line and 
possesses much mechanical skill and ability. 

In December, 1884, ^fr. Kracht was united 
ill marriage to i\Iiss Anna Brandt, a daughter 
of P^rederick Brandt and they have one child 
— Harry C. Politicalh- Mi-. Kracht is a re- 



publican and in lllOl' 



cted city clerk 



by a majority of three hundred aud thirty- 
four. That his .service was capable and most 
satisfactor\- to the public is indicated by the 
fact that he was re-elected in 1!l()4 by an in- 
creased majority, his vote being five hundred 
and ninety-eight in excess of his opponent's. 
Fratei-ually he is connected with ]\[ount Clem- 
ens lodge. No. (), A. F. & A. M.. and for si.x- 
teeii years he has been a member of the ^Fac- 
cabees. and for si.x yeai's was secretary of 
Lodge No. 16:i, K. 0. T. .M. He is alsocon- 
nected with the ^NFodei'ii Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, and the Arbeiter Society, in which he is 
now serving as arlieiter. He is i)o|)ular with 
the people, having the qu.dities of manhood 
which gain liini wai'in friendship and high 
regai-d and in business and |)olitical circles 
he has gained a ])romineut place in .Mi)unt 
Clemens and !\laeomii eonnlv. 



CHAKLES a:\fiet. :\i I i>i j'li;. 

Charles Amiel Miller, now living retired 
in Xew Baltimore, has for forty yciws made 
his hom<> in this county and has contributeil 
in substantial measure to the impi'ovement 
and u|)building (d' the city in which hi' 



I'AST AM) rU'l'lShlNT (»!•' MAC* i,\l I : CorXTV 



li\rs llii-onuli his iicliNilv in luisiiii'ss al' 
hill's ami ('II ii{ii'i'al Kin iii imlilii' nirasiirrs 
wl'ii'll lia\r I'di' Ihcir iili.jrrl llic wi'H'aiT 
1111(1 iirojii'css III' iIh> Icicalily. Kc was 
Ixii'ii in Maiini, (Irniiany, Ocldlicr l(i. ISIh, 
llt'iir olil l''iiil S| i-ausliiiri;-. a sun nl' h'l'ril 
crick ('. aiiil Lunisc iSiii/.ci'l Millcf, alsd 
unlives III' r.ailrn. Tlicy ranic In America in 
1S,")"J, si'IIIiiil; III 1 'liilaili'l|iliia, rciinsylvania, 
W'llcrc l''rcilcnck M illci- cniiilnclcil a meal mar 
kcl iiiilil Sc|)|cml)cr :{, ISIil, wlicn lie reimiNeil 
111 New Uallimnrc, Micliieaii, ami imreliaseil 
a meal markel IVnm .ijiiiics 1 1 al haw a,\ . 'Tins 
he eiimliieleil linlll ISSL'. when he i-elired 
Irnlll aelise Imsniess life, lie is slill a sliiek 
Imhier III I he New Hall iiiini-e ci'caiiicr\ aid 
alsii III Ihe \'ew liallimnre I'llcNjildl- ('nm 
|ianv ami he \ el nw ns Ins larm in ('licsler 
liehl liiwnshi|i, near New Hallimnre. lie was 
al line lime a memlier nl' Ihe eilv enilllcil. 
ami has heeii aclixe ami inlliieiilial in enm 
miliiilN alVairs. lie made Iwn Irips In Mn 
l'(i|)c, the lii'sl ill IS7S ami Ihe m'coihI in lSIi:i, 
visit iiie- his 1)1(1 hoiiic near l"\)rt St I'aiislmre' 
1111(1 also rcliilivcs livilii;' in Swilzcrlaiiil lie 
is slill a iiiilcll i'cs|icclcil citi/eii oj' New l>al 
timore. Ills w l I'e ilieil Ihere nl' pileiimnn la, 
.laiiiiar\ 111, ISH.i. Her I'al her. .laenli Siil/er. 
WHS a lalenteil miisieian, lie was ediieatcd al 
the I 'nivcrsily nl' I Icidcllicre, (ieniiaiiy, |iiii' 
siiiiii;' II course nl' civil ciieineeriiii;'. lie 
taiiejit school for a niimhcr of yciirs and in 
liis earlier lite he was a soldier iiiidcr .\a|iii 
leoii Kiina|iar|e. 

('harles Amiel Miller liCLiaii Ins ediiealinii 
in the |Mililie sehnnis nl' (ieniiaiiN and when 
seven \ears nl' aye caiiic With his [lareiils 
In Ihe I'niled States, colit iiiiiiiie- his edllca 
lion ill the |iulilic schools III' riiiladelphia un- 
til roiirlceii xcars of auc lie entered ii|iiiii 
his luisincss career as a clerk ill ii ii'rnccry 
slnre, where he remained fnr a W'ar. and in 
IStiL' he eiieaueil 111 the meal liilMiiess. whieh 
he fnllnwed in Ihe cast fnr Iwn years. lie 
cciiinved In New lialt iiiinre. M ichieaii. .Ian 
iiary S. ISlin. and here he ciieaeed in Ihe same 
line (if hiisiiicss in cnmiectinii with his fatlu'r 
until ISS'J. when he |inreliased his father's 
interest and was snie |irii|irielnr until ISIl'J, 
when he snld nlll and is iinw livine retired. 
lie |irns|)crcd in this iindertakiiiL;. as well as 
ill other lilies id' husiiiess activity In whieh 
tic directed his ctl'nrts. He is now a stock 
iioldcr ill the New Hallimorc ("rcaiiicr.x Com 
inili.x and 111 Ihe New liallimnre {'".levalnr 
CoiiHiaiiy, and in ISTS he went in Cnlnradn 
niid liltiho In iuvcslieate miiiine interests and 
iiiiikc investmeiils. 



Mr Miller's i'ellnw Inwiismell. reeneili/.iuti 
his wiirtli and aliilil.v. have frei|iieiilly called 

llim In pllhlic nl'liee. He was a lllelllhcr of 
Ihe eniiiieil n I' .New I'lallimnre fnr eleven Veal's 
and .jiistiee i<\' the peace fill' six yeiu's, licine- 
elected nil the demneralle liekel, his ])()litie«l 

alleeiaiiee havin.u' always hccii eivcii to that 
part.N. He is a charter iiieiiihcr of New lial- 
limnre Indec. I. (1 (1 !•' . and alsd ot" Now 
Uall iiiiorc tent. I\ , i >, T, .M . lie was liuMiico 
keeper ill the lalter 111 ISS:! and was iiislru- 
melllal 111 prnmnline l|i,. e|',,\\|l| nf Ihe lent 
iiiilil it IS iinw 111 thrivin.e; cnmlil inn. He is 
a dcMiteil and liel|>ful llicmlier nf Ihe New 
Ualtimnre ( 'onerceat ioiia I cliureh. 

Oil Ihe -Jlsl of April, IST'J, .Mr. .Miller was 
married In .Miss ('.'irnlinc Nclsnii, a daiiirlitcr 
nf Neals and ( ';il heriiie NeUnii, tif New Hal- 
limnre. Iinlli nf wlinm died in 1S!I|(. 'The chil- 
dren o\' .Mr. ,'iiid .Mrs, .Miller are: Clara; 
Krederiek K.. a memlier nf the .Maenmh cnuil- 
l.\ liar: •leiinie: \'nla. w lin died Oclollcp '24, 
ll'iM: (Instil, an assistant in the New Bnlti- 
mnie pnslnllice; and I'aiiline. al liniii(>. In 
lI'llO .Mr. Miller visited Cnlnradn. I'tali and 
New .Mexien fnr Ihe liclielil nl' his heallll and 
relni'iied lunch imprnxed In New Ualtimnre, 
where he and his l'aiilil,\ still reside. He is 
a man of sound .iu(l<:iiiciit . who h.-is won suc- 
cess and an hnnnralile ii.niie in his luisincss 
career. 



• II'DSON S f'.\i;K.\K\ 

'The name nf .liidsnn S. farrar li.iiluH'S 
prnmiiienl l,\ ill cnniieelinn with political, 
iiiililar.\ and husiiiess history of Mount Clem- 
ens, .ind his record in all these relations 
is one which aii.\ man iiiiuhl lie lu'oild \0 
possess, it lia\iiie lieeii elia racl eri/cd h,\' llll- 
swerxine loyalt.N. lidelit.x ,'ind eapahilil.x , He 
was liorii ill .Mount Ciciiiciis, Au.eiist L':{, 
ISIiti. Ills parents licini;' Mansoii and Siliol 
Karrar. He pursued his educalinii in the 
Mount Clemens district schools and the He- 
Irnit hieh sclionl. frnm which he was eradu- 
aled ill lS."i4 and fnr niie w iiiler leriii he en 
e'liecd in tcacliine- in a counlry school in 
SI Clair counl.v, .Michiejiu. When IwiMi- 
l\ one .\ears id' a^c he entere(l iiiercaiitiK' 
life as a llicmlier id' the linn of KalicocU iS: 
l'\'irrar. dcahM's in drims and uroccrics, of 
Mount Clciiicns, hut in ISlil he disposed (d' 
his interest in this slnre In \V. C. lli.u:li. He 
was led In this step l>.\ his desire to he free to 
enter the I'liioti aniix' and he served throimli- 




iiDsox s, i'',\i;i;.\i;. 



I'AST AM) PKESHXT OF MACOMl! CorXTV 



89 



out till' Civil Wiir. l)('('iiiiiiimM inrmln'i'of ('oiii- 
jiMiiy B. Fifth .Miclii^;iii N'oluntctT iiifaii- 
iiv. Ill' \\;is iinistcrccl into si'rvit-i' <iii llic 
lUtli III' -liiiH'. IStil, aiul was in eouimaiul of 
his coiriiiaiiy as captain ;it tlie siege of York- 
town and the battles of Willianishnrg. Seven 
Fines and Fair Oaks and during the sevei-e 
tigliting aroiuid Kiehniond. lie was in eoiri- 
niand id' his reuinient at .Malveni Iliil and 
Ilari'ison liandini; and in Se|)tend)er, 1<S()"J, 
was i>i-oniotetl to lieutenant colouel of the 
Twenty-sixth Jliehigau Volunteers and eolo- 
iiel in I)(>eeinl)er of the same year. He was 
in eonnnand of his i-euinient at the siege 
of Sutfolk. Vii'ginia. and was j)l;ieed in 
eoinniand of Terry's hi-igade during the 
movements suliseiiuent to the retiring <d' 
J^ingstreet from Suffolk in ;\Iay, 1863. lie 
was also in command of his i-egiment in 
Xew York eity during the great riots in 
July, 1863. He afterward rejoined the Army 
of the Potomac, assigned to the first brigade, 
first division, second army corps. He eom- 
numded his regiment during the eami)aign, 
including the moveuunit across the Rapidan, 
and at Mine Kiui. 

Colonel Farrar received honorable men- 
tion and recommendation for i)romotion in 
general (U'ders from ^Ma.ior Fairbanks and 
Generals Berry, Terry, Warren and Gen- 
eral Xelson A. .Miles. He was honorably 
discharged from service ilarch 29, 1864, on 
a surgeon's certificate of disability. He has 
always been interested in military affairs 
and during the years of 1891-2 he was adju- 
tant general, with the rank of brigadier gen- 
eral, of the state trooi)s of .Michigan. He 
has long maintained pleasant relations with 
Iiis old army comrades through his member- 
ship in II. U. Terry post. No. 216, G. A. E., 
at Mount Clemens, and the Loyal Legion. 

Following his i-eturn from the Civil war 
General Fai-rar was appointed in 1866 to 
the position of internal revenue collector for 
the fifth district of .Michigan by Fresident 
.Johnson. From 1867 until 1872 he traveled 
thi-ough Wyoming. Montana, Idaho and 
T'tah. being engaged in inining and mercan- 
tile \entures. In the year 1880 he \\as elect- 
ed register of deeds of Macomb coiuit>- and 
served for three consecutive terms, and 
served two terms as nia>'or of Blount Clem- 
ens, after which he was ai)pointed I'nited 
States con.sul, in 1887, to I'oi-t Sai-nia, On- 
tario, by President Cleveland, acting in thai 
capacity for four years. Since ISii.") h,. has 
been interested in the coal and wood busi- 
ness at Moinit Clemens and at the present 



wriliny. in IIM).'), is treasun-r of llie l.onsby 
Lunil)er iJc ( 'oal Comjiany. 

Oil till' nth of August, 18()4. in Geneva, 
.\ew York, (ieneral Fiii'i'ar was mari'ied to 
.Mi.ss Carrie Kldredge. a daughter of Kob- 
ert P. Kldi'cdgc, of .Mount Clemens. They 
had one son. H. .1. Farrar. who died Febru- 
ary 2:), 1!)()(). .\ daughtei-, Kate, is the wife 
of .lohn H. Snook, of .Mount Clemens, and 
two daughters — Belle and (ii'ace — are at 
home. Another member of their household 
is JMarion, a daughter of Robert J. and Cas- 
sie (Brehler) Farrar, both of whom are de- 
ceased. Oneral Farrar belongs to Blount 
Clemens lodge. No. ti. .\. F. & A. .M. He is 
a genci'ous-spirited. broad-minded man and 
a true type of the American sjiirit and an 
eiiibodiment of that pi'ogress which in the 
last few yeais has drawn to this country 
till' ailmiriiii;' uaze of the nations of the 
world. 



OLXKY CULVER. 



Olney Culver, who is engaged in the furni- 
ture and undertaking business of Richmond, 
was born in IMacoinb township, ;\Iacomb 
county. .Michigan, July 28. 1852. His father, 
David Culver, was born near Syracuse, New 
York, and was a son of Jonathan Culver, who 
died during the early boyhood of David Cul- 
ver. The latter came to ^Michigan at an early 
period in the development of this part of the 
.state, settling on section 2, Macomb township, 
where he transformed a tract of land into a 
valualile farming jiroperty. He was a public- 
spirited citizen and the general welfare was 
a matter of deep interest to him. He mar- 
ried Lydia Pendell, who was also born near 
Syracu.se, New York, and her death occurred 
in 1858. while he passed away in 1863. They 
were the parents of eight children, of whom 
Lorenzo, the third in order of birth, liecame 
a soldier of the Civil wai', serving with the 
Seventh ilichigan Infantry until honorably 
discharged on account of ill health. He after- 
ward joined the navy with which he was con- 
nected, for a year, lie made his home in 
.Mount Clemens, where he engaged in teaching 
school, and his death occurred in 1S72. 

Olney Culver, the youngest son of the fam- 
ily, spent his boyhood days on the home farm, 
working in the fields through the summer 
months while in the winter seasons lie attend- 
ed the public schools. AVhen nineteen years 
of age he s])en1 a yeai' in Hillsdale. Michigan, 
and afterward spent four years in .Muskegon, 



go 



'AST AM) 



;ksk.\t of .\iAro.\ii; c'()r,\TV 



-Mii'higaii. wluTe he clcrki'd in ;i dry-gooils 
store. He aftei'ward removed to Kichiiioiid 
and secured a elerksliip in the store of Cooper 
«ic Sou, wliile sul)se(iiiently lie si)eiit some time 
in the river towns in the service of different 
boats. In May. 1886, he came to Richmond 
and pnrcliaseii the furniture and undei'taking 
business of Tlionuis Dennison aiul luis sincf 
been identified witli mercantile j>ursuits of 
this city. He has a well e(|uii)ped store and 
has secured a liberal jjatronage. 

On the 4th of March. ISS:?. was eelebrated 
the marriage of Mi-. Culver and iliss Libliie 
(Jilbert. who w;is born in Memiihis. ilicliigan. 
where her father. Aivin (iilbert. conducted a 
hotel for many years. She represents an old 
and prominent family of this part of the state. 
Mr. and Mrs. Culver have one child, Ine/.. 
Mr. Culver has served as treasurer of the 
school board for the i)ast twelve years and 
has filled other village offices, takiiiL; active 
interest in affairs pertaining to pui)lic prog- 
ress, lie belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge 
and has several times tilled all its chairs, llr 
is practically a self-educated man and is well 
informed, keei)iim- in touch with the general 
ju'ogress of tlie times along all lines. His po- 
sition a.s a eiti/.en and business man is envi- 
able and he enjoys the warm regard of all 
with whom he has been associated. 



WILLIA.M K. COLE. 



William K. Cole, engaged in faiininu ami 
dairying in Harrison township, has an e.xcel- 
li'iit and very desirable farm ))roperty of one 
hundred and foi'ty acres, conveniently located 
within a mile and a half of the courthouse 
in Mount Clemens. Living in Mich'.gan since 
ISHS, he is thoroughly identified witli its in- 
terests and is a typical citizen of the middle 
west — enterprising and energetic lie was 
born in (ieiieva. New ^'(ll•k. .laiiuaiy S. 1S4."). 
His father. Kdward Cole, was a native of 
Kngland and when nine years of age went 
to sea and followed that life until eighteen 
years of age, visiting the leading seaport 
towns of the ol<l world. He came to the new 
world when a young man, settling first in 
the state of New York and, learning the trades 
of i)ainting and decorating, he followed those 
pursuits for a innnber of years. He was 
iiiai'iie(l at (o'lieva. New ^'ork. to .Miss ^Fary 
(iilbert, an English lady, born in the city o\' 
Ijondon, and he reared his family in the Em- 
pire state. Later he came west to Michie-an 
and spent his last years in Adrian. 



William K. Cole was reared in the state 
of his nativity and had good school advan- 
tages in early life. He learned the machin- 
ist's trade and afterward followed that pur- 
suit in eastern New York, but in 1868 came 
to Michigan, settling in Detroit, where lie es- 
tablished a shop and salesrooms, there engag- 
ing in the manufacture of guns. He built 
up a nice business, which he conducted for a 
nunibei- of years, and later he engaged in the 
manufactui'e of electrical goods — his beinir 
the first enter])rise of that chai-acter in the 
.state. He manufactured telephone appara- 
tus for the Bell Telephone Company for seven 
yeai's and then manufactuivd a similar line 
of goods for himself. He jjatented a switch- 
board, which was a very valuable adjunct to 
the telephone system, and is the largest of 
the kind in the United States, it being ii six 
thousand wire switchboard, built for tlie De- 
troit Telephone Company. .Mr. Cole has .se- 
cured a number ut jiatents upon valuable in- 
ventions in electrical a])paratus which he has 
pi'oduced. having taken out altogether si.xty 
|iatents. He manufactured and sold his own 
a])pai'atus. Among other useful devices 
which he jtatented was the cash carrier, iiseil 
in large stores to carry the currency to the 
cashier's desk. Mv. Cole remained an activt» 
business num of Detroit for thii-ty years and 
was largely identified with its industri;d de- 
velopment. 

In 189(i .Mr. Cole removed to .Mai'omb 
county, although he eontimuMl to carry on 
business in Detroit for two oi- three years 
longei-. AVlieii he came here he first \n\v- 
chased eighty acres of land, where he now 
resides, and began farming, and he has since 
purchased more land until he now owns one 
Imndred and forty acres. He has erected a 
brick residence, good barns and oiitbuikiings 
and has ]>lanted a large orchard with a fine 
variety of fruit. ]\Ir. Cole now devotes his 
attention to the management and improve- 
ment of his farm and his Detroit property 
and his |)lace in Harrison township is well 
impi'oved anil yii'Ids to him a good return 
for the care ami lai)or which he bestows 
upon it. 

Mr. Cole was mai'rii>d in Deti'oit. in May. 
l^Tii. to .Miss .losi'pliiiie K'ankin. who was 
bom in Lansing. .Michigan, but was reared 
in "Wisconsin and Detroit. Her father was 
E. 1'. Rankin, who for thirty years was a gov- 
ernment official in Washington, 1). C. ilr. 
and Mrs. Cole are the parents of four chil- 
di-en : l\ichai-d X.. who holds an important 
position i)i ^',•lzoo City. .Mississijipi : Imogene, 



I'AST AM) I'l.'KSKX'l' OF .MAl'OMI! (Oi XTV gi 

tlu' wife of Cluirk's Ahirtiii. ol' Dotroit : Sjiriih, short-lioi'ii ciittlc, -Irrsi'v lioi;s ;iml Ilaiiiiisliin' 

the wife of (ieoriiv ijcniu'l);ick('r. of .Mount slu'i']). He is ii sufccssfiil. tlioroimli fiiniicr 

('Iciiiciis : and Edward Iv, a yoiiiiL;' man at and .sto("k-rais(>r and an ('iiti'i-prisinii' l)iisiness 

lionic witli his inircnts. One dauLilitrr. Ijaura. man. lie owt-s his success entirely to liis own 

died when about four years ohl. efforts, for he started out in lil'e in limited 

Politically .Mr. Cole is a stanch repuhli- financial fireuni.stances. 

can and cast his first ballot for ( leueraM I rant I'nto ^Ir. and .Mrs. Smith have liecn lioi-n 

in l!S()8. since which time he has ne\i-r faileil eiuht children, namely: .lohii. who was horn 

to vote at a presidential election. Ili- has in KuLiland and was killed liy the kick of a 

lived for thirty-seven years in this part of hoi'se when a little lad of foui' years; Mar\- 

tlie state, where he is widely known, and his and Ethel at home: John, who is mari-ied and 

laboi's ha\e coiit ribute(l to its m;itei-ial (level- follo\v.s fariniiij;' near Paynesville, .Miehijian: 

opmeni while his influence has bi'en t;iven in Hen.iamin ()., a resident of I'ayiiesxille : Ivlitli. 

su|)poi-t of e\cry [irouressi\e measure for llie who is a student in «)aldand county. Michi- 

liViieraL siood. and to-day In- is I he champion .u'aii: Elizabeth, who died at the atic of two 

of whatevei' pi'onnses for future i;rowtli and years: and Ktlward. who died in infanc.w 

improvement. In his political views ;\lr. Smitli is a I'l'pub- 

lican and his sons are also identilied with that 

organization. He was elected and served as 

AVILLTA^I (' SMITll highway commissioner but lias iieviM- aspired 

to office, pi-eferrinir to uive his undivided at 

William C. Smith. li\iii'.i on section "2:!. tention to his business att'airs. He is now 

AVashinuton township, dates his ri'sidence in identified with the |)eople of ^Macondi county 

.Miehiuan from ISTH. He is a native of Eni;- in all its varied public interests and no native 

land, his birth haviiiu' occui-red in liincoln- .son of the state is more loyal to its welfare 

shire. .March Id, 1S4S. He was tlu'ic leared. and pro!Jres.s than 'Slv. Smitli. He has won 

receiving a fair Eiiglisli education and when and .justly merits the confidence and esteem 

thirteen years of age he leai-iied the di'ugt:isl of the coinmuiiity and in his life be (lis])lays 

business with which he was identihed for sev- (pialities which ar<' well worthy of emulation, 
eral years. He later was connected with his 
father in the same business for four years. 
While still a resident of England .Mi-. Smith 
was united in marriage in the citv of London. 



WILLIAM II. :\IILLKH. 



on the 4th of June, 1872, to Miss Cathei'ine William 11. .Miller, holding the |iosilion of 

Willson, who was born and reared in Lincoln- city treasurer, was born in Macomb tow ii- 

shire. They became the jiarents of four chii- ship. .Macomb county. .May 1."). 1870, his par- 

di-iMi while still I'esidents (d' England. Soon cuts being John I), and l'"rederika ( Kreder- 

after theii- marriage, howevei-. .Mr. and .Mrs. ick i .Miller, both of whom wei'c natives of 

Smith emigrated to the new world, settling in (Jermany, but were married in this count r.\'. 

Kansas, hut remained for oiil.\ nine mouths. The father was a carpenter hy 1 ra<le, but after 

after which they returned to the laud of their following that pursuit for .some years he 

nativity on account of tin' de;ith of .Mr. turned his attention to farming. His death 

Smith's father. Mr. Smith then remained in occurred when he was sixty-eight years of 

England in order to settle u|i the father's age and lie is still survived by his wife. In 

■ ■state and engaged in farming there to some thcii- family were eleven children. <if whom 

'Xteiit. In 1S71I he I'etiiriied with his family William II. w;is the fourth in order of birth, 

to the I'nited States, locating in Metamora, Those still li\iiig ai'e : .\iigiista, John, .\u- 

Lapeer I'oiinty, .Michigan, w here he worl<ed as gust, Williain II.. Charles and Julius, all in 

a farm hand by the moiitli for four or five Macomb county. F'wr died in inl'anc\-. 

yi'ars. He ;ifterward re \ed to ()akhind William II. .Milh'r attended a (iermau 

county, this state, whei'e he rentiMl a farm, school, but his advantages along that lini' were 
continuing its cultivation until 1S!I7. In the limited. He began farming in his youth iind 
si)ring of that year he came to .M.-icomb followed that juirsuit until twenty-one years 
county, settling on a farm where he now re- of age. He then entered a i;rocer\- store, 
sides and here he has since carried on agri- whiM-e ln> remained for five years, heinir em- 
cultural pursuits, operating a g I tract of ])loyed first as a delivery boy and afterwar-d 

land of one hundred and seventy-live acres. as a clerk. Later he purchased a saloon, 

lie also raises good grades of stock, including which he condiiclrd lor four vears. when he 



92 PAST AND I'KKSKXT < )F .MACOMl? CorXTV 

sold Dlit and was then i-inploN i'(l as a iiKitni- ;i.j. Wasliiiiytoii tiiwiiship. .Macumli i-i)Uiity. 

man for the Rapid Ti-ansit ("oinpany. Suli- lie then I'etiirned liome and in IS'SO brought 

seipiently lie piii-ehased his foi'iiier saloon at his family to .Michigan, arriving in Deti'oit 

Xos. .SO-S-J JIaeonil) street, and he is still eon- dii the Idth of May of that year. Soon after- 

dueting a sain|)le room, in ])ai'tnersliip with ward he began active work upon his farm. 

Henry l'etei-s, undi-r the firm style of Pet<'rs (•h()i>ping down the trees, clearing away the 

& ^liller. I)i-nsh and tilling lln' soil, and in course of 

In the spring; id' 11H)4 he was elected cit\' time thus oijcncd up a farm of two hundred 

trea.sui-er nf Mount Ch'iiicns on the' dcirm- and forty acres. 'I'lic old i)atent to the laud 

cratie ticket, receiving an excellent majoi-ity. was signeil by (Jeneral Jackson, then jiresi- 

Ile has long been one of the earnest workers dent of the I'nited States, and is in posses- 

for his ]iarty. ;ind his clfoi'ts have not Iicmmi sion of Darius Harris. Tiic father reared his 

without good icsult. family on the old homestead which he im- 

On the l^lst of .Jaiuiary. 18lt'i. .Mi'. .Miller pioved. and there spent his last years, his 

married .Miss Liz/ie Schoultz. a daughter of death occurring in 186-1. while his wife, who 

John Schoultz, of .Macomb townshii), and was born in 1792, passed away in 1872. 'Sir. 

their children are: (Iscar. Ebner, Esther. Harris was one of the first settlers in his 

Donald and Hilda. ^Ir. ^Miller has many locality, living there at a time when his 

friends, for he is a man of .social disposition nearest neighbors were irnles away and when 

and obliging nature and he is now nud<ing all was wild and undeveloped, but as the 

for himself a ci-editable record as a eify offi- years |)asseil he overcame the hai'dships and 

cial. diflic\dties of pioneer life and gained a i)lace 

among the sueeessful agriculturists of his 

adopted county. In his family were eight 

I ) \ I' 1 1 S IT M^T^TS eliildren — foui- sons and four daughters. w4io 

)-eaidied matui'e years, while two sons and 

After man\- years of active connection three daughters are \et living, the brother 

with agricnitui'al ])ursuits Darius Hai'ris is of our subject being Jonathan \V. llariis. a 

now living retired in Koiiieo. Jle was for- farmer of Shelby township, 

merly accountecl one of the tlir-ifty and ])ro- There was not much that wa.s luuisual in 

gressive farmers (d' .Macondi county and is the boyhood anil youth of Darius Hai'ris, 

a native son of this county, born December who worked as did most nf the faruiei- lails 

n. 183(1. His father. Jaeoli Harris, was of that period, while in the conunon schools 

lioi'u in ITster cijindy. New ^■ork, .Vpril 10, he acquired his education. He renuiined 

1791, and was a son of Henry Ihirri.s, like- u|)on the farm, assisting his father until the 

wise a native of the I'^nipii'c state and a latter"s death, and he aftei'ward purchased 

soldier id' the Kevolut ion;i ly war. \Vlien a Ihe interest of some of the other heirs and 

lad of fourteen years he eidisted in defense thus became ownei' of one hundred and 

of the cause of liberty and I'eiiiained with twenty acres of the old homestead. He eon- 

his comnumd until Hi'itisli snpreinaey in the tiiuu'd its cnltivati<ui for a lunnber of years 

coliuiies was ovei'throw n. ami then sold that jirojx'rty and bought and 

Jacob Harris was I'cared to manhood in removed to Macomb township, where he 

New York, wedding .Miss Kli/.abeth (tziah, cleared and madi' a farm, continuing gen- 

a mdive of New Ji'rsey and a daughtei' of er'al agricultural |)ursnits there for some 

.Vnlhony Oziah, who was also a soldier of .xears. His next move was to Disco, where 

the Kevolution and was a native of France, he lived t'oi' about eight years, and in 1892 

condng to this country with (ieneral Da lie took up his aliodi' where lie now resides. 

Fayette, under w liom hi' served dui'ing the He bought a tract id' fourteen acres here, 

war foi' independence, and when (Jenei'al adjoining the corporate limits of Honieo, and 

Jja Fayetle again came to this country fifty now lives I'ctired, nu'rely giving his atten- 

years later he visited .Mr. (•ziah. .Mr. Hai'- lion to his place, lie built a good barn and 

ris followed fai'ining in I'ister conidy, .New has a \'ei'y comfortable and attractive resi- 

York, clearing and cultivating two or three denee. Considerable lei.sure time is left to 

<lilfereid tracts of land there before he came him and his rest is certiiinly well merited, 

to .Miidiigan. Six (diildi'cii were born to .Mi'. Harris was married in .Macomb 

him Jind his wife in New ^'(U'k and two more county, February 19, 1892, to .Mrs. .Mary 

in Michigan. In lS2lt he eame to the west Ann Harris, a native of Fii'ie county, .New 

and iiui'idiased enxernirieiit land on section York, and a daughter of Simon and I''liza- 



\ 




DAixirs ii.\i;i;is. 




MRS. DAKllS ilAlU^lS 



I'AST AM) I'lv'KSIvX'l" ()!•' MACO.MI; COINT^- 



97 



lu'lli I Wi'iinci' I Lintz. icitivi's (if I'ciinsyl- 
vaiiiii. Ilcr t'nthiT \v;is Ikh-ii Kchniiiry 1."). 
1817. ;ni(l died .Mairli 121, 1887. hui Iut 
motlicr. wliosc birth ot'currt'd July 12, 1817, 
is still livinu- ami is a I'csidcnt of .Macomh 
(■(iunt\', ]<'r(iiii their iiati\r slate lliey I'c- 
juovcd to Ki'ic i'o\iiity. New 'I'ork, and caiii' 
to Michigan duriiii; the cliildiiood of .Mrs. 
Harris, she heiiiii' then a youiii;' ^irl of ahoiil 
oleven years. She was rcai'i'd in Macomii 
county and in cai-ly womanhood engaged in 
teaching at dift'erent times until her first 
marriage, when she became the wife of I)i-. 
Elijah X. Harris, an uncle of Darius Har- 
I'is. Followinji' his ileatb she ayain euyai^cd 
in teaching' for ten years. 

Politically Darius Harris has 1 ii a life- 
long rei)ul)lican. casting his first jiresitlen- 
tial ballot for John C. Fremont and voting 
for every nominee on the rei)ubliean ticket 
.since. He served as overseer of highways 
for sixteen years but otherwise has never 
been an office-seeker. .Mi-. Harris belou.as to 
the .Masonic fraternity a nil has served as 
deacon and is now treasurer of his lodge. 
lie became a .Mason in ilaeomb lodge and 
acted as its trea.siirer for ten years. He 
afterward demitted to Romeo lodge and for 
four years has taken care of its finances. In 
early life he greatly enjoyed hunting and 
killed many deer, turkeys and other wild 
game. He spent one season in estimating 
timber in the pineries. He is familiar with 
many pioneer experiences and what to many 
people are matters of history are known to 
him as an actual witness or participant in 
the occurrence. He tells many interesting 
tales of the early daj's in ]\Iacomb county 
and his mind bears the impress of the trans- 
formation that has occurred as it has merged 
from a wilderness and swamp and become 
one of the leading counties of this great 
commonwealth. He has done his full share 
in the woi'k of public progress, leadiui;- a 
blameless, honorable life, and thus his U|i- 

riuht character and worth liav( nniiended 

him to the confidence, good will and trust of 
all. 



JOHN F. W. KAXDT. 

John F. W. Kandt, who is engat;'ed in mer- 
chandising in Utica, was born March 31. 
1852, in Niagara county. New York, his j)ar- 
ents being Fred and Ricka (Schultz) Kandt. 
both of whom were natives of Ponierania, 
<'Icrnianv. The father canii' fo .\nierica about 



]S4(i. settling in Niaj;ara county. .\e\v York, 
where he followed tile coo|)er"s trade. In 
ISai he removed to ilichigan and took up his 
abode where he now lives in Macomb county, 
owning a farm of one himdred and seventy- 
three acres of \aliialile land. His wife died 
•Tune S. ISfl:^. In their family wcu'e eight 
ehildreii. as follows: lindolpli, deceased; 
John F. W. ; .fohaiines, who was a farmer 
and is now conducting a saloon in Mount 
('leineiis; Henry, wlio is engaged in the same 
line of business in .Mount Clemens; Julius, 
who lives on the canal roatl in Clinton town- 
ship, .Macomb county; Charley, who conducts 
.1 hotel ill Dearborn, Micliiiiaii : Daviil, who is 
a carpenter and joiner in .Mount Clemens; 
and .\iiiiel, who is livin<i on the lioiiu' place 
in .Macomb township. 

John F. W, Kandt pursued his education 
in the country schools and in the (ierman 
.school in this county, having been only two 
years of age when broiii;lit liy his parents to 
.Michigan. He left school at the age of four- 
teen years and afterward worked on the home 
farm until eighteen years of age, when he 
began carpentering, followins;' that trade un- 
til twenty-nine y'ears of age. He then estab- 
lished a saloon in Utica. wliich lie i-onducted 
for eighteen years and met with very good 
success in the busiiu'ss. accumulating thereby 
a comfortaltle competence. He afterward 
worked for three years at carpentering and 
later embarked in his present business, being 
now a leading merchant of Utica, carrying a 
well selected line of dry goods, groceries and 
ladies' furnishings. In this entei'prise he is 
ill j)artnershi]) with William F. Pump. They 
also sell farm machinery and other heavy 
machinery and .Mr. Kandt is the owner of 
the Kandt Block in Utica, which he built. 

In 1875 Mr. Kandt was married to ^liss 
.\ugusta Peters, a daughter of (lotlieb and 
Caroline Peters. Her father was a native 
of (iermaiiy and on coming to .Viiierica set- 
tli'd in .Mount Cleiiieiis. He was a mason and 
he also engaged in eondiiefiug a store at one 
time in Waldeiiburg. Kiilisting for service 
in the Civil war he participated in a number 
of important engagements aiul was taken 
pri.soner, being confined in .\ndersonville 
prison for eighteen mouths. He was in the 
army alfo.ii-ether for three yeai's and is now 
living in Blount Cl(>iiiens. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Kandt are the parents of 
nine children: Louise, who was horn No- 
viniber 12, 1877, is the wife of William F. 
I'uiiip and for six years jyrior to her marriage 
she engaged in tea<'liine; scliool : Fred W.. a 



98 



PAST AND I'RICSEXT OF MACOMB COrXTY 



iii-uluatc of the schools of Utiea. was l)oiii 
^laroh cS. 1880. and is now enijajivd in car- 
]>entei'ini;' in Detroit: .loluniie died in in- 
fane\': William, horn .May 1. 1883, was grad- 
uated in tile rtiea high sehool and clerks in 
his father's store; liosa A., who is also a 
graduate of the Utiea liigh school, is engaged 
in teaching' in this village : ]\Iahel. horn Aii- 
gnst 14. 1889. is a junior in the high school: 
Josephine, horn Decendier 21. 1890. is a nieiii- 
her of the sojjhoinoi'e class: Knth died when 
ten months old; and Kaymoiid. i)orn April Iti. 
1896, is a puhlie sehool student. 

^Ir. Kandt is a democrat in politics and 
for many years ha.s heeii highway commis- 
sionei-. while for ten years he served as alder- 
man in I'tica. He formerly belonged to the 
jjutheran church. In all his business deal- 
ings he has been strictl.v reliable and honor- 
able and it has been through liis close appli- 
cation and diligence that he has won the suc- 
cess that hr now enjoys. 



.TFLIUS PINGEL. 



•Julius Pingel. one of the proprietors of the 
Palace Livery of Jlount Clemens, was born 
in. Macoud) township, Maeoiid) county. An 
gust 11, 1859, his parents being John C. and 
P^lizabeth (Tessin) Pingel. who were natives 
of Gei'maiiy. The fathei-. who was a farmer 
by occupatidii, bec.ime a resident of ]\Iount 
ClenuMis. iliehigan. although after coming to 
America lie settled first near Niagara Falls. 
He was at that time twent.v years of age. 
After a lirief period, however, he removed 
to Macomli count.y, where he continued to re- 
side until his death, spending his last 
days in ilount Clemens, where he passed 
away in 1891. at the age of sixty-tive years, 
lie was the only mendier of his father's fam- 
ily til i-dinr 1(1 AaiiM-ica. Julius Pingvl of tliis 
review was one (if a family of twelve chil- 
dren and he had a twin sister. Lena, who is 
now the wife of Charles Noose, of Denver. 
Colorado. The others yet living are: Charles, 
who resides in Toledo. Ohio; John. Henry 
antl .Mlierl. (if .Mount Clemens; and Augusta. 
the wife lit' .Knensi Kcistinan. nf .Macomb 
townshi]>. Those tk-ceased are: Elizabeth, 
Tille and three who died in infane.v. 

Julius Pingel was a student in the (lennan 
school in his earl.v boyhood days and when 
fourteen years of age he began working in 
Oakraft's brickyard at Detroit. .Michigan, 
where he remained for tive years. He then 
engaged in fai'miny for six years and in 1884 



he came to .Mount Clemens, where he turned 
his attention to draying. being connected with 
his lirother John in tliis business for one 
year, lie afterward conducted a bus line 
for live years in connection with draying and 
on the ex])iration of that i)eriod he sold his 
interest to his brother and purchased an in- 
terest in the Paliice Livery, with Lodenick 
& Posner. Tlie>' established a barn which 
they eonducteil under the name of the Palace 
Livery Compan.v, Limiteil. Three years later 
the firm became Posner iSi Pingel. the .senior 
niembei- of the original firm retiring. Soon 
afterward a change in the ownei-ship made 
the til-ill name Nank & Pingel, the new part- 
ner being \V. F. Nank. The business was 
conducted uiKkr th(> name of the Palace Liv- 
ery and ill April. 1908. Frank Keichi'ath pur- 
chased an interest and is now i)art owner. 
This is the leading establishment of the kind 
in ilount Clemens. The.v have a large num- 
I)er of good horses and a fine line of carriages 
and other vehicles and the business, which is 
constautl.v increasing, has already reached 
extensive and profitable proportions. 

^Ir. Pingel was married, in 1884, to .Miss 
.\iinie Peiiiiaii. a daughter of John Beunaii 
of Macomb towiisliip. and their children are: 
Ivlitli. Louis, Walter, Nora, Clarence, John. 
Carl. Alfred and I\lasie. ]\Ir. Pingel is a 
man of generous impulses, devoted to his 
family, of which he has every reason to be 
proud. He alxo possesses good business (jual- 
ificiitions and has already won success, which 
is verv desirable. 



JOSEPH GRAFF. 



Joseph Graff is a self-made man. who is 
now engaged in farming and dairying on 
section Ki. Chesterfield township. He was 
born in Dell. Fi'ance, April o. 1847, his par- 
ents lieing .\nt(iine ami Kate (.Teller) Graft'. 
The father came to .\meriea in 1851 and at 
once made his way to New Baltimore. He 
|)urchased forty acres of iaiiil about a half 
mile from the town and immediately began 
to clear this, selling the timber in Detroit 
and shipping some of it from New Baltimore. 
.Misfortune, however, seemed to follow him 
in his endeavors to make for himself a name 
and home. He s]i(>nt his last cent in buyinu' 
his laml and when his eldest son deternuiied 
to purchase a boat he mortgaged the farm in 
order to pa.v for it and although he woi'ked 
hai'd he could not jiay otf the mortgage and 
lu consefjuence had to sell the farm. After 



PAST AND PRESKAT t)K .MACoMi; corXTV gy 

(lis|iiisini; 111' lliis pi-dpiTty lir had mily ouo <'ast. s<i that lir now lias lihoiI laiiilcMl possps- 

liiuulrcd tlollars Ipft. Willi this hi' hoiiLiht sioiis. llr was oiii- ol' the ortraiii/.tTs of ihr 

riiiht acres on the Tele,i;ra|)h road and tliere Chestiiliild Ci-eaniery and heeame one ol" its 

made liis lio;ne until his son .loseph iiuilt his Hi-st sto<'l<holdrrs. lie assi>ted in erecting' the 

pi-esent residence, when lie went to live with lirst luiildin'^- and when it was destroyed by 

jiini and there his renuiinini;' days were passed. lire, aiileil in rehuildinii-. 

.loseph (irati' pursued his edneation in the < hi llie !Mli of .\pril, lS7o, .Mr. (iratV was 
])ul)lie schools of .\ew Haltiniore, liavini;' come iiiari'uil to ('liristina Krnnn, a daiiLihter uV 
with his parents from France when four .lohn and .Mary ((ienerali Kruno, liolh na- 
years of aije. Like the others of the family tives of France, llei' parents came to .\iiier- 
he met many hardships in his earlier yeai's. ica in IS.")."), seltliiii; lirst at (ireenlield, 
lie siarteil out iti life on his own account Wayne count.w .Michiuan, liul after six weeks 
when lint eleven years of ag'c and i;reatly they reiiioxed to Chesterfield township. .Ma- 
assisted his father, who at that time was i^et- comb county, pui'chasin<i' a farm on I lie Tele- 
tint;' iilil. lie helped to clcai' the land and i;r;iiih road. fort\' acres of which was a part 
after the f;iriii was sold he assisted in making;' of the .Milton farm and forty acres of the 
the M'coiul home for his pai'cnts. H- then < Iranger farm. Their home was on tlu' latter 
bet:an to work in the mills in New H;dtimoi-e tract foi' about tAvo years and then the.v 
anil he tlionjiht he was fortunate in iicttini; sold and removed to .\nchorville. St. Clair 
forty cents per day for his laboi-s. lie h;id county, where .Mi-. Kruno bnui:hl another 
to walk two miles to his work and from thai forty aci'e tract of land. In iMil he eidist- 
meairre sum boarded himself, but beiiii; an in- I'd in the Foui-teeiith .Michiuan \'oliiute<'r In- 
dustrious, hard-workiui;' boy he made the fanti'y as a private. His rei;inient was lirst 
most of his ojiportunities and as the yeai's ordered to Vpsilanli. .Michijian. where it 
])assed met with success until at the end of camped foi- si.x months and was then sent to 
nine years he was a .joiner, ivceivini;' one dol- Kentucky. During- the ne.xt four yeai's ilr. 
lar and seventy-five cents per day. With his Kruno saw much hard sei-vi<-e and after bein^' 
saviniis he purchased a t'ort.v acre tract of musteretl mit at tlie close of the war he re- 
timber land on Sug'ar Bush road and after turned to his farm, which he soon afterwanl 
partially clearinii' this he sold out and bought sold and I'cmovcd to New Baltimore. Ilis 
eiulity aeres of his present farm on section wife died there April 2, 1870, and .Air. Ki'uno 
1(), Chesterfield township. Ilei'e he at once later removed to Indiana and subsequently 
cleai'ctl a piece of land to build a house, which lo St. Paul, ilinnesota, whei'c his death oc- 
he erected in 1871. He then i^ave his atten- cured .March 18, 187t). 

fion to eleariuL;- the remainder of his land Fnto .Mr. and Mrs. (Iratf were born nine 

for cultivation and lie cut the timber into children: .loseph .1.. born .lanuary 14, l.s7:^, 

logs and bolts which he sold in Xew Haltiniore is living' at home anil is a. large dealer in 

and .Mount Clemens and into cordwood which cattle and sheep: Victoria, born .Tanuary -'i, 

he sold at Salt Kiver. For the first few years, 187."), is the wife of Henry CuUen, a i)rosper- 

owing to the stumps in his land and the con- ous fai-mer living on Telegraph road, in Ches- 

dition of till' groiuid, he could only plant terfield townshij) : Kli -I., boiii . lanuary -iO. 

potatoes and corn, but after a number of 1S77. is assisting in the operation of the home 

years of liiird work lie has his farm in an c.k- fiii'iii : .Mary 1>.. born .May (i, 1S7;>. is li\ing 

celleut condition. He made an addition to in Cleveland, Ohio; Louise .M., born .March 

his home in 1875 and now has a vei-y com- 14, 1881, is with her sister in Cleveland; Kate 

fortable and pleasant I'csidence. His barns ('.. born .March 24, 188:5, and Xettie .M., born 

were built in 187)i and he has good farm ma- (ictober 7, 1887, are at home; and .losephine, 

chiuery to assist him in tic development of horn .liiiie (i. 18SI). is attending school in New 

his place, .\side from general farming he lialt iiiioie. They lost tlieii- seventh child — 

raises cattle and nsinill.x' has about twenty- I*' rank, who was born -Inly !), 188."), and died 

live or thirty-H\e head of milch cows, selling l^'ebriiary 12, 1SS7. 

his milk to till' ( 'hestertield Creamery. He .Mr. (iralV has served as a member of the 

also has about sixty head of sheep and at school board of district No. 4. He belongs to 

times as many as from one hundi'cd and fifty the Catholic .Mutual Hencvoleiil .\ssociation. 

to two hundred head. In 188") he purchased No. Ii7. Xew B.dfimore, and is a devoted 

another eighty acre tract of land from .lames member of SI. .Mary's Catholic clini'cli, wliile 

Hathaway, ad.joining his tai'iii on the wi'st, his wife anil daughters ai'e members of the 

and in lltll.'i he biiUL;ht foi-tx- acres a half mile \ouni; ladies' societx' of the ehui'ch. Mr. 



1>.\ST AND I'KKSKN'I' ol^' MACOMl! (•(^^X'|'^• 



Grail' t-ertMinly dcsci-ves <ir(';it ci-rdit lur wliat 
he has aeeoiii]ilislH'd. as lie started nut in lit\' 
einpty-haiuk'd aiul hiis liad to face dit^iculties 
and obstacles wliicli woiihl liave utterly dis- 
fotirafjed many a man of K'ss resolute spirit, 
hut he has worked jiersistently ami uutii-iuiily 
and is tn-day the owner of a \al\ialile farm 
propei'ty. 



.101 IX Ji. \vp:stexi)()wf. 

John 11. Westendorf is identified with va- 
ri()us business enter])rises of Mount Clemens. 
whereby the niatecial welfare and upbuikliny 
of the city has been promoti'd. lie is ;dso a 
factor in local ])olitieal circles ami his prom- 
inence in publii- life makes it imperative that 
he should be mentioned amon^- the represen- 
tative men of .Macomb cDunty. lie is a 
native of (lermany. l)orn .\])i'il 12. IS.")!. His 
father, Henry Westemlorf. was also a native 
of (iei'many, and on cdiiiin^' to ttie I'nited 
States with his family he located in .Macomb 
townshii), .Maciiiidi counts'. .Michigan, <in tin- 
4th of July. isr)4. lie is still living at the 
advanced age of eighty-one years. In the 
family were four children, nf whom John 
II. is the eldest. Only two arc n(nv living, 
his sistei' beiTig Sophia, the A\ife of (George 
(iei.s, of Clinton township. 

John 11. Westendoi'f began his education 
in the eoinitry schools in Macomb town- 
ship, and also attended the German public 
schools, and at the usual age he was con- 
firmed in the Waldenburg church. He re- 
mained ui)on his father's farm until f()\u-- 
teen years of age, when he entered upon his 
business cai'cer as clerk in a coimtry store, 
there spending two years. After coming tn 
Blount Clemens he began clerking, securing 
a ]iosition in the drug store of H. W. Bali- 
cock on the '-'I'd nl' .\pi-il, IStlS. He w,-is eni- 
])loyed in that wa\' until .March, 1SS4, when 
he ])Ui'chascd his employer's interest and has 
since continued the business. Othci- inter- 
ests, howevei', have claimed his time, 
energies and capabilities, for fi-om lS(i8 until 
1881 he was an oj)ei-ator for the Western 
Union Telegraph Coni])any. In the latter 
year he became manager of the .Michigan 
State Telephone Company, liaving charge nf 
the disti'ict covering .Macond) and part of 
St. Claii' counties. This ])osition he le- 
signed on the 1st of August, 11)03, in ortler 
to give his undivided attention to his busi- 
ne.ss interests. On the 1st of .\la.\. 1IM)4. he 
becairie manager f(U' the T'ostal 'I'l'legraiih 



('ompany. and this work he perfnrms in con- 
nection with the management of his store. 

In his ])olitical views Mr. Westendorf is a 
staindi dcmoci-at, believing firmly in the 
in-ineiples of the i)arty. He has served for 
three terms as cit.v treasurer, being elected 
the first time in 189(3. In April. 1!)04, he 
was chosen nuiyor of Mount Clemens, and 
he has also been city assessor for six years. 
As a i)ublic official he has made a close stud.v 
of the needs of the cit\- as well as the jiossi- 
bilities of the ofHce. and his el't'drts have 
|)roved of mai'ked benefit in promnting mate- 
rial i)rogress ami improvement here, lie is a 
UHMnber of ^loinit Clenu'us lodge. No. fi, F. & 
.\. M.. and attained the Knight Templai' de- 
ei'ce in Damascus connmiiulery at Detroit. He 
also holds membershii) relations with the 
.Maccabees and the Loyal l>egi(Mi and he is a 
mend)er of the Mount Clemens Club. He is 
a stockholder in the Clnnnber of Ct)nnnerce 
and is a meud)er of the Hunting and Fishing 
Club, at the mouth of Clinton I'iver. Fish- 
ing is his favorite ]iastime and he finds rest 
and recreation from the arduous duties of a 
business career in angling for the fiiniy tribe. 

On the Hdth (d' .March, 187(i. .Mr. Wcsten- 
dorf was married to Miss Luella .M. Bab- 
eoek, a daughter (if Dr. Ileni'S- K. Habcock 
of .Mould Clemens, and theii' children are: 
Ileni'v J.. llowai'(l AV., William C. and 
Donald K. .Mi', and .Mrs. Westenddrf have 
a wide eii-cle of ae(piaintaiiees in .Mount 
Clemens and the hospitality of many of the 
best homes of thi' city is freely accorded 
them. Hrinighl to .Vmci'iea in eai'ly boyhood 
da\'s. he has sjx'nt the greater part of his 
life in this county, and bei'c he has wcu'ked 
his way steadily upward, overcoming all 
difficulties and obstacles in his path, until 
he has now I'eaehed the phiiie of ;il'llnenee. 



IIAKin' LKK. 

llari-y Lee, now deceased, was born March 
1(), 182:5. His father was a native of High- 
gate, Canadii. He was pressed into the ser- 
vice at the time of the Fenian Kaid. He, 
therefol'e. fled from Canada and eanie to the 
rnite<l Stales when a .\(nuig man. settling at 
I'ort Huron. .Michigan. .Not long aflei'ward 
he removi'd to .Macondi county ami was here 
inari'ied to .Miss laiey Odle. a danghler of 
Jonas and Ovclia (Kellogg) Odle, both of 
whom were natives of \'erinont, tlu' father 
born .Vugust 30, 1804, and the mother in 
ISIIL'. Tica\ini;' Xew Fnuland Mi\ Odle cami- 




•loil.N II. WKSTKXDDIOA 



I'AST AND I'I;KSK.\T dF .MACO.Mi; ColNTV 103 

wcstwni'il to .Miclii>;:iu. TTp was a cai-pciitci' cuts l>('iii<;' I'ctcr ami .Matilda ( Hahaiil ) \'aii 

and wiirki'd at liis t rado i\: .Macoiiili colliitN' J)aiiiiiu'. Ixitli nt' wlnnu were natives iit' \M- 

I'lir a tiiiii'. whilr latfi- lir riMiinvrd In a I'ann iiiiiin. Tliry caiiic tn Aincrii-a in tiic year 

wlii'i-c Cliai'lrs Adair is imw livin;:. lie was 1834. locatinji' in Detroit, where I lie falliiT i'ol- 

in liirnted linaneial eireniiistaiiees ;ind in (ir- lowed the blaeksiintli's ti'ade Inr a nnndjer of 

del- to provide t'oi' ids l'ainil>' lie worked by years, lie died in ISS."). at the Jiire of lifty- 

the day. His lilV was one of niai'Ued indus- eiiiht yeai's. while his wife passed away in 

try antl enterprise and as the yi'ars |>assed he LSilii. at tiie aiie of sixty-eiiiht years. Sin- 

|)r()s|)ered in his undertakinys. .\ll his ehil- \\as reared in Franee. althouuh hoi-n in Hel- 

di-en were edneated in I'tii'a. 1 1 is wife was uinni. In theii" faniil.v were ele\i'n <'hildren, 

a ineinher of the .Methmlist ehnreh and an of whom Theopliilns was the lifth m order 

earnest Christian wnnian. In tlieir family of birth, but with tiie e.xeeptioii of two all 

were ten children, ihri f whom are yet liv- are deceased, the sister beinu' ]\riss I'lnnna 

ini;'. namely: Hyi-nii <lille. who was horn in Van Dannne. 

1S"_'4 and is a eoojier hy ti-ade. resitles in In the pnblie schools id' Deli'oit Theopliilns 

lja|)eer. Michiuan. .Mis. l.ee is the second. \ an Damme pursued his education and he 

Adeline is the wife of ('ad Holland. li\iiiL: entei'ed upon his business career as pi'opriet or 

in Victor. C'okirjido. of a cit;ar store. Init soon afterward .sold out. 

;\lr. and ilrs. Li'e bi'came the parents of lie next entered the eiii|il(>y n\' Lewis Van 

four children, but all died in infancy with Denter. a pipe-oruan maiinfaeturci- of Detroit, 

the exception of Jo.seph II.. who yet survives. and a N'ear hiti'r he bejiau woi'kiun' in the \'an 

lie married, but his wife has passed awa\'. Derjiool church fni'iiit lire factory, which about 

Their sou Harry mai'i-ied Anna Simpson and that time was established in Detroit. llaviiiL;- 

is the proprietor of a hotel in I'tii'a. .Mielii- occupied that jxisition for a year, he secured 

uaii. a position with William Wriyht & Company. 

For many years .Mr. Lee di'voted his eiier- of Detroit, whom he ivpresented as a wood 

uies to general farmiiiL:' and as the result of carver for one yeai", after which he iMitered 

his earnest labor and nnfalteriiiL;' diliii-eiice the service of Doiiald.son iV; .Meyer, archi- 

lie became the iio.ssessor of a uood property. teets. of Detroit. Hi' continued with them 

He was a iiieiiiber of the .Methodist Kpiscopal for four years and was afterward for a few 

ehnreh in whicli he took' an active and help- months with .lohii Scott &( 'ompany. lie then 

fill ])art. scrvinu' as one of its stewards for a came to .Mount ('leiiicns. where he I'litered the 

number of \ears. In |)olitics he was a re- em])loy of .\. .1. (libhs, with whom he re- 

linblican and was a stront: temperance man. mained until 18!)l2. in which year he bi".:an 

holdiiiL; membership with 1lii' Independent business for himself as an architect , llispro- 

()r<ler of (iood Tem])lars. His life was ever nounced skill and ability, his iiromincnt [)o- 

iipriiiht and lionoi-able and his intinence was sition in Imsiness circles and his uratifyini;' 

Liiveii ill sii|)port of whatever tended to U|)lift success are all indicated in the lart;c number 

his fellowmeii and advance the moral proi;- of ])laiis that he has made, iiiclndiiiL; plans 

ress of till' commuiiit,v. His remains wei-e in- for man.v of the leadiny- hotels of the cit,v, 

tei'red in the I'tica ccmeter.w He left his ineludini:' the Colonial, the I'arke and the 

faniil.v the priceless heritayi' id' an nntar- .Medea. He was also the architect of St. 

nislied iKime. for his entire career was in bar- Joseph Sanitarium, the Clementiin' I'.ath 

mon.v with hiiih. nianl,v principles. .Mrs. Lee House, the ()l,vm])ia Hath House, the hii;h 

still survives her husband and is lixiiii:' in a school, the ])iiblic librar,v and some of the 

comfortable little home in I'tica at the ai;-e finest business blocks in .Mount Clemens, I hesi- 

of seventy-eijilit years. Tlie.v were worth.\' i)io- standiiio- as monuments of his skill and enter- 

in'cr settlers of this count,\'. local iin:' here at |)rise. lie has also liei'ome a i'actor in the 

an earl.N' da.\' when iiiaii,\ ol' the condiliciiis industrial life of .Mount ('lemeiis ami is 

of I'l'oiitier lifi' wen- still to he fiiiiiid. eoniiecti'd with a number of important pro- 

iluctive industries. He was one of the incor- 
porators of the .Mount ( 'lemeiis Caski't Com- 

Tll L( >l'll 1 LI S \'\.\ DV.MMf pan,v. is the [jresideiit (>\' the .Mount Clemens 

Brick & Tile Compaii.v and the vice president 

Thcophilus N'aii Damme, an areliilecl (d' of the Mount Cle ns .\rtiticial ( 'eiiienl Stone 

Mount Clpniens. standiin^ at the head (d' his Coiuiian.v. 

profession in this city and eastern .Miclii'.;aii. On the l.'jtli o\' .March, lS!t(), occurred the 

was born in Detroit, .liiiie '-'(i. ISIiT. his par- marriauv of .Mr. \'an Damme and Mi.ss .Mar- 



104 



I'AST A\D i'KESENT (•]-' .MACU-Mli LUL-\TV 



<r;iret. Rosnagflc, a (lauj,'lit<'i- of Samuel and 
iMary Kosnaffle of Mount Clemens. Tliey now 
have one dauttliter, Helen, and they lost two 
ehildi-eii in infaney. 'Sir. and .Mrs. Van 
Diimnie are i)rominent socially, the hospi- 
tality of many of the best homes of the 
city being: freely accorded them. Ilis polit- 
ical alleg:iance is given to the demoeratic 
party, and he has served as alderman of 
the second ward of ;\lount Clemens. Fra- 
ternally, he is coinieetetl witii ]\Ionnt Clemens 
lodge No. li. .V. F, & A. .M.. of which he be- 
came a member in 1!KK), and lie also l)elongs to 
the Maccabees tent. He is a man of unusual 
ability in his line of work, not only under- 
standinii' the great mechanical principles 
which underlie liis ])i-of('ssi()n, but also giving 
evidence of much originality. IMany of the 
buildings erected in Jlount Clemens have been 
built after designs prepared by him. As a 
business man he is conspicuous among his 
a.ssociates, not only for his success, but for his 
prol)ity, fairness and honoralile methods. In 
everything lie has been eminently practical 
and this has been manifest not only in his 
business undertakings, but also in social and 
pi'ivate life. He possesses a genial manner 
and has gained that warm personal regard 
which arises from true nobility of character 
and deference for tlie opinion of others. 



HENRY 0. BERKV. M. 1). 

Dr. Henry G. Bei'r.\-, who in the practice 
of his profession has made a specialty of sui-- 
gery, and is now surgeon of the St. Joseph 
Sanitnriuni and of tiie liapid Street Railway 
C(iin])aiiy, at !Mouiit Clemens, was born in 
Haiiiilliin, Ontario. August 1-, lS(i4, his par- 
ents, lieiiig Francis and Ann (jjawsoii) Jierry, 
natives of Ireland and England respectively. 

Dr. Berry ]iursued liis education in the 
public schools in Die province of Ontario and 
in Ceorgetown .\cademy, at (!eorgetown, ( )n- 
tai-io, fi'om which institute he was graduated 
with th(,' class of 1882. The following year 
he began the study of medicine. lie attend- 
ed the Detroit College of .Medicine, being 
graduated therefi-om in the spring of 1886. 
Soon aftcM'ward he entcreil upon jiractice in 
Romeo, ^Michigan, wlieic lie remained for 
three years and tlu'ii sp<Mit the succeeding 
year abroad, luirsuiii^ post-graduate work. 
He returned to Romeo, wlieiv he ])i'acticed 
successfully until the spring of 190(1 when lie 
came to Mount Clemens. He is a member 
of the American Medical Societ\-, the Michi- 



gan .Medical Society and the .Macomb County 
.Medical Society. 

Dr. Berry was married Ai)ril 1.'). 181)2, to 
Miss Martha Taylor, a daughter of Adrian 
and Lucy (Ayers) Taylor, of Romeo, ^lichi- 
uan. Dr. Berry belongs to Mount Clemens 
lodge. No. 6, A. F'. & A. M. ; to Romeo com- 
mandery, K. T. : to the Foresters and Jlae- 
cabees. 



AISTI.X K. .MANX. 

.\ustin F. .Mann, a leailing photographer of 
.Mount Clemens, conducting a splendidly 
equipped gallery in which he does work of 
the highest order, was l)orn in Ottoville, On- 
tario, November 2. 18.")t). his ])arents being 
James and Amelia Teresa iSanogan) Mann. 
the former a native of Pennsylvania and the 
latter of Canada. The father was a carriage- 
maker by ti-ade, possessing excellent mechan- 
ical ability. Later he became a photographer 
of London, Ontario. His wife died when 
their son Austin F. w;is only five years of 
age. He was the tiftli in a family of seven 
children. 

In the public schools of London. Ontario, 
Austin F. .Mann pursued his education and 
he entered upon his business career as an 
employe of his father in the photogr-aph gal- 
lery. He began this work when seventeen 
years of age and has followed it coni inuously. 
He left his father's gallery, howevei-, in 1880, 
and went to St. Thomas, Ontario, wiiere he 
opened a gallei-y which he conducted with 
success for five years. On the expiration of 
that iieriod he removed to Detroit and was 
employed by leading [)hotographei's of that 
city, spending sixteen yeai's there, during 
which time he gained an excellent knowledge 
of the business in its various departments, 
both in jiriiiciple ;iikI detail. In .\ugust of 
ISIMI lie came to ]Mount Clemens and entered 
the emploN' of .\. C. XoV(>ss. whose business 
he i)urchase(l in liiol. He has since con- 
(lucte<l the same gallery and has gradually 
im|)roved it. He has inadi* a life study of 
high class photograjiliN . always keeping up 
with the iin'cntions and iinprovements in the 
;irt and also pi-oiiiot ing his I'tticiency through 
his own experiments as well as liy the adop- 
tion of methods instituted by others. On a 
[■(■cent visit to eastern galleries he gained 
iiian.v new ideas and there are shown in his 
studio the liigh(>st grades of work, including 
|)latinuin in various tones, platinos. collodion- 
{•arhous, ]ilat ino-cai'bons and scjiia tones of 



I'ASI' AM) I'WKSKNT Ol-' .MAt'O.Mi; t'OlNTV 



105 



vjirinus kinds as well as irsults that liavo l)i'eii 
ln'ou^ht out by liis own expcriiiu'iit iiiii'. lie 
has in liis stuilio two phot()i;i-a|ilis that attract 
wide-spivad attention and adniii'ation Iroiii 
those of artistie tastes, heinji; excellent imi- 
tations of old steel eni;i'avinf>'s. Mr. ]\Iann 
is a master in the art of retonehint;' and he 
not only nmlerstands his business thoroui;hiy 
from a ])raetieal and teehnieal standpoint 
hilt also ])()ssesses hijiii ai'tistie skill, so that 
he reeoiiiiizes the Vidne and effects of i)osin<,;'. 
and of liiilit ;ind shade. He is also an artist 
with the pencil and has doii<> irillch creditalile 
era.von wurk. 

On the iL'th of Aii';ust, ISMd, .Mr. Mann 
was marriecl to .Miss (ieoruiana Speuce. a 
daiigliter of DavitI Spenee, of London, On- 
tario, ami their children are: Blanch, the 
wife of Thomas Weltner, of Deti'oit, Earl A.; 
Myrtle 13.; and llax.el A. The son is associ- 
ated with his father in business. Mr. ,Mann 
is a membei- of the .Motlern Woodmen camp, 
also the Independent Order of Koi-estei's and 
the Kniuiits of l'vthi;is fmteniity. His close 
application to his work, and his disci'iminat- 
ing judgment, comliitied with natural talent, 
have gained him a j)osition of j)ronnnence as 
a photographer of eastern iliehigan. 



CAPTAl.V WILLIAM IJOLLS. 

Cajitain William Rolls, now deceased, was 
u sailor on the lakes for many years and 
commanded one of the vessels belonging to 
Alger, Smith & Company foi- more than two 
decades, lie was oni' of the eai'ly settlers of 
Michigan and was a native of ]\Iaine. his 
birth having there occui'red in 1837. lie left 
the Pine Tree state, however, when a youth 
of si.\ years, aci'om])anying his ])ai'ents in 
1843 to Charleston. South Carolina, whei'e 
the fathel' tlied dnriui; the childhood of his 
son. lie afterward came west with his mother 
and her famil\' to Michigan, theii' home be- 
ing established ne.ir Detroit. He Went upon 
the lakes when a lad of twelve oi- fourteen 
years and was thus engaued tuitil after the 
outbreak of the Civil war. when he enlisted in 
defense of the I'nion cause. Joininir the Fifth 
Michigan Cavalry in lS(;-_'. With that rej^i- 
ment he went south and served thronghont 
the war, particijiating in inan.v impoi'tant en- 
gagements, his ability on the field of battle 
winning him promotion from the raidv of lien- 
tenant to that of captain of Comi)any 1), and 
later he was brevetted major. He never fal- 
tered in the performance ol' any military duty. 



no matter how arduous, dangerous or difficuH, 
and 111' iM'turned home with a most ci'cditable 
record. He was with the same regiment as 
Algi'r, who was his intimate fi'ieiid, who 
served thi-ouglKuit his teini of eidistuicnl and 
then i-esigned on account of illness. 

Captain K'olls afterward sailed on a gov- 
ernment traiis|)(irt fi'om St. Louis to New 
()rleans for about two years. He then re- 
turned to Michigan and went n()on the lakes, 
becoming captain of one of Alger & Siinth's 
vessels, in which c;ipacity he served foi' over 
twent.v year's. Later he saik'd fi>i' one year 
for other parties. 

While in Detroit Captain Kolls became ac- 
((uainted with ]\liss Alice Snnth of that city 
and their friendship, which ri])ened into love, 
was consunuiiated in marriage in Ivomeo. De- 
cend>er '2-i. 1868. The lad.v was boT'ii neai' 
Uomeo and is a daughter of Reuben K. Smith, 
who is a native of Massachusetts and whose 
wife bore the maiden name of ^lelissa Can'. 
Her birth occurivd in Vermont. Mr. Smith 
removed to Michigan about 18"2.") and latei- 
settled in Hay township. .Macomb connt.v, 
whei-e he pni-chased govei'nment land which 
he at once l)egan to clear and get into culti- 
vable condition. There he opened up an ex- 
cellent farm on which he reared his family 
and spent his I'enuuning days. ;\lrs. Rolls 
was one of twelve children, ten of whom 
i-eached adult age. At the time of their mai'- 
riage Cajitain and ]\lrs. Rolls located in Ro- 
meo on the lot where the family now resides, 
lie also purchased a farm in Bruce township, 
which he rented, maintaining his home in 
Romeo up to the time of his death, which 
occurred ]March 26. litO'i. He was a mt'mber 
of the ^lasonie fraternity at Komeo and his 
life was in harmony with the beneficent arid 
hel])ful spirit <if the cr-aft. I'nto .Mr. and 
■Mrs. Rolls were boi-n thi'ee chihlren. -Ml are 
now deceased, the last survivor lieing Hllen, 
the wife of Robei-t .McKay, a ti'a\eling sales- 
man of Romeo, who represents the tii'm of 
Merrill & Company. She died Ai)ril 23, 190."). 
('lareiice H. died at the age of eleven months. 
William A., however, reached mature years 
and died in 11)02. when about thirty-two 
yeai's of age. Kor sonic years he was with 
his father as a sailoi' on the (li'cat Lakes. 
Both wei'c stanch republicans. t"iii)taiii Rolls 
was a devoted husband and father ami in the 
department of activity which he chose as a 
life woi'k he was known Tor his reliabilit.v 
and his carcrnlness, i-calizing fully the respon- 
sibility that devolved upon him in this con- 
nection. He won man\' I'l'icnds at the vari- 



io6 



I'AST AND I'KKSEXT UF .MACO.Mli CorXTV 



ons ])oi-ts iit wiiicli lie touclii'd nnd his stfcimtli 
lit' cluirat'tiT ;iii(l iiiniiy ^ooil i|Uiiliti('s sccurrd 
for liiiii till' ri'spcct of nil witli wiioiii iir was 
associated. .Since tlic tlcath of licr liiisl)aiid 
AFrs. Kolls lias ei-eeted a large, iiwit residence 
in Romeo. She is a member of the Coniireua- 
tioiial church, in which she takes a very help- 
ful part, assistinjr nuiterially in the various 
churcli activities. She also possesses yood 
business ability and in hei- well dirertnl ef- 
forts has uained success. 



II.\i;.Mo\ .\. WELI.S. 

In takinu u|i tin- personal histoi-y of Ilai-- 
luou A. Wells, who is now livinu' on section 
7, Shelby townshij). we pi'csent to our read- 
ers the life record of a pioneer citizen of 
Alacoml) county who enjoys in full measure 
the repard ami eslecm of those with whom 
he has bern hrmmlit in contact. Mi-. Wells 
was born in Steuben county. Xe\v York. 
Ai)ril 19, ISliT, his iiarenis liein.u- Sanniel i). 
'find Lydia (I'armeter) Wells. His jjaternal 
iii-andfather was livinj;' in the home of Sam- 
uel I),. Wells at the time when he was Icilleil 
at M sawmill b\' a Iol; rnllinu- upon him. lie 
was of Knjj:lish lineage. Samuel 1). Wells 
was born in Sai-atog-a county. Xew York, 
:\Iarch 24, 1785. anddied Aii-iust 12. 1888. 
He served liis country as a soldier in the 
war of 1812, and in 1828 he came 1o .Michi- 
gan, where he ])urchased two liiiiidi-eii and 
eijihty acres of land on sections (i and 7. 
Shelby township, 'riiere. in the inidsl of :i 
forest, he licLian the ilexrlopiiicnt III' a tariii. 
He married .Miss I'arnietei', wlio was l)iirii 
August 2, 178!l. in Oakham. Alassaehuselts. 
and was of Knulish lineage. Her father was 
a soldier of the Revobitionai'y war antl was 
held prisoner liy the Indians for some three 
.\ears. .Mr. Wells died Aii-ust 12, 1833, and 
his Avife passed away September 22, 1855. 
'Pliey wci-e the parents of tiftecn childi'en. 
of whom Harmon was the eleventh child and 
seventh son. The others are as follows: 
Poll.v Wells, burn in Onandauii township. 
Saratoga eoiinty, .\ew Ym'k. .June (i. 1807, 
was the witi' of William I'. Leiiuitt. and they 
resiilcil ill Michigan. Lydia, boi-n in Cohoc- 
ton townsi]i|). Steuben c(UUit.\'. .New York, 
.Voveiiiber (), 180!), mari-ied I'hilander Ewell. 
and they lived in Shelby township, one and 
a half miles east of the farm on which our 
subject resides. Nelson, burn in ( 'nlini-lon 
townshii), September 18, ISll, died in ls:il. 
William I'., who was born in the same local- 



ity, December 2!), 1813, marrie;! Evaline 
Kwell, and lived in Shelby township. .Ma- 
comb county. Isabelle. burn in Cohoeton 
townshij), January 2!), I8lt), became the wife 
of (ieorge W. Summers and I'csided in Shel- 
by township. Khoda, born in ("ohocton. Xew 
^'iirk, February 4, 1821, died in infancy, Pi-u- 
dence 1),, also born in Cohoeton, in Feliruary. 
1822, niai-i'ied Andi-ew Everett and lives in 
Shelby township, (ieoi'ge S,, born in ( 'ohoi-- 
tiin. .laiuniry 21, 1824, died in Lapeer coiui- 
ty, .Michiiian. Samuel D., born Septendier 20, 
1817, died in .lalajia. I\lexico. during the 
^Mexican war. Isaac Wells, born in Cohoe- 
ton, .July 5, l.SlD, married .lane Pi|)er and 
lived in Shelby township, Hiram, born in 
Cohoeton, October 14, 1825, w.is in the 
Eiiihth Miehijian Cavalry in the Civil war. 
He saw some active service and was captured 
in Stone's raid at Macon, (leorgia. He was 
then sent til .\ndersiinville prison and was 
tinall.v released because he was a line me- 
chanic anil his services could be used in the 
ei-ection of a tine house which was then be- 
iuix built. Richard, boi'ii in ( Ohocton. .Ma.v 
23. 18211. marrieil Lydia Le^-yitt and li\ed in 
Cleveland, Ohio. Jane Wells, born in Shelb.v 
township. .Macomb county. June Hi. 1831, 
mari-ied John .Xaramore and lived in .Mont- 
calm county, Alichiuan. Sydney .M., born in 
Shelliy township. Febriiai'y 2ti. 1S33, com- 
])letes the family. 

Harmiiii .V. Wells lieuaii his eilui-at imi in 
a country school that was held in a barn. 
'I'he next sehiiiil which he ••ittended was in 
a woodshed, and later he continued his 
studies in a loLf schoolhoiise which stood just 
south and across the i-oad from the ])resent 
school buildiny of this di-ilriet. The Web- 
ster speller was useil ill those ilass and meth- 
ods of instruction were (|uite ])rimi1ive. He 
bc^an farmiiiL; foi' himself in 1850 on his 
l)resent farm, where he has now lived for 
fifty-five years, a fact of which im nthei' resi- 
dent can boast. He purchased one liuiidr(>d 
and sixty acres of land on section 7 and has 
iii-eatly improved this ]n-opert.v, making it 
a splendid modern farm. He built a tine 
house, which was destro,\eil by lire, and has 
now been replaced by a residence that is 
moili'rn in fXfi-y part iculai'. He also has the 
linest bam in this part of the county and 
he has so manaiicd his jiroperty that it has 
retiirned him a \er.\' yrjitifyinj;' income. 

.Mr. Wells was married to Roxclana Can- 
non, a native of Day. New ^'lll■k, born May 
8. 1,S32, and a dailiihter of Isaiah and Susan 
(llax'deiii ('annoii. Seven children ha\e 1 ii 





MK. AND MRS. H. A. WELLS 



I'AST AM) IM^KSENT OK MACO.MI? COIXTV 109 

liorn iiiild thciii: .M.iiv A., tlir <'l(li'st, horn Nciirs. ;irriviir<i ;il New Vork in \S'y2. lie 

.Iniuuiry 28, liS.")!t. tlicil in ISdi!. Ki-anU I).. spent almnt llirw ywirs in tlic cast iuiil tlicncc 

who was ciiiicati'd in the ilistiicl schools iinii eanie to .Mielii<;iin. reacliinsr Detroit in 185"). 

is a uradnate of tile lii^h school of Yjisi- in the latter city he en-iaj^ed in hnsiness in a 

lanti. .Miehiiiiin. is also a Liraduatc of the lit- wholesales and i-etail tiroccry for sevci'al years 

eiary ilepartnient of the I'niversity of Miehi- and then came to Macoinh county, locatinir on 

yan of the class of ISSti. lie was foi-nicrly en- the (ii'atiot road near !Mount Cleniens. where 

i;aL;'ed in the ncwspapei' hnsiness. hut is now he en<;Me'e(l in farniini;'. He was niai'ried in 

eniployi'd as a writer for aurienltiiral papers. Detroit to .Miss I'lllen iicviard, who was horn 

Alice .M., horn Sei)teMil)er 1'). 18(i:!. is at in the city of Detroit in the street wliieh horc 

home. (leorjre S., horn Decenilier I'ti, 18(i(), her family name. She came of French lin- 

was a niecliaiiical eniiinccr, edncati'd at .\nn eajic .Mr. I lat/.enhnhler dii'd on his farm 

Arhor, .Michigan, and afterward was em- in ISIIO and his widow, now survivinu' him, 

|)loyed at the Hay ( 'ity Industriid Works un- resides in .Mount Clemens. In thi/ir family 

til his death. April ll». 1S!)7. Byron S., hoi'n were seven sons and two danehlers. 

.May L':i, 18t)H, attended school in Ttica and .loseph I laf/,<'nhuhlci-. the second in oi'der 

is a farmer, living- at Hrown City. Sanilac of hirth. was reared to niaidiood in Macomh 

<'onnty. .Michi,L;an. lie married Delia Hoh- c<iunty and pni'sui'd his cdncat ion in the pnh- 

ertoy. Kmma .M.. horn .M;iy I'd. 1S72. is the lie schools, lie I'cmaincd upon his father's 

wife of A. I\. Kuuyan. a farmer of Shelhy farm until twenty-two years of a^c and then 

township, l.ydia ^\.. \u>n\ -lannary II. 187(i. went to North Dakota, where he sjjcnt ii year 

is a yi-aduate <if the Uochestei- hit;h school. on a hiy- ranch. On the expii-atiou of tluit 

Ml-. Wells cast his first presidential vote |)eri()d he returned to .Michii;an. thinking;- this 

for (icnei'al Cass whili- in Iowa. He after- the hest state of all. and hei'e he purchased 

ward \'oted foi- I'ierce. lincliaiiaii and Douf;- oni' hundred aci'cs of land where he now i-e- 

las, hut sinci' that time has lieen a stanch side-;, at once lici;innin^' its cultix'ation and 

re|)uhlican. He has si'i-\'ed as highway com- iiiipi-o\-eiiieut. He I'leared it. sclliuy the lim- 

missioner and as drainage commissioner and her. ami as the land was [)i'eparcd for the 

dischare-ed his duties cai)al)ly and pi-omi)tly. |)low. he iiut in his ci'ops and in due course 

At one time lie was a mcmhei- of the Odd Fcl- of time securcil uood hai'xests. the income 

lows soeiet.v. ^Ir. Wells has now I'eached the which he dei-ived from his wood and timher 

seventy-ninth milestone on life's journey and paying' for the land. He has helped to cleai' 

(•an look hack ovei- the past without rps'i"'^t. four hundred acres of land and he has liuilt 

fiM' he lias led a useful, busy and active life a i^dod residence and two ti'ooil liariis upon 

in which he has never taken advantaee of the his farm. He has also fenced the place and 

nccessitii's of his fellowmen. hut has so lived planted an oi-chard and made the farm what 

as to merit their iini|iialitied esteem. it is to-da.v. It is in an excellent state of cul- 
tivation and impi'ovemeut, snpplieil with all 
modern eipiipmcnts, and in addition to the 
raisine' of cereals Mi-. Tlat/.cnhuhler has been 
successfully enii'a^'cd in raisiuii' and feediui;' 
stock for ten years, feedint;' cattle and stock 

,,,,,,,,,,, ,, 1 -rvi-\- 1 >T ■ 1 1 T iM> l"i' llic mai'ket. He also conducts a daii'V 

-M »> r, I 1 1 1 1 .\ 1 A !'.,.% !> I 1 1 1 7 Cv u . , , , , , , . , ; 

oiisiness. lie has ])urehascd sixty acres ail- 

lii this eiiliLihtened aL;e men of indiistr.v, .joinine- his oriuinal purchase and he also owns 

eiieri;y and merit are rapidly |)iisliinj; their a part of the old homestead, coniprisinL; two 

way to the front and those who hy their in- hundred acres of land, and he has made all 

divi<lu;d efforts have won fa\dr and feu-tune tlii'oiieh his own I'riiLialit \'. persex'crance and 

iiia>' pi'opcrly claim recoenition. Such a one indoiiiitahle eneiiiv. 

is .Mr. Ilat/.eiihuliler, who. carr\iny- on 'j:cn- ,Mr. llat/.euhiihler was married in .Moniil 

eral farmiii:; and stock-raisiiifi' in Harrison Clemens. April 2."), 1887, to Miss .Mary !'<•- 

township, has he me the owner of a well im- (|uiunot, a daii^^hter of Constant l'cipii<inot, a 

pro\'e(l and ilesiralilc property, coiiiprisinu native of France. The dauu'hlcr. howcvci-. 

one hundred and sixty ai'res. He was horn was ri>ared in .Macomh couiit.\'. There arc 

in this county .March :!1. lSf)2. and is a sou \'nn\- liviiii;- children hy this iiiarriaue: Ailell. 

of Jacoh Hat/enhnhler. whose hirtli occurred \vho is a student in the Catholic school of 

in (iermaliy in 18:{:{. an<l who c;ime to the .Mount Clemens: C.atlierine ; Kstclla ; and 

new world when a n'oiihl;' man of eiehfei'ii IIcIimi. Tliev also lost t wo chihlri'ii : I'.dward, 



PAST AM) I'HKSEXT OK .MACOMB COCXTV 



who was drowued November 27, 1903, at the 
aire of thirteen years: aiul ^Nlary. who died in 
infancy. 

Voting with the repuhliean party Mr. Hatz- 
enhuhlei- thus indicates his jiolitical prefei'- 
ence, having given his ballot for its pi-esiden- 
tial nominees since easting his first vote for 
Hen.jandn Harrison. He was elected and 
served as township treasurer for one year, 
has been school assessor for fourteen years 
and is yet filling that otifiee. and in 1903 he 
was elected and served for a year as super- 
visor, acting on a niniiber of important com- 
•mittees, while on the boai'd. lie has tjecn a 
mendier of the republican connnittee of Har- 
rison township and a delegate to the county 
conventions and is deeply interested in the 
growth and success of the party, taking a 
helpful pai"t in its local work. He and his 
wife wei'e i-eared in the Catholic faith, and 
arc mend)ei's of the church of ;\lount Clemens, 
and he is a member of the Knights of Colum- 
l)iis. He is a hard-working, industrious farm- 
ei- who believes it worth while to put forth 
greater effort in order to have things upon 
his place in better condition, and his farm 
to-day is the visible evidence of his life of 
untiring industry and capable management. 



HON. AKTHIR LE:WIS CANFIELD. 

.\i-tliur Lewis Canfield, deceased, .iudge of 
the si.xteenth circuit court of ^lichigan, was 
born at Mount Clemens, Jainiary 27, 1844, 
and was the youngest son of William and 
Anne (Clemens) Canfield. His father, born 
at Chester, Connecticut, in 1809, settled at 
Blount Clemens in 1830 and at first followed 
merchandising, while aftei-ward he engaged 
in farming. He figured prominently in pub- 
lic life as state senator, sheriff of Maeonib 
county, collector of internal revenue and 
iirigadier general of the state trooi)s. Thus 
nuiny honors were conferred niion him and 
his entire career retleeted credit upon the 
county and state which honored him. His 
wife was a daughter of the Hon. Christian 
Clemens, and a lady of culture and refine- 
ment, disting\iished for liei- |)urity of heart 
and life and foi- her exem])lary kindness and 
benevolence. 

On the pateriud side Judge Caidield was 
a descendant in the eighth generation of Ser- 
geant Thomas Canfield. of Mulford, Connect- 
icut, an ICnglish pui-itan. who settled in Con- 
necticut ;d)out 1839. Two of Ins gi-eat- 
gi-andfathers, Ca])tiiin Sanniel Caidield an<l 



ila.jor Nathan Peters, served in the Con- 
tinental army in the Revolutionary war. 
.Ma.jor Peters was likewise a prominent mem- 
ber of the .\'ew London (Connecticut I bar. 
On his mother's sitle .Judge Canfield belonged 
to the Clemens fannly which came from Ilol- 
lanil and had long I'esided in Germantowu 
and Philadelphia before the removal to 
.Michigan, All of his Canfield ancestors are 
of New Englantl faunlies of a decided Puri- 
tan type — men wlio lived on lands their fatli- 
ers had owned, and earned tiieir livelihood 
from stubborn soil, but saw to it that they 
gave their children the best educatioiud ad- 
vantages of tlie times and strove to 
hand on to them somewhat im{)roved the 
heritage they themselves had received. They 
were men who served the state honestly and 
faithfully in peace and war and who aliove 
all other things regarded their duty to (iod 
with the stern conscience of t)ld New Eng- 
land. On the other side, his Clemens an- 
cestry was a line devoted to mercantile pur- 
suits, dwellers in cities, and whose Dutch re- 
ligions temperament had become somewhat 
modified by the environment of urban life 
and business. His character .showed very 
clearly his two lines of descent. 

•Judge Canficdd was educated in the .Mount 
Clemens scho(ds and the Normal School at 
Yypsilanti, but his home training greatly in- 
fluenced his studies and tastes. His father 
was a man of fine training and high ideals, 
who found time, in addition to th(> care of 
a large farm and the <luties of ))ublic otifiee, 
for carefid and extensive I'cading and accu- 
rate ae(|uaiiitance with the affairs of the day. 
It was as nuich to his home surroundings 
as school that Judge Canfield owed the stu- 
dious habits and love of leai-ning whiidi char- 
a(derized his after life as well as his int(M'est 
in indilic matters and devotion to the priii- 
eiples of repidilican goverinneiit. .Vfter 
finishing his studies in the noi'mal scliool, 
Ihe Civil war being in progress, he wished 
til entei' till' army, but cii'cumstances ])re- 
veiiteil this and he took up the study of 
the law, being adndtted to th(> bar in 18(!(i. 
His studious habits contiiuied throughout 
life. He nevei- forgot his early training in 
the classics and always recalled with i>leas- 
iire favorite ])assa,ges from the connnentaries 
of Caesar. Virgil and Tacitus. He was a 
careful and diligent reader of the best Eng- 
lish and .Vmei'ican literature and was well 
ac(|uainted with Kreiicli and (icrman. lie 
had a fine ai)|H'eciation of ])oeti'y and the 
drama and the best scientific and philoso|)hi- 



I'AS', 



A \ I ) 



IvM:si:\'|' of macomb (•(•rxTv 



II I 



cal works of the period were f;uiiili;ir to liiiii. 
wliile he also gave iiiueh thouuht aud eoii- 
sideratioii to the questions whicli they sug- 
gested, iiartieularly to those touehiug npoii 
a futiu'e life. His private lihrary, while not 
large, was remarkably well selected and he 
loved most to he among his Ijoolvs with con- 
genial friends, discussing favorite authors or 
lila.ving a game of chess, in which he irrcatly 
delighted anil usually excelled. 

•ludge Canfield returned to .Mount Clemens 
to practice law aud lived for many years at 
his fathei-'s homestead on the farm outside 
of the cit.v. In later years he resided on 
•South (iratiot aveiuie. Clients were earl.v 
attracted to him and he always had as nnich 
business or more than he wanted. As a 
lawyer he was thorough a nil capable, a wise 
counselor and averse to litigation except 
when it was absolutel.v necessary; skillful in 
the trial of eases, and iuHexihle in guarding 
the interests confided to him. He was ex- 
tremel.v conscientious in all things. His work 
as a lawyer and .iudge was characterized by 
industi'ious investigation and patient study 
and he desired, above all things, to know the 
real merits of the case before him and the 
exact rules of law applicable thereto. He 
was deeply imbued with the principles of 
the common law and had a natural sense 
of .iustice and fair dealing together with an 
overwhelming contem|)t for the tricks and 
devices of greed and cliicanery. 

Judge Canfield was also identitied with 
the republican party and on political <pies- 
tions liis opinions were intelligent aud de- 
cided. He served at various times as circuit 
court commissioner, city attorney, circuit 
judge and memliei- of the state commission 
for the compilation of the laws. He was a 
inemher of various social and Masonic or- 
ganizations at MiMuit ('lemens, but did not 
pai-ticii)ate fretpicntl.v or actively in their 
functions, his disposition inclining him moi-e 
to the seclusion of his own home and the 
society of a few close friends. He was not 
allied with an.\' elnu'ch or religions organiza- 
tion, although he was a firm adherent of the 
principles of Clii-isI ianit.\- and thoroughl.\- 
observeil them in his dail.\' life. Ilis ei-eed 
was broadei' llian any clnii'eh anil he felt 
that his intellectual inde]ieM(lenee would lie 
lessened by subscribing to the doctrines of 
an.v (lenonnnation. 

•Judge Canfield was marrieil October ti. 
1880, to Miss Emma G. Dwyer, an adopted 
(huighter of Dr. A. W. and .Adeline (•Ten- 
nings) Hager, of New Sharon. Maine. She 



eame with her jidopted fathi'r to Mount 
Clemens in 1868 and she is a lady of refine- 
ment anil iMiltnre. whose inlluenee in social 
circles in .Mount Clemens has been marked. 
•Iniliie Canfield was a 1.\pe of his age anil 
generation — the generation of those born to 
the soil of the state. He united the i|uali- 
ties of his parents under the conditions at- 
tendant upon building up a new common- 
wealth a half century ago. There was in 
him a ))i'ide of intellectual worth, ;i con- 
tempt for- mei-ely material pi'osjierity, a vivid 
interest in new things and a strong attach- 
ment to those tiied and proven by j)ast ex- 
])erieiices. He was intensel.v jiatriotic. He 
believed in the national government, but saw 
no hope for it unless it was administered by 
the rei)ublican ])arty. His feelings engen- 
dered during the old anti-slavery days and 
the Civil war never entirely left him. With 
it all he was of a reileetive and sinnewhat 
retiring disposition — not aggressive in p\di- 
lishing his opinions, but seldom altering 
them. He was true to his family, faithful to 
his friends and devoted to the i-epnlilic and 
the state. 



LUTPIER PROCTER. 

Luther Procter, occupying a pleasant home 
on St. Clair street, in Komeo. is now living 
i-etired from active business cares, but was 
previously engaged in general fai-ming and 
yet owns three hinidred acres of land east 
of Romeo. He was born in the township of 
Armada, :May 10, 183U. His father, .lohn 
Procter, who was known as General Procter, 
was born in Cheshii'e county, .\ew Hamp- 
shire, .July 18, 1799, and was there reared 
upon a farm. He afterward i-emoved to the 
state of New York, where he was emjiloyed 
for seven years by a fii'ui in Monroe county. 
He then came west to .Michigan, thinking that 
he might have better business oppoi-tiinities 
in this state. Arriving in Macomb count.v 
about 1824. he purchased •iovei-nnient land 
east of Komeo in Armada townshii) and at 
once began to clear the fields, cut away the 
forest ti'ees and prepare the land for the 
jilow. He bought a farm of one hundred and 
sixt.v aiu'cs aiul later piirchased moi'e land, in 
coui'se of time develoi)ing an excellent fai'm, 
npou which he Iniilt good buildings anil made 
modern improvements. He was married in 
this county to ]\riss Sarah Freeman, a native 
of A'ei-mont, who in hi'i- girlhood days was 
brought 111 Micliiuan by her parents. Mr. and 



112 PAST AND I'KKSEXT i>F .MACOMli ('orNTV 

^Irs. Xewiiiaii Freciuiiii. .Mr. Procter reared ilieliii;;m, their iii;irriai;i' hciiiL; i-cli'lir:itr(l in 

his family upon tlir Ikhih' farm and there 188(). She is a dan^litn- df .liriili jind Ijoiiisa 

si)ent his remaiiiin':- thiys. Ids deatli oeeiii'- ( Bhiek ) Cai'dwell. and li.\- licr lonner niar- 

rin^Mn ISfiO. His wife survived him and died riat;-e had three ehildicn; .lirah A.. Imrn 

in ISti'J. In order of birth their ehihlren ( )etoher 29. IStiti. is now a teacher in .Xorth 

were as follows: .Matilda. Ixirn in l.S'JS. is Dakota. Cai'rie. boi-n l)eeeMd)er Ki, lSt)4. 

deceased: Jjiither is the ne.xt of the family: married John Edwards and resides iu St. 

Benjamin V.. lioi-n .lunr '24. 1S:^2, married Louis, ^lissouri. Hlaneh L.. liorn Aufrust '22. 

Sai'ah Barkliaiii and is deceased, while his 1878, completed a foiii' years' course at Olivet 

widow still lives (tn the old home farm : Susan Collefre, Eaton L'ounty, Michijran. and re- 

L., liorn in 18:5"), is the widow of Charles ceived the dejjree of blaster of Arts at Ann 

.leiome and i-esides in Komeo: John L.. liorn Arbor in lltOS. She is now |)rincipal of the 

ill iN.S!). lives with his sister Susan; (liM)ree hiiili school at Delra.v. near Detroit. 

W.. liorn in 1841, died at the at^i^ of twelve Politically Mr. Procter is a repuljlican, who 

years; Ellen E., born in 184-'i, is the widow has lieen unfaltering- in his su[>port of the 

of llar\ey .Melleii and also makes her home in parl.\' since easting: his first presidential vote 

Komeo. for John C. Preniont in 18ri(i. lie has never 

Luther Procter was reared to manhood asjiired to office, however, ])referring: that 
upon the old homestead ami is indebled to othi'rs shall occupy the otticial positions. In 
the i)nblic-school system of the couiit.\' for the sprini; of 19().i he removed from his farm 
the eilucational jirivileges he eii.jo.ved. He to Romeo and ])urchaseil a neat residence on 
was trained to farm work under the direction West St. Clair street. He has been a resident 
of his father, whom he assisted until he at- of the county for seventy-five years and has 
tained liis ma,iorit.\ . He was first married seen its development and "i-owth from pio- 
in lS(i(i to .Miss Harriet L. Sterling, a native neer times when the greater jiart of the coun- 
of .Macomb coiint.v, born April Ifi, 18l{ti. in t.v was wild and unimpi'oved. He has wit- 
Washington township, and a daughter of Cap- nessed the inti'oduction of the telegraiih and 
tain Azariah and .Mii'anda (Leach) St<'rling. telephone, the building of towns and villages 
Her father was one of the early settlers of ;nul the iindei'takiiig of many business enter- 
this eouiit.\' who came from New ^'ork to ])i'ises. In all that has been accomplished he 
Jlielligan. He won his title b.v service m tlie lias borne a public-spirited interest and has 
state militia of New York. Following his himself led an active and usel'iil life, being 
marriage Mr. Procter located on a farm, hav- one of the successful farmers and business 
ing eight.v acres of land which he began to men of this part of the state. He luis a genial, 
impi-ove. Latei- he purehasetl more land as kind heart and read.v hand and his sterling 
his Hnaiicial resources permitted ami he is worth has gained him the friendship and 
now the owner (d' a valuable tract of three regard of all with wlioiii he has been brought 
hundred ;ind ten acres. Here he has erec1e(l in contact, 
good buildings, has secured modern fai'in ma- 
chiiier,v to facilitati' the work of the fields, 

has ])lanted ;iii orchard and altogether has 1IF\P"S' S'I'I'l 'II l'"\S 
one id' the best iiiipi'oved farm properties in 

his part <d' the count.v. lie also maintains I lenry Stephens, liiianeiei' and Iniiiliermaii, 

a deei' park, aroiiiid which is a high wire whose name was long a force in industrial 

fence, and heic for a number ol' yeai-s he and commercial eii'cdes of Michigan ;md is 

has had several deei', now having six head. now found upon the state's roll of hon- 

.Mr. Procter lost his fii-st wife in 1884. ored dead, was a nati\(' of Dublin. Ireland. 

'I'liere was one .son b.v that marriage. Charles and was a son of Kobert L. Stephens, who 

S.. who was born March lM, 18(i7, and died brimght his famil.\' to the new world when 

March V.K l!l()4. at Silver City. New .Mexico, his s<iii Ilenr.X' was I'our yeai-s of age. The 

w liei-e he had gone with the hope 111' lienelit- famil.v home was established in ('aiiada and 

inu his hi-alth. lie was a young man ol' ex- the sou had the pi'ivileuc of atlellding 

emphiry habits and upright eharaeter. gr<'atly schools there for a few months but was prnc- 

estecini'd b.v all, and his death broiiulit an ticall.v self-educated, learning from each ex- 

almost unbearable loss to the father, who thus perience and steji which he made in life 

lost his onl.v child. v;ilnable lessons that wer<' turned to account 

For his second wil'e .Mi'. ProctiM- I'hose Mrs. as changing conditions in his business career 

.\nnetti' Kim; id' lmla.\' ('it.\', Lapeer cininlv. called forth a new line of action. When 




HEURY STEPHENS 



I'AST AM) IMv'KSHXT OF ^rACO.Ml! CorNTY 115 

scvi'iilcMMi yi'iii-s of ;it;i' lie i-Miiic to Ivonico. deeply and aclivdy intiTcstnl in tlic politi- 

wluTt' liis hi'dtlier owned a slope and not loiiu' cal issues alTeetiuj;' tile well'ai'e ol' tile eouii- 

afterward lie |)urehas<'d the store and en- tr.\'. lie was one of the early iiieiiihers and 

tered lipoii a business eareer as ereditalile or^'aiiizers of the Odd Fellows lodjie at 

as reniarkahle. It was marked by conseeu- Romeo ami as his linaneial lesourees iii- 

tive ])roiiress and he found in each transition ereaseil he became a ticnerous eontribiitor to 

stajie opportunity for further advancement. various ehurches and charities. 
Each step was carefully and deliberately 
made and lie seemed to have reached at every 

point of his career the utmost possibility of [,-.|. ^ \ ],; ^ H^'W \'I"KK 
accomplishment at tluit point. He early 

noted the oppoiiunity for invest ineiit in the Frank A. Bywater. the efticieiit and popu- 
lumber industry ami was amoiii:' the promo- lar postmaster at .Memphis. .Michi»;an, was 
ters of this line of work which became a born near this town. May :i. ISti.'). a son of 
chief source of revenue to the state. Pur- -lohn and ('arrie (Tiller) Bywater, the for- 
chasinj); land from time to time, his lumber iiier a native of Warwickshire ami the lattei 
interests reached very exten.sive and profit- of Hampshire. England. The jiaternal "rand- 
able proportions, and in the development of fathei-. John Bywater. was also a native of 
the business he dis|)layed an eiieruy and Warwickshire and came to America about 
foresiiilit seldom e(|ualled. lie was not 1>>-!<I. locatiiitr first in Ohio, whence he after- 
merely a follower but a leader in the on- ward I'emoved to Macomb county. .Michiiran. 
ward march of jiro.Lrress which has cliarac- settling near Kichmoiid. wlu're he remained 
terized business conditions and his name be- for a few years, lie then removed to .Meni- 
caiiie a power in commercial circles in the phis, where he spent his remaining da.vs, de- 
state, voting his attention in part to general farm- 

.Mi'. Stephens was married, Sciitcnibi'i- "_'(), ing and while in England he was a silk 

IS."):!, to Miss C'lariiida Leet. a daughter of weaver. When but a bov .lohn Bywater. Jr.. 

Dr. Albert Leet. one of the pioneer ph.vsi- began working on the .Mississijipi river, riiii- 

I'iaiis of Macomb count.v, who was boiii in ninu- rafts and doing otlu'i- service. In IS.")!) 

( 'oini<'<'ticut but in 1840 became a resident he made a trip overland to ("alifornia. acting 

of IJomi'o. where he remained untilhis deat h. as captain of an emigrant pai't.v going out 

His broad liumanitarian s])irit was maiii- to the goldfields. He made threi' trips ])rioi- 

festcci ill his practice. He was a man of line to his marriage and later hi' made a trip 

presence, of social ipialities that rendered for Butterfield & Patterson. sto<'kmen of 

him poitular and the possessor of tiaits of .Michigan. In addition to conveying a part.\ 

character that made him respected b,\- all of iMiiigrants across the ])lains at that time 

who knew him. Ur. Leet was married to he took a number of thoroughbred horses. 

Jliss Catherine Palen, a native of Palenliehl. cattle and sheep, having mor • less trouble 

(Jreene count.v. New York, who died in UMKI. with the Indians on this as well as on otlu'r 

Mr. and Mrs. Stephens became the pari'iii ^ trips. The red men 5ircatl,\ admired tlii' 

of two sons and a tlaughter: lli'iir.x' ,\., a thoronghbreil stock and tried linrd to get 

])roijiiiient business man of Detroit, who is them away from him. 

holding extensive c(niimercial interests; .\l- < )n his I'eturn Mr. B,vwater located a half 

leu L.. a resident of Detroit; and Catherine. mih' .south of Memphis, where his wife and 

who became the wife of Charles .Mcdverand (wo I'liildren weri' liviiiL;. and coiiliiined to 

died at Old ^Mission, in San .lose. California. cultivate and impro\i' thai farm until ISti."). 

in 18!)!l. when he bought one hundred and t wciit.v-tive 

Mr. Stephens passed awa.v at the same acres of land, two miles wi'st and a half mile 

plai-e. Febrmir.v 22. 188"). and his death was south of .Memphis. There he established hi-; 

tin casioii of deep regret in business cir- home, remaining in that localit.\' until 187(i. 

cles. where his labors had been of direct or iliirint; which time he improved the prop<'rt.\'. 

indirect beiiclit to liiindriMis; in social cir- Hi' then sold out and with his family went 

cles. where his for<-c of charactei-. attractive to San FraiK-isco. ( 'alifornia. and on to I'ort- 

pi'rsoii;ilit,\- and l<inill,\- I'onsideral ion for hind. ()reL;(m. but remained al that place only 

others hail made him popular; and in the a short time. He then removed to Salem. 

famil,\ circh-. where, as a devoted husband Oregon, and si.\ weeks later he litted out an 

and father, his best traits wei'c most fre- eiiiigr;inl wau'ou with which lu' traveled to 

cpiently seen. He was a stanch republican, Sacramento, ('alifornia. a distance of six 



ii6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ilACOMB COUNTY 



huiidivd miles, making' this trip because ol; 
liis wife's ill liealtli. She was beneiited by 
the ehauge of climate aud after two weeks 
spent in Sacramento he sold his team and 
returned by way of the Union Pacific rail- 
road. The Indians at that time were on the 
warpath. The Custer massacre occurred 
about that time and tlie Bywater family nar- 
rowly escaped being captui-ed by the red 
men. The fact that a train load of soldiers 
h;id just arrived, replaced the track which 
had been torn up by the Indians and drove 
the red men away, accounts for their safe 
journey. The report, however, reached Mich- 
igan that they had been murdered l).v the 
Indians. Traveling eastward to Leaven- 
woi'th, Kansas, the.v remained there for two 
weeks. ]\lr. Bywater searching for a favor- 
able location but not finding one, they con- 
tinued on their way to Michigan and greatly 
surprised their old friends who believed that 
they bad b(»en scalped. Mr. Bywater then 
purcliased a farm of eighty acres and moved 
west of ^lemphis and he was also forced to 
purchase again his former farm, for the man 
to whom he had sold it was unable to meet 
his obligations. The family, however, made 
their home on what was known as the Rigg 
farm, where they continued until 1895, when 
]\Ir. B.vwater retired from active agricultural 
pursuits and established his home in ^lem- 
phis. Tlie old desire for travel remained 
with him :iiid about 1S88 he made a trip to 
Seattle, with the intention of visiting the 
scenes of his early experiences on the Pacific 
coast, but after a short time his desire to see 
his family became so strong that he did not 
carry out his intentions with regard to his 
western visit. Diu'ing the last .vears of his 
life he lived in i-etirement from business 
cares and spent nnich of his time in travel, 
visiting many places of interest. His wife 
passed awa.v in 18!)(i and he died in 1900. at 
the age of eighty ycai's. 

Mr. and Mi-s. .John Bywater were the par- 
ents of seven childi'en : Julia is the wife of 
E. A. Bartlett, of ;\Ieni|)his: Alice is the wife 
of F. B. AVade, of .Memphis: Edith is the 
wife of C. D. Prichard, of Memphis; Frank 
A. is the next younger: Edwin L. resides in 
Detroit; .loini is deceased: Mabel is the wife 
of Stephen Dinsmore. of Capnc Michigan. 
John died at tlu' age of twenty-two years, 
being killed by a load of wood falling on him. 
He was a popular young man, having many 
friends who deejil.v regretted his death. 

Frank A. Bywater siient bis boyhood days 
on his father's farm ;iih1 inirrd liis cclu- 



catiou in the schools of Memphis. \Yhen 
seventeen years of age he engaged in the 
hardware business here, the father giving 
him his time. He was as.sociated with F. B. 
Wade under the firm name of Wade l^ Uy- 
water and this business was continued by 
them for eleven years with good success. 
They then sold out and ilr. Bywater engaged 
in farming on land pi-eviously belonging to 
George II. Stewart, one and a half miles south 
of Memphis. There he continued until 1904, 
meeting with fair success, when he was ap- 
pointed postmaster at ^Memphis and is now 
discharging the duties of that positit)n. being 
a ])oi)ular and etticient officer. 

On the 3d of Jaiuuiry. 1888. Frank A. 
Bywater married Nina M. Cole, of St. Clair 
county, a daughter of Daniel II. Cole, who 
for many years practiced medicine in Mem- 
phis and died in 1904. They have one daugh- 
ter, Celia. Mr. Bywater is a Mason and a 
Knight of the ^laccabees and he and his wife 
are popular young people, enjoying the 
friendship of many and the hospitality of 
the best homes of the town and sui-rounding 
district. 



TRANGOTT LUNGERSIIAUSEX. 

Trangott Lungershausen. of Mount Clem- 
ens, was born Jul.v 1, 1883, in Artei-n. I'rus- 
sia. aud when In' came to America lie was 
almost penniless. His life, therefore, is an- 
other proof of the opportunities and advan- 
tages which this coiuitry affords to yoimg 
men of energy, determination and ability, 
for he is to-da.v classed among the bankers 
of his adopted cit.v. He has. moreovei'. fig- 
urcil prominently in |)ublic affairs here and 
has been honored by his fellow-townsmen 
with official preferment. He is a son of Gott- 
werth and Caroline Liuigershausen. His 
father was engaged in the real estate and 
connnission business, and was a retired offi- 
cer of the i'russian arm.v. Tiu^ genealogical 
historv of the Lungershausen family has 
been traced back to the twelfth century and 
includes upon its pages the nanu's of many 
barons, counts, soldiers. minisliTs and states- 
men, 

Trangott Lungershausen was educated in 
tlu> juiblic schools of his native town, com- 
pleting his course by gradual ion in 1848. 
Soon afterwai'd lu' became ;i clerk in the 
lm|ieri;il Salt Woi'ks at .\i'tern. Prussia, and 
r-ciiKiined tliiTc I'di' tlii'ee yc;irs. when he be- 
cMiiie a clerk ill the cinuilv cmii-t at Sangers- 




TKAX(;UTT JANUKUhllAl SKN. 



PAST AND i'i;i:si;\'r oi-- macomi; ('oix'r\' 119 

hailsrii. I'l-ussiji. wlicrc lie spent one vcmi'. tlir (it'lic-i'. Iiciiil; di;! ii-iii;i n nl" llir Imaril ri'inii 
Ihiviiiv nttaiiu'tl the aae of niiH'tccii years 1!)()1 until lll(i:i. inclusive. His e(>ruH'eti')n 
lie tlien took passaijc on a sailing' vessel at willi |iul)lic affaii-s. however, has not entirely 
Hi-emen I'oi- New Vork. wliere he landed .Inly severed his eonneetion with business life 
13, 1852. alter a voyaire of eii;!it weeks. His here, for he is to-da.\' the viee-])resi(leiit of 
total po.ssessions at that time wiM-e his .Mount Clemens Savings liank, which he as- 
clothes and two ilollars and a hall' in irold. sisteil in orL;;iniy.iiiL; and of which he has 
hut soon after reachini;' the eastern nietrop- been a director I'or the past twenty years, 
olis lie spent his last cent in payiuii' railroad His i)olitical alle<;iance has always been 
fare to a small town about one hundi'ed j.;iven to the democratic party since he oh- 
miles from Xew York, where a railroad line tained his rij;ht of franchise in .\meriea. 
was being constructed, men beine' needed to The mai'riaji'e of Mr. and Mrs. Lnnticrs- 
work on the road. He tlnni^ht that he miyht hausen has been blessed with six children: 
.secure employment there, but when he Ida. who became t he wife of ( 'harles (_'. KIim'- 
reaehed his destination a strike was on and mei-. and died in ISSS; ('lara. at home: (Jus- 
he could get no work, so he walked i)ack to tave. an attendant of the I'ark liathhouse: 
Jersey C'it.v. There he pawned his pocket- Oscar ('.. an allorneyat-law of Mount Clem- 
book for fifteen cents in ordei' to |)ay the ens: Waldemai-. a physician ami surgeon of 
ferry passage across the I'ivei' to Xew Voi'k. this city; ;incl .Mum. who died in infanc\'. 
He remained in Xew York for three months. Oscar Charles was boiii in Clinton township. 
A man of his deternunation. pluck and per Macomb county. Fi-bruary 26, IHfi"). pursued 
.severance eoukl not long remain idle ami his education in the |iublic .schools of Blount 
he secured a clerkshij) in a grocery store. \t Cli'mens and took a law course in the I'ni- 
the end of that time he came to .Michigan and versity of ^lichigjin with the class of ISST. 
began work on a farm in Clinton township. He has since been a practitioner in Mount 
Macoiidi county. He afterward went to Clemens and in 1892 was elected ]ii'osecut- 
Sault Sainte Mai'ie. where he worked for ing attorne.v. For seven years he was city 
three months, assisting in buildini; the lirst attorney, while foi- foui- >'ears In- was city 
locks ill the government canal. He aftei-- eoui't commissionei'. He was oiu^ of the or- 
ward went to Detroit, where he learned the gani/.ers of the I'llrich Savings Haid<. of 
car|)enter's trade and in 18.')t) he again re- which he is a dil'ector, ;ind he is likewise a 
moved to the township of Cliiitmi. .Mai-omb direct(u- and (uie of the organizers of the 
county, .\bout this time he niai'ried Imuc- .Xew Haven Hank at .Xew Haven, and id' the 
lie Stechei't and became a farmer, cjiriwing .Macomb County Siivings Hank at Lenox. 
on agriiMiltnrjil pursuits until he took up his .Miidiigan. lie has been a mcmbi-r id' the 
abode in .Mount Clemens in 1S71. Here he .Masonic fraternity since 1887 and is an ;ic- 
embarked in the tloiir and feed business in five worker in the democratic party. The 
the building now known as Cass Hotel, in youngest son, Waldemar T. Luiigershaiiseti. 
the rear of the courthouse. After one and now a jiracticing jihysician and surgeon of 
a half years he .sold his store and became .Mount Clemens, was horn May 21. 1877. and 
a partner of John Rocker in a hardware eontiuued his public school education until 
business in the same building. A short time he was graduated from the high school with 
after they removed their stock to the store the class of 1888. He then entered the .Miclii- 
now occupied by F. 1'. rilrich on the west gan rniversity. pursued the medical and lit- 
side of Court street, and .Mr. Kockei- sold erary courses and later attended the I'niver- 
oiit to Charles Zange. while ,Mi-. Lungers- sity of Pennsylvania, rnnii which he was 
hanseii soon afterward .sold his interest to graduated in 181)7. This was followed bv 
.Martin I'ulcher. three years' study in the (lermaii I'liiversity, 
In the fall of 1,S7-1 .Mr. Lungershausen was where he i>ursueil a clinical eoni-se. and in 
a i-andidate for the oftice of register of deeds 1!'<'I' lie returned to his native i-itv and 

"" '''e de cratie ticket and was elected. He opened an office in .Mount Clemens. Here he 

w;is again chosen by public vote in lS7ti and lias eiijoye:! ;i liberal bathing pi'actice. Pro- 

1878. and he served as deputy I'cgister for fessionally lie is connei'tcd with the .Michi- 

tlie ensuing fourteen years. In 1SSl> h,. was gan State and .\iiierican .Medical Societies 

appointed liy the i-onniion ciMincil as super- and socially with the .M.-isonii- and Kniuhts 

visiM' of the second ward of .Mount Clemens 'd' Pythias frati'rnit ii 



les 
to till the vacancy caused by the icsienatioii Traiigott Lungersliausen has been 



1 val- 



of Louis (iroesbeck and he has sinei. Ii,.|i| ned member id' .Mimnt Clemens IoiImv, X 



I20 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



6, A. F. & A. .M.. since 1884, and he also 
belongs to Mount Clemens ehapter, R. A. 
M., the Rnights of the ^Maeeabees and to the 
Arbeiter Uuterstuetzungs Verein. of whii-h li'- 
was president for many years. 

While not an active member he attends 
the Evangelical Lutheran clnu-eh. The true 
measure of success is determined by what 
one has accomplished, and viewed in this 
light. Jlr. Lungershausen may well be called 
a most successful man. Almost penniless 
during the first few months of his residence 
in the new world, he has graduall.v advanced 
in the walks of life demanding close api)li- 
cation anti strong intellectuality. He has 
won for himself an enviable rejiutation. In 
his business dealings he is known for his 
prompt and honorable methods, while his 
official career as well as his business record 
has won him the deserved and unqualified 
confidence of his fellowmen. 



-MRS. .1. 11. BR ABB. 

Mrs. J. II. Brabl) is due nf the few remain- 
ing early settlers t)f Romeo. She can remem- 
ber when this thrifty little city was a 
cross-roads village, it being scarcely more 
than a hamlet when in her childhood days, 
in 1835, she accompanied her parents to 
Michigan. She is a native of the Empire 
state, having been born in Fulton county, 
New York, in 1824. Her father, ilarvel 
Shaw, was likewise born in New York, and 
was there reared to maidiood. He married 
Roxanna Kennedy, whose birth occui-red in 
Saratoga county, New York. They began 
their domestic life upon a farm there and for 
several years ^\v. Shaw continued to en- 
gage in tilling the soil in the east. During 
this i)eriod the family circle was increased 
by the addition of three sons and foui- 
daughters. In 1835 .Air. Shaw removed to 
the west, settling in .Mac(ind) county, Michi- 
gan, the primitive condition of which dis- 
trict is indicated by the fact that much of 
the land was still in jiossession of the govern- 
ment, so that it was entii'cly devoid of im- 
provements. Only here and thei-e were seen 
evidences of an advanced civilization. Mr. 
Shaw secured land from tiie goveriunent in 
Washington township, near Romeo, and 
having cut down the trees and cleared the 
ground, he fenced his farm and tilled his 
fields, making a good farm property as the 
years passed liy. Here he reared his family 
and his last days were spent in R-omeo. He 



was a successful farmer and financier, mak- 
ing judicious investments of his eai'uings in 
land and as the years passed he Ijccame the 
owner of large tracts of farm lanil. He was 
recognized as one of the typical and reliable 
business men of Macomb county, and his 
death, which occurred in 187(), was the occa- 
sion of deep and wiilespread regret. He had 
for two years survived his wife, who ]iassed 
away in 1874. 

Mrs. Brabb is the only surviving mendier 
of hei' father's family. Her uirlhood days 
were spent uiion the old homestead farm and 
she was educated in Romeo. I'nder her 
mother's direction she became familiar with 
the ditties of the household and was thus well 
equipped to care for a home of her own. In 
1844 she gave her hand in marriage to John 
H. Brabb, who was a native of Yorkshire. 
England, born in 1822. He came to the new 
world with his father when a lad of ten 
years and was reared and educated in ^la- 
conib county. Following their marriage the 
young couple located upon a farm in the 
township of Binice and Mr. Brabb there de- 
voted his energies to agricultural pursuits 
for a number of years. Subsequently he es- 
tablished his home in Ronu'o. where he en- 
gaged in dealing in grain ami loaning money. 
He possessed keen business discernment and 
excellent sagacity and was seldom, if ever, 
at fault in matters of business judgment. 
He became associated with the First National 
Bank soon after its organization and was its 
])resident until the time of ids death, A]ii'il 
23, 1894. In the bank he instituted a safe, 
conservative policy which won jjublic con- 
fidence and secured for the institution a high 
degree of success. His business methods 
were such as would always bear investiga- 
tion and scrutiny and his !)usiness i-ecord 
was creditable, winning him the umiualified 
confidence of the general j)ul>li<-. He never 
made engagements that he did not keei). nor 
incurred obligations that he did not meet, 
and thus his name became known as a syno- 
nym of coinmei'eiai intciirity ;ind i-esponsi- 
bility. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Hraiib were th<' parents of 
one son — .M. 1. Brabb. who was reared in 
Romeo from the age of nine years and pur- 
sued a course in the high school here. He 
afterward attended Eastman's National 
Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New 
York, aiul when he had comi)lete(l his studies 
at that institution he returned home ami be- 
iran clerking and bookkeeping. He afli'i'- 
wai';l l)ecame a <lirector in the First National 



PAS 



AM) I'KKSKXT OF .MACO.Mli COlNTV 



121 



liank and on the death of his father was 
eh^eted pfesident. This office he lias tilled 
euutiniiously until the present time, although 
the institution was reoi-ganized in yUiy. 1897, 
and has since been known as the Romeo 
Savings Bank. Under his direction this re- 
liable institution has become one of the most 
prosperous in the county. He enjoys an en- 
viable reputation in banking circles. It is 
true that he entered ujmiu a business already 
establislied, but in enlarging this he has dis- 
played executive force and keen discrimina- 
tion, which classes him with the I'ejiresenta- 
tive financiers of ^Macomb cDuiity. Romeo 
has also profited by encouragement and aid 
which he has given to many of her pultlic 
enterprises and he is enrolled among the 
valuable and representative men. lie is also 
president of the Burt & Brabb Lumber Com- 
pany, of Ford. Kentucky, a thrifty and prof- 
itable corporation. 

if. I. Bi'abb was married in Komeo to .Miss 
Louise S. Collins, a native of this county, 
born and reared in Romeo. They have one 
son — Roy C. who is now nuirried and resides 
ill Detroit, il. L Brabb reiimvcil with his 
family to Detroit in 1[H)'A, and is now living 
in that city. Early in life he united with the 
order of Masonry and is a member of the 
lodge, chapter, commandery. consistory ami 
shrine. 



.MICHAEL HETZEL CRIRSMAN. 

Deacon .Michael H. Crissman, a capitalist 
of Romeo and one of the honored pioneei 
settlers of the state, has resided in .Macomb 
county since, 1833. Thus tov seventy-two 
years he has witnessed the growth and i)rog- 
re.ss of this portion of the state and has an 
intimate knowledge of the events which have 
formed its history and established its policy, 
making it one of the leading counties of this 
great commonwealth. ]\Ir. Crissman was 
boruvat Blairstowu. in Warren county. .\ew 
Jersey, March 21. 1827, his parenls lieiiig 
Benjamin and Mary (Kern) Cri.ssman. His 
paternal grandfather, John CrLssman, was a 
native of Germany and after coming to Amer- 
ica served this country as a soldier of th(> war 
of the Revolution. lie was one of the pioneer 
residents of Blairstown, and it was there thai 
his son, Benjamin Crissman. was boi'ii in 
1788. Having arrived at years of maturity 
he was married in 1812 to .Miss Mary Kern. 
By trade he was a tailoi- and he cni-ried on 
business in Blairstown until aftei- the liiftli of 



all their children. In 1833 he arrived in 
.Michigan, purchasing a farm in Washington 
township, Macomb county, upon which was a 
little log cabin, while thirty acres of the land 
was cleared and improved. He worked at his 
trade for several years and also carried on 
the work of the farm and his labors proved 
effective in promoting general ])rosperity and 
upbuilding here. He died in .May, 18ti2. 
having for several years survived his wife, 
who passed away in 1803. In their family 
were seven children, all of whom reached 
adult age, but only two arc now living, the 
lu'other being Amos Crissman. nf Komeo. 

.Michael H. (Jrissman of this review spent 
his boyhood days in the usual manner of lads 
in a frontier settlement. He shared with the 
family in the hardships and trials of pioneer 
life and assisted in the arduous task of de- 
veloping a new farm. He knows what it is 
to cut timber in the forest, to plow new land 
and to harvest crops with the crude imple- 
ments which wer.e, then in use. He contin- 
ued to reside with' his father until his mar- 
riage, after which,, his father resided with 
him until his .death, . His educational privi- 
leges afforded by the district schools were 
supplemented by study in the O.xford Select 
School, at Oxford. .Michigan. 

He was married in Deekertown, Sussex 
county. New Jersey. November 13, 1855. to 
Mi.ss Margaret Kern, a native of Warren 
county, that state, and a daughter of Wil- 
liam Kern, who was also boin in New Jer- 
sey. Following thi'ii- iiiarriai;v .Mr. Criss- 
man returned with his bride to the home farm 
in ^lichigan and became the owner of this 
place, comprising two hundred and twenty 
;-cres, which he continued to cultivate and 
improve for a long jieriod. lie also bought 
more land adjoining that tract and later pur- 
chased several farms until he was the owner 
of three valual)lc farming pro|)erties. He 
continued to operate his farm until 1900, 
but in is;i() he tuok up his abode in Romeo, 
|)urchasini;- the place in which he now lives, 
lie has been a xcry sni'cessrnl I'ai-nier .-mil 
business ni.'in and aside I'roni aLiricnlt nrai 
interests lie has made considei'alile thi'ough 
loaning money. In this way he has aNo con- 
tributed to the iniprox cnient of the comity, 
tor he has loaned nionev where it has stimu- 
lated iinbisti'ies and enterprises of the county. 

In 19in Mr. ('rissman was called upon to 
mourn the lo<s of his wife, who dietl on the 
2nd of .Mai'cli nf Ih.it .\eai- and was laid to 
rest in the .Mnniit X'ernon cemetery. By this 
niarriaee there were born ten children, of 



122 I'AST AND PRESENT OF MACOMIi (OrXTV 

whiiiii liijic ;ii'c liviim. njiincly: \Villi;im Lc- ciis ami was cducatrd in tlic I'itv scIidhIs. In 

roy. a |>i-a<'ticini;- lawyci' of ('cilai' Rapids. early lifr he Irai-ncd thr printer's trndc. 

Jowa : Charles Elmer, wlm iiwns and operates Waltei- T. Lee. the lather of our suh.jeet. 

the old Crissiiiiin fai-iri ; .Miehael llueh. n is also a memliei' of the Lee Prilitini;' Com- 

hank'er of <)lin. Iowa; Irene ('.. the wife of i)Mny and was formerly pronnneiitly identified 

Eher Denuisoii. of Uoiiieo ; Mary ('.. the wife with .joiu-nalism in .Maeomli cininty. In lS(i(i. 

of Van W. Eaton, owner of an eh'\ator at in connection with Hon. Ede:ai' Weeks, he 

lioMieo; Ora ('.. the wife of Henry .Morton. I)ec^ulle owner and puhlisher of The .Monitor, 

of .Mti.skei;'"". Mii'hi<.!an : l.oretta ('., the wife which was a repnhlican p;iper. and in that 

of W. X. Sweney. count.v clerk at Bay enterprise he met with success. lie<'omine' sole 

('il,\'. .Michigan; Lama ('.. the wife of Freil pi-()|)i-ietor at t he end of a year. Suh.sei|uentl.\' 

A. Eckert. superintendent of tlie Xortliern he sold out to 1). .M. Cooper, who in tui'n 

Electrical Eni;in<'erine- Woi'ks. of Detroit. .sold to ^Ir. O'Hi'ien. and the latter was sue- 

MicliijiiUi; Alice ('., the wife of Lafayette A. eeeded li.\' -L E. Xellis iJi Son. who are still 

l^ates, of lioiiieo; and .Mai'eai'ct. who died at eonduetine- the paper, in ]S7'\ \V;dtei' T. Lee 

the a.e'e of foui'teeii ye.ars. .started the .Mount ('lemeiis True Id imI, 

I'oliticall.v ,Mi'. Ciissnjan has heen a life- wilich after a hrief existence w;is merecd in- 

lone- re])ul)lican ami he ca^t liis fii'st presi- to the ,Monnt Clemens Repuhlican, conducted 

deutial \'ote for Ijewis Ca^s, while his second by W. X. .Miller & Comi)an\- for a time, 
hallol was <;iv(»li to John C, Fremont, tii'st 
candidate of tlie repuhlican part.N, in Wash- 

in.i;ton township he served as Justice of the MRS .JOIIX' TvTFFFKI* 
peace hut has never Ix'eii a politician in the 

seu'-'c of office seekine. He is a meirdier of Mrs. .lolin Ivietfer, owner of the I'ai'k 

the Baptist church, in which he has servi'il Hotel, whose husiues.s dis<'ernment and ex- 

as deacon, aiul he is well known in his localit.\' ecutive ability have been manifest in Ihm- 

as Deacon Crissnian. For four \-ears he has .judicious investnu-nt in hotel ]iropert.\' in 

traveled (|uite extensively, i;'oilie' from the .Mount Clemens and other resorts to which 

.\tlantic to the I'acilic. visitinji: Mexico and the traveler, for specific i-easons, makes his 

the westei'n .states as well as loealities in the wa.v, is a native of (jerniaiiy. She bore the 

east. He has thus .uained a "'""l kuowledue maiden name of Mareretha Smith, and 

of his native counti'y. His business career after spendini;- the tii-st ten years of her 

has pi'oved that success is ambition's auswei' life in the fatherland, she came with her 

and it al.so indicates that ])ersistent, e.irnest ])arents to the rnited States, the family 

and honorable lahoi- constitutes the key that home beine- established in Hufl'alo. New 

\inlocks the portals of pr'osperity. He has as- York, whei'e she ixvew to wonuinhood. In 

sisted all his children in a Hnancial wa>' and IHoti she ^ave her hand in marriaee to John 

he has also been an adx'ocate of public-spirited Ki<'H'er, a native of Fran<-e, who was boi'u 

measui'es for the wclfai-e of liis community. in lSl!7. and was onl.v two yeai's old when 

llax'ine- lived in .Macomb coiuit.v for sevent.\'- his parents crosse;! the .Vtlantic. For man.v 

two years he is vei'v well known within its .\'ears Miv Kieffer was I'liuaecd in the liard- 

borders and his mind heai's the impi-ess of its ware business in Buffalo. Xew ^'ork. He 

development and upbnildinu' while he has ever was a man of rathei- retiriiiL; disposition, but 

taken .just pridi' in what has been accom- possesseil many slerliuLi traits of character, 

plished he|-e. .M I's. Kiet'fer came to .Mount ('liMiiens with 

her (hiiieliter in 1SS7. seekinu' the biMii'lit of 

the baths which wei'e .just then c(uiiinir into 

|)rominence because of the medicinal and 

TA L.M.\ I )( i L \ Ll'If; cui'ative ipialiti<'s of the water. Slu' recoe-- 

nized the splendid business oppoi'tunities 

Talmadee .\. Lee is a well known and pop- here att'orded and 1hi' briehl future in store 

ulai- business man of .Mount Clemens, beine [\,r Monnt Clemens, and she at once entered 

the pri'sent uiana.e-er of the Lee I'rintin-' npon an arranecmeiit [\u- the care of what 

Compan.v. with office at Xo. irj X<n'lh Walnut was then Ihe Central I'ai-k Hotel, a small 

.street. This pany was established in structure containine- leu rooms. .Not lonu 

1S!I4. and Iheir present modei'u and commo- al'tei'ward she purchased Ihe pro])erty and 

(lions print inti' house was built in 1S!)(;. .M ,•. thus laid the foundation for her present 

Li'c (d' thi-; I'cview was born in .Mount Clem- business interests, which have iD'own ami 



1 







^M^mdu 



^2> 



PAST A\i> n>'i;si:\T oi- macomi; corxTN' 



12-S 



ilc\ rl(i|iril. till' |irrsi-iil iiiji i;il i lici'iil si r'lic 
tiii'c. Ilic I'nrI; llod'l liciny tlic oiilcoinc nl" 
licr Ui'CM (lisci'i-iiiniMil iiiiil ('iitiTprisi'. 'I'liis 
line liiisti'li'v was cri'dcil at a cost ol' iinr 
liuii(li'('(l ami tliirty-t'iiilit tlinusaiid dollars, 
exclusive 111' ruiMiis|iiiii;s. Mi-s. KictVcr is a 
woman of rcmarUalilc capaliilit \ . readily 
recojrtuziiii;' and utilizing:' a lavoi-alile Imisi 
ness op|)ofliinity. ami she is now interested 
to the extent of hall' ownership in the lai'i;e 
hot.'l al Aikcn. South Carolina, called The 
Park ui the Tines, which was erected al a 
I'ost id' three hundred thousand dollars. 
There she spends the winter iiioiiths, while 
in the suninier season sih' has cliai'Lie n\' the 
,Mount ( 'lenieus 1 lolel. 

1!.\ her iiiarriaiic .Mrs. Kiell'er liecaiiie llie 
mother of I'oui- children, of whom two are 
now livinu': .Mrs. Julia ('. Mc.Vi't liiir. the 
widow ot' Ucn.ianiin l\. .Mc.\rtliuT'; and 
(Jeoriie KietVei'. Iler husliand died in .Mount 
Clemens and his I'einains w cr-e iiilerreil in 
the eemeter.\ here. 

Mi's. Kiell'er. throui;h her capaluht.x and 
luisiness eapacil.\. has cont nliuted lo the 
improvement of this cil\ ui a suhsianl i;il 
measui'c. and in the social cn-idcs of .Mount 
(lenieus she is well known. ha\inu' inaii.v 
I'ncnils here. 

l-'i;.\M\ 1. scii(M)\(i\f:i;. 

I*'rank 1. Sehoonover, who is serxiiej as 
township clerk and is also operatiiii;' his I'aiiii 
on section li, Slerliiii;' township, was horn .Ma.\ 
it, ISTit. his parciils hciui: Alfred and Lvdia 
• lane il,o\ci|i Sehoono\er. The father was 
the sou of ('yrns Seliooiioxcr who w.as one of 
the lirst settlers of Maeomli count.x. .\ll'|-cd 
Sehoonover made his home within one half 
mile of the faiiH ou which Frank I. Schoon 
over now I'csidcs and thci-c his mother li\eil 
and his wife is still occiipyini;' Ihal place. 
'I'his laud was taken up li.\ ( 'oloncl .lohii 
Wood, w ho ser\ I'd UI I he war of ISlLl and w ho 
-I'lllcd ou section S. Slerliuc lownsliip. and 
there .\lfred Schoono\i'i- developed and nil 
prmed a farm which he culti\aleil for a niim 
her ol' .\ears and upon which his widow still 
resides. In their faiiiilv wi'rc llii-cc sons and 
a daughter, naiiiel\ : Crank 1.; Lima, who 
married Jesse KiuL: and with their one child 
resides in Sterlinii township; Carl K.. who is 
iiviiiir with his mothei-: and Clyde, who is 
employed in the Kalama/.oo Carriace l-^ictory 
in Kalama/.oo. .Michiuau. 

Frank I. Sehoono\er liaxiiiL; mastered the 
hraiiehes ol' IcarniiiL: taiivht in the distrid 



schools afterward eiilered the hiLih school at 
I'tica where he was •iradlialed with the class 
of ISli,^. He liei;an fanniuLion his mother's 
place and has always carried on atirieiiltnral 
pursuits. lie now has eii^hty acres of cond 
and well uiiproxed laud, carryiiiy on 'jeiieral 
farming and dairyiuL;. lie makes a specially 
of the raisiii,i;- id" siij;ar heels. \Wiicli he linds 
is a prolilalile industry, lie keeps on hand 
a larL;e nniulier of cows of a i;ood lirade for 
dairy purposes and he is a director iii the 
1 tica ('reamer.\ ('oiiipany which has lieeii iii 
c\isleuce for three years. I'lactical c\pei'i- 
eiice and iii\ est iLial ion lia\e made hiiii I lior- 
oiil;IiI.\ inforiiied conccruiiiL; iiiodiaii aLiriciik 
liiial methods and his lahors lia\'e heen so 
caielull.\- ilireeled that his elVorls have heen 
crow lied with a ii'ral i f.\ uul; measure of success. 

On the L'Tlh of .March, lilOl, Mr. Sehooii- 
o\er was uuiled III iiiarriai;e to .Miss I'ltta 
('roiiiie, a daut;hlerof IJohert and l''di/.a i ,Me- 
Koherlsi ('romie, liotli of whom are of Irish 
desccul. The fatliei' was hoi'ii ill Ireland ami 
liecame a resident of Sterliiic- township. .Ma- 
coiiih conut.x , ,MichiL;aii, where he has since 
followeil the occupation of lariiiiiej. 1 1 is wife 
is a iiali\c id' llclroil luit came of Irish an- 
cest r\ . .Mr. .'ind .M r>. Schoouoxcr lia\e one 
sou. llarold .MI'red. who was horn .\pril 17. 
I|lli:f. 

Kol li .Mr. and .Mrs, .Sclioouo\ er hold iiieiii- 
hership 111 the .Methodist church of I'tica. lie 
is the present township clerk of Sterlini: towii- 
shi|i, which ol'lice he has lilled \\<r two years. 
Iia\iuu liceii elecled lo the position on the rc- 
pilhlicaii ticket. lie is also a policy lioldel' 
111 the .M;issacliusetls .Mutual Insurance Coiii- 
pan.\. Ill all matters of piihlic welfare he is 
deeply interested aiul may he eminled upon as 
a champion of any measure inslitnted for the 
Licncral i:ooil. lie is ,a \ouiil; man who has 
alread.X' won creditahle success and in the 
future he will uiidonhtedly L;aiu added pros- 
perity heeaiise in his luisiness career he mani- 
fests the hasis of all liuancial .Lirowlh iiide- 
fat i'jalile enc|-u\'. 



\VILLI.\.\1 J. D.M.KV. 

.\llhoiiL;h nature supplied Mount Clemens 
with mineral waters whose medicinal proper- 
lies have hecome famed I liroiii;hoiil the world, 
this was not all that was necessary lo make 
this city a health resort. It has reipiired men 
of marked force, keen diseernmeiil and man- 
ifest e\eeiiti\e aliilil.\ to iitili/e the I'esoiirees 
that nature has supplied and also to provide 



126 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MAro.MB COUNT V 



accommodations for the vast uumber of vis- 
itors that now annually tlock to ilount Clem- 
ens to benefit by its healing waters. Anionic 
this class of citizens is numbered William J. 
Daley, manager of the Medea Baths, lie is 
a native sou of this county, his birth having 
occurred in Maeonib township. November -i, 
1845. liis parents being Edward and Sarah 
(Couklin ) Daley. The father was a native of 
the city of Cork. Ireland, while the mother's 
birth occurred in the state of .New York. The 
paternal grandfather. John Daley, tied from 
Ireland on account of religious persecution 
and came to America with his family, includ- 
ing Edward Daley. Taking up his abode in 
.Macomb county, .Michigan, he contracted to 
build certain poi'tious of government road 
from Detroit to Port Huron and was closely 
associated with the early development and 
progress of this jiortion of the state. His 
son, Edward Daley, was a farmer by occupa- 
tion. He became a I'esident of Macomb coiui- 
ty in 1828. the family home being established 
aliout two miles below Mount Clemens on the 
Gratiot road. Here he was reared amid the 
wild scenes of frontier life and as he grew 
in years and strength he assisted in the de- 
velopment of the home farm and later he 
carried on agricultural pursuits on his own ac- 
count. He died in 1878 at the age of sixty 
years. His wife, who bore the maiden name 
of Sarah Conklin. died in 18.1!). She was a 
daughter of Aaron Conklin, also a native of 
the state of New York. lie located in Ma- 
comb township, this county, in the '20s, hav- 
ing come by wagon to the west. He hewed 
out a farm in the midst of the forests and 
i-eared a large family here. His wife bore 
the maiden name of Susan Hall and belonged 
to the well known Hall family of Michigan. 
William J. Daley is indebted to the public 
schools of Mount Clemens for the early edu- 
cational privileges he en.joyed. He was 
eighteen years of age when, in 1863, he en- 
tered the' United States Navy, serving until 
the close of the war. tieing stationed during 
the greater part of the time on a .Mississippi 
river boat. Following the close of hostilities 
he returned to his home ami entered upon 
his business career as clerk in the stoi-e of 
Traver. Van Eps & Company, llr was \\\\\<. 
employed until 1871. when he turned his at- 
tention to the hardware business, as a mem- 
ber of the firm of Kobertson iS: Daley, from 
1871 until 1881, when he sold out to the 
firm of Crittenden & Posner, He then liegaii 
building steam barges in Mount Clemens and 
thus continued for two years as an ;ictive 



faetoi- in the constructiou of vessels, while 
hnaneially he was interested in the business 
until 181I0, when he sold out. 

In the meantime, on the 2d of December. 
1881, Mr. Daley organized the Mount Clem- 
ens Bath Company, of which he was made 
president and nmnager. Others in this or- 
ganization were Charles Ninnns. Charles Par- 
sons. Thonuis Fitzgerald and Spencer B. Rus- 
s(>ll. They organized with a small capital of 
si.xteen thousand dollars. In 18;M) they built 
the present .Medea Bathhouse, which was 
ready for occupancy in October. 18i)l. In 
-Mai'ch. 1903, they began the erection of the 
;\Ieilea Hotel, which was completed and occu- 
pied on the nth of June. 1904. The hotel and 
liathhouse are conducted under the name of 
till' .Mount Clemens Bath Compan\'. of which 
William J. Daley is president and manager; 
S. B. Rus.sell, secretary; and Paul J. Ull- 
rich, treasurer. Other stockholders are 
Leslie Ullrich and ilarie H. Russell. The 
jiresent capitalization is two hundred aiul fifty 
thousand dollars. Jlr. Daley resig eti as 
nuuuiger in 1893, but returned to the position 
in 1897 and has since acted in that capacity 
and as president of the comi)any as well. The 
new Medea Hotel is the realization of a long 
cherishi'd hope of the Mount Ch'mens Bath 
Coni|)any. It is designed to meet the de- 
mands of a large and exclusive class of vis- 
itors who desire a thoroughly modern and 
roomy house with an attractive central loca- 
tion. In this respect the Jledea is without 
a rival. The con.structive finishings of the 
interioi- of the structure accord throughout 
with its massive and picturesque exterior. The 
.Medea building is in every respect modern, 
is constructed of brick, stone and steel and 
is pi-actically fire-proof. The ten massive 
arches forming the first story of the Gratiot 
street frontage are of Lake Superior red sand- 
stone, and enclo-e an arcade porch one hun- 
dred and eiirhty feet in length by sixteen feet 
in width. The same stone is used with red 
pi'c scd brick in carrying up the entire front 
of the building, giving a rich and massive ef- 
fect. It is located at the intersection of the 
two |)i-incipal avenues of the city, and over- 
lookii'g Coni-t s(|uare on the one side and the 
Clinton river on the other. The Medea water 
is strongly impregnated with salt and sulphur. 
:tandinu- first among the noted saline-sulphur 
sprimrs of the world. In calcic and magnesia 
chlorides it is remarkably rich, possessing over 
foiir hundi-ed jier cent more of these health- 
iriving pi-operties than any other watei*s. The 
presence of these acknowledged remedial 



I'AST AND I'K'KSKX'I' OF M A( OM I'. CorXTV 



127 



agents to siidi an unusual rxtcut nMulri-s llif 
iledea baths cxceiitionally valual)k' iu the 
treatment of rheumatism and skin diseases. 
A comparative view of the seientifie analysis 
of the numerous health waters of this country 
and Europe shows the ]\Iedea to contain a 
much lari;ei- pi-oportion of the chlorides, with 
the single exception of sodic ( counnoii saltj 
and about twenty-five per cent more iron and 
bromine than any co-existing water, and the 
vei-y absence of the excess of salt in the com- 
bination is accepted by those best acquainted 
with the water as one of its many elements 
of su])eriority. The business and managerial 
offices of the l)athhonse are directly oil" the 
hotel lobby and form a continnous promenade 
of several hnudred feet. The bathing depail 
ments ai-e separated from the general waiting 
rooms, parlors, and cooling rooms by a trans- 
verse hall, and contain one hnndi'cd and fifty 
bathrooms with a daily capacity of over fif 
teen hundred baths. Tln' Medi'a is the onl\' 
establishment in the city that offers the great 
advantage of duplicate rooms. Foi- each bath- 
room there are dressing and cooling rooms 
where patients are atl'orded prixaey and where 
an undisturbed and refreshing rest a Tier 
l)athiug may be enjoyed. The bathhojse is 
situated in a pai-ticulai-ly pleasant rii I other- 
wise advantageous part of the eity. It is 
near to the business ceutiT :iiiil all leading 
places of public interest. At hantl are nu- 
merous hotels and boarding houses, and street 
ear lines pass the door. The patient is af- 
forded every convenience that such a location 
suggests. In connection with his duties as 
manager of the ]\Iount ("lemens Bath Com- 
pany, 'Sir. Daley is also a member of tlie board 
of managers of the ]\Ionnt Clemens Casket 
Company. 

On the -Ith of Novemher. 1891. .Mr. Dahn- 
was married to iliss ^Martha Blanch .Johnson, 
a daughter of Robert F. and Mildred ( Tandy I 
Johnson of Lexington, Kentucky. In his po- 
litical views ^Ir. Daley is a democrat, inter- 
ested in the questions and growth of his party, 
and in 1888 he was elected mayor of Mount 
Clemens. He gave to the city a practi<'al and 
progressive administi-ation and retired from 
office with the confidence and good will of all. 
after declining renominatioii. He was also 
ap])ointed the first j)o]ice commissioner of the 
city. He was a mendier of the board of pub- 
lic woi-ks for five vears and he is a miMubci- 
of II. I). Terry Post. No. 16, (i. A. T!.: :\b)unt 
Clemens Lodge, No. 6. A. F. and A. .M.: tlie 
Cliapter and Council in ^Iasoni-y. and the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He has 



ever liccii a liusy \\cii'l<ei'. Vet is never neg- 
lectful of the courtesies of life, being a gen- 
tleman of pleasing address and affable man- 
ner. As the oi-ganizer of the Medea baths 
and connecting hotel projx'rty he has contrib- 
uted in large measui-e to the growth and up- 
buikling of the citv. 



Illi;.\.M V()8BL'K(i. 

Hiram ^'osl)urg, who is interested in gen- 
eral farming on section 21, Shelby township, 
was born in Dutchess county. New York, De- 
eendjcr Iti, I8.'^!l. and is a son of Harmon and 
Charity (Owen) N'oslun'g. The father was 
also a native of the Emjjire state and was 
of German lineage. He, too, followed the oc- 
cupation of farming and iu 18.')2 he removed 
to Lapeer county. .Michigan, being accompa- 
nied by his wife ami thri'c childi'en, lliram. 
Charles and Wesle\-. Char-les, a iiainter and 
farmer, now living in Brown City. .Michigan, 
is nuirried and has three ciiildi-en. Wesley, 
a painter of Cleveland, Ohio, is also married 
and has a family. One son. George, was 
born after the ai'ii\al of the parents in .Mich- 
igan, but died in infancy, Harmon Vosburg 
purchased laud lU'sir the city of Lapeer, hav- 
ing one hundred ami eleven aci'cs upon which 
the family home was established. Later, how- 
ever, he sold that property and purchased 
one hiindred and twenty acres of land at Da- 
visburg. After disposing of the latter tract 
he became the owner of oui' hundred and 
eighty acres in Shelby township, Macomb 
county, on which he continued to make his 
home up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1886, when he was sixty-one 
years of age, his birth having occurred in 
1825. His widow survived him. having died 
in April, 1905, at the advanced age of eighty- 
three years. 

Hiram Vosburg pursued his education in 
the schools of New York and of Ijapeer coun- 
ty, Michigan. In early lilV lie woi-ked as a 
farm hand for ten dollars pi'r month and was 
employed in that way until he hail s;ived 
oiough to begin fai'ining on his own account. 
He stai'ted out as an agricidturist with only 
eight acres of land. lie afterwai'd bought 
a faiMU of one humlri'd acres of im])rovi'd 
land and later sold lliat tract and i)ui'cha.sed 
the interest of the heii's in the old homestead. 
whei-e he now has one hundred and sixty 
acres id' good land, ilere he has lived for 
manv vears ami has placed his fai'm inider 



I2t 



I'AST AND I'i;i-:SK\T OF .MACOMH CorXTY 



ii liii;li state of cultivation. rciuippiiiL; it wilii 
all iiKulerii iiiii)r-oV('in('iits. 

On th<- IHtli of .M.i\. ls7(i. .Mr. \",,sl)ur^ 
was niiiiTiocl to .Miss .Mollis .Mattooii. a daiit;ii- 
U'v of Andrew and Katherine (WelLs) .Mat- 
toon. Ilei- fatlier was l)orn near Sarato.ua 
Si)i-iiius. .Xew ^■ol•ic. in 177.'). and died in ISiS.'). 
at the ver.\- advaiieed a^c of one hundred 
and ten years, the ohlest man in .Michigan. 
lie was of Scotch (h'scent. was I'cared as a 
farmer and served as a sohlier of the war of 
1812. He eanie to his .Micliiuan home by way 
of a jiath indicated hy blazed trees. There 
was at tiiat time no city whei-c Del i-oit now 
stands, tile only buihliuf;' l)ein>;' tile old fort 
which was in the midst of the bulruslies. 
P'l-om that i)oint he iiroceeih'd by wa>' of 
the trail to .Macomb county, and was one of 
the fir.st settlers within its borch'rs. lie se- 
cured land from tlie uovci'iiment where the 
town of Homcii has since been built, but 
lived there for only three or foui- years, when 
he removed to Attica. Lapeer county, where 
he purehased one hundred aci'es of laud that 
is now owned by a brotbi'i' of .Mrs. Hiram 
Vosburi;. I'pon that placi' Ihi- father died, 
haviiiu foi- many years e.-iiTied on t'ai'minu' 
tlu're. .Many times he went tn iinll on foot, 
covering a distance of twenty miles I'acli way. 
There wi're many Indians and l-'"rench living- 
in this part of tlii' country and the neigh- 
borhood was almost a wilderness. i:i\iii<; little 
evidelKM' of till' de\-eliipiiieul and prou'i'ess 
which it has since made. In the .Maltoon 
family were the followine': ,\ndrew. who 
died in California in the early minine- days; 
Ori'in, now deceased, wlio was married and 
luul ii family; Betsy, who w;is mari-ii'd and 
had six children; David, who livis on the old 
farm in Lapeer ci)unt.\' and is iiiari'ied and 
has foui- children; ( 'hristophei'. who was a 
member (if the Tent li .Michiuan X'olunleei- In- 
fantry and was killed at the battle of Chick- 
amauua, leavini;' a widow; K'ichanl. who was 
in the Fourth .Michii;aii \'olun1eer Cavalry 
and died in a hospital in TeniK'ssee; Kleda. 
now deceacd. who was mai'ried and had foui' 
children; .Mice, who died at the aee of 
ei>>:htecn years; .Mai'y .lane, who was married 
and died at llie aue of sexcnteen years; Leah 
and Linda, twins, who died in infancy; and 
Charles, who also died in infancy. 

.Mr. and Mrs. N'osbury became the parents 
of <iiie son. Ward L.. born .Inly Ki. ISSII. lie 
mari-icd .Miss Iva Bain and they have a son. 
Harry, born October 17. 11104. Ward L. Vos- 
hiiry was formerly a motornian in Detroit. 
Michigan, and is now fcu-i'maii at tln' ui'avel 



pit in I'tica. He pursued his education in 
the public schools and is a graduate of the 
lii^h school of Lapeer. 

.Mr. \'o«l)ui'ji' has always been a stanch re- 
[uiblicau since castini; his tir.st presidential 
ballot, but while he kce|)s well infoi-nied on 
the (luestions and issues of the day he has 
never sou<;ht or desired oftice. pi'cferrinu' to 
uive his undivided attention to his business 
atTairs. 



HHN.IAMIX I'AIXK. 

Hen.jaiiiin I'aine. liviiii; on section '^'1. Ka.v 
township, follows jieneral farmini;' and .stock- 
raisine'. having seventy-five acres of land in 
the home place ami forty acres on .section l2!l. 
He was born on what is known as the old 
I'aine homestead. July 18. 18:-i(i. and is a sou 
of Thomas Paine, a native of Xew ^ nrk. wlm 
was reared thei'e and in early manhood 
wedded Elizabeth ;\lc(!rei;dr. also a nati\'e of 
Xew ^'ork. About 1S;^"J he removi'd to the 
west, settling' in the town of Ka.v. .Macoinb 
county. Michijran. lie en1ere<l one hundred 
and si.xty acres of land on section l!ll and i-ut 
the first stick of timber tliere. continuiiii; the 
work (d' clearine- aw;iy the forest tret-s and the 
bi-ush until he had jireiiared the fields for cul- 
tivation and had i)lanted, cultivated, and in 
due coiii'se of time, reaped abundant harvests 
therefrom. His first lioiiie was a lou liousi'. 
in whi<-ii 111' lived for a few years. lie later 
I'ebuilt the loe house upon his place and con- 
linued his farmine- operations there for some 
tiaie but subsei|uentl.\' sold that [iropert.v and 
removed to section 150 in the same township, 
where he boiieht a farm of eiuht.v acres, upon 
which he spent his last da.\ s. His wife died 
three years pi-evious. In their I'amily were 
live sons and two daughters ami with the ex- 
ception (d' one son. all are yet liviuii'. 

Ben.jamin I'aine spent the ihiys of his boy- 
hood and youth in this count.x' and is indebted 
1o the district schools for the educational pi-i\ 
ilexes he en.joyeil. Ill early life lie Worked 
by the month as a farm hand at dilferi-nt 
times and after reaehine man's estate learned 
the mason's trade and eneaued in la.x'inu stone 
;iik1 brick and also in plaslerinu. followinir 
1 hose pursuits for ten years. In ISS.') he was 
married in Ray township to Miss .Jennie (lar- 
vin. a native of this towiishi]) ;ind a dauuhler 
of (ieorne W. (iarvin. who was also born in 
.Macomb county. The yoiiii.e' couple beeau 
their domestic life upon the farm which is 
still their home. Mr. I'aine had pre\io:isly 




:\IR. AXD MRS. BENJAMIN PAINE 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF .MACOMR COrXTY 



131 



erected a house aud barn aud had a nice place 
thus prepared for his bride. He worked at 
liis trade to some extent, doing odd jobs for 
liis neighbors, but his labor was largely de- 
voted to clearing aud improving the farm. 
He purchased the interests of the other heirs 
in the old home place and he also secured 
forty acres across the road on st-ctiou 29. Hay 
town.ship. He has cleared about twenty acres 
of this and in connection with his general 
farming pursuits he raises high grade stock, 
making a sjjeeialty of Jersey cattle. He is a 
.stockholder in the creamery association of 
Davis aud fui-nishes milk for that creamery. 
He owns a pure blooded male at the head of 
his Jersey herd and has some very fine speci- 
mens of that breed of cattle. 

ITnto ^Ir. and jMrs. Paine have been born 
two children, the elder being Elizabeth, the 
wife of Frank K. Yax, a farmer, of Ray town- 
shij). while Seba James is attending school at 
Davis. The parents are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church of that town and iMr. 
Paine belongs to the Cirange at Davis. He 
votes with the republican party, his fir.st presi- 
dential ballot being cast for Abraliam Lincoln 
in 1860. He believes in good schools, sub- 
stantial improvements and in the promotion of 
all means for general progress and advance- 
ment. He served for six years as chairman of 
the school board but otherwise has never 
sought nor desired public olifice. He has spent 
his entire life, covering sixty-nine years, in 
this county aud has therefore witnessed the 
greater ])art of its growth and development, 
noting the changes that have been made and 
bearing his full share in the work of improve- 
ment. 



EDWIX R. EGNEW. 

A little thoughtful consideration of the ca- 
reer of Edwin K. Eguew, the numager of 
the Colonial Hotel, bi'ings to notice the fact 
that he has in most of his business opera- 
tions displayed the qualities that characterize 
the pioneer. He has sought out new plans, 
evolved lU'w methods to favor his projects, 
and after these have been put in successful 
execution he has sought out still others, and 
after those others, and his wise selection has 
been proven hv the success which attends his 
labors. Not only is he one of the most pi'o- 
gressivc and enterprising hotel men in the 
west, but he is one of the Itest all-arotnid hotel 
men "to the manner born"' and experienced 
in the best houses in the countrv. with a com- 



prehensive grasp on the hotel business aud an 
intimate knowledge of all the details of good 
hole! keeping. 

.Mr. Eiincw is ;i native of Butler, Indiana. 
Iiorii .March 4. 1S41, iuul is descended from 
.\('\v I'higland aneesti'y. His paternal grand- 
father s])ent his early life at Painted Post, 
Xew ^'ork. and nlioni 1S14 removed to 'Slon- 
roc. Michigan, being there at the time of the 
Indian massacre. He made his escape bj' 
row boat to Sandusky. Ohio, and then walked 
to ilassinia. Ohio, hut the weather was .so 
severe that both his legs were frozen and had 
to be amputated. He was taken to Toledo, 
Ohio, but afterw.iid returned to Massinia, 
where he died. His wife was also rescued 
aud taken to Ohio. She lived to the advanced 
age of ninety-four years. Their son, (ieorge 
Egnew, was born iu Monroe, ilichigan, in 
isn. and in early life learned the eai'pen- 
ter's tratle. which he followed for many 
.vears. He mari-ied Miss Alice Hai'ding, who 
was l)orn in Indiana aud was a daughter of 
Daniel Harding, who emigrated westward 
from Connecticut, spending much of his life 
ill lama, Indiana, in which locality he was 
extensivel.v engaged in farming. He was very 
|irominent in his count.v and took an active 
and helpful pai't in its early development. 
He was noted as a sportsman, displacing 
great skill with the rod and gun. He passed 
away a number of years ago aud his wife, 
.Mrs. Alice Harding, died in Indiana in 1858. 
Their daughter Alice liecame the wife of 
(ieorge Eguew and her death occurred in 

1861, when she was fift.v-six years of age, 
while Mr. Egnew departed this life in 1882. 

Edwin R. Egnew was educated in the pub- 
lie schools at Newville, Indiana, in the high 
school of that town and iu the high school at 
Waterloo, Indiana. He entered the last named 
institution at the age of nineteen years and 
there completed his course, being graduated 
at the age of twenty-one. Subsecpiently he 
attended Duff's Commercial College, at Pitts- 
burg, Penns.vlvania, and was graduated in 
bookkeei)ing aud the commercial branches iu 

1862. He was then retained iu that in.stitution 
as an insti'uctor in the peiunanship depai't- 
ment for nine months, when Profes.sor Pollock 
of the Lancaster (Peiuisylvania 1 Mercantile 
College wrote to Professor DufV for a compe- 
tent superintendent and Mr. Egnew was rec- 
onnueiided. He accepted the position, which 
he filled in a ca])al)le maimer for eighteen 
months, when lie was taken ill with typhoid 
fever. In Septemhei' following, having suffi- 
cieutlv recovered his health to travel, he went 



152 . i'AST AND ri;KSK\T OF .MACO.MJi (OIXTY 

to liis Ikiiiic. ;ui(1 the lu-xt siiiiiiiu'r went ti) him. so lie sent his porter tn this city for a 
MaekiiiMw. .Aliehiiran. and was a guest at the small (|uaiitity of the watei-. wiiieli lie used 
.^lackiiiaw House. .Miieh to his surpris<' he with favorable results. lie at ouee ari-aiii,'e(i 
was eho.-en as a suitable man to take fhari;e to be broufiht to this |)laee ami niail.^ the trij) 
of this hotel and a few days after Ins arrival on a stretcher. When he arrived at the Avery 
became its pi'opi-ietor. enterinsj: ujiou the du- House lie was thought to be more dead than 
ties of the j)osition on the Kith of .luly and ali\i'. IlowfVer. he was given baths at tln' 
eonducted the hotel until the entl of the sea- oriuinal bathhouse under the supervision of 
sou. on the "ith of Sei)teuiber. He not oid.\' Dorr Kello.ug. oiu- of the early <liscoverers 
ivalized a good pi-otit on his labor, but also of the medicinal efficacy of the watei's here, 
ivcovered his health duriuii' that period. In After he had taken fifteen baths the pain 
the fall he went to Deti-oit, where he engaged and torture liad left him iiud he was able to 
in the .ufocery business until IStid, and then go altout on ci-utclies. and when he eon- 
returned to .Mackinaw, where he leased the tiiuu^d the ti-eatnieut for a short time be wa-i 
John Jacob ^Vstor House and conducted it for entir<'ly cured. On the loth of January, 1SS4. 
a season. When fall again caiiie he returned he took chai'ge of tin- .\\i'r.\ Hotel and the 
to Deti'oit anil accepted a position as entry Original Spring Hathhouse. retaining his 
clerk with the firm of Allen Sheldon t^ Com- connection with the latter until July. IStST. 
pany. acting in that capacity until .May 1. and with the Avery until the fall of 18i>4. 
1S71. He then accejited a jjositiou with the He afterward contluctt'd the Kunew luitil 
Domestic Sewing .Ma<'hine Company, at l)e- Xoveniber o. ISilS. at which time he <-aiiie to 
troit. and continued there until lS7:i. when the Colonial, engaging in no business until 
he accejited a ]iosition with the Ameri<-an .March 1. 19(10. He then beejune nuinager of 
Sewing .Machine Company, at I'hiladeljiliia. tlu' iH'W eoHii)any owning the origin[d bath- 
as manager for the states of Indiana. < )hio house and hotel and thus served until Jul.v 
and Kentucky, with ofH<'e at Cincinnati. He 15, 1S)()1, when he became manager of the 
acted in that capacity for two years antl then Colonial, which ]iosition he has since filled. 
I'cturned to the hotel business as proprietor of The Colonial is one of the finest of the 
the Saint Chai-les Hotel, at Cairo. Illinois. new hotels of this place. .Mr. Egnew is one 
This i)i'ovetl a successful veutui-e and lie cou- of the jiractical hotel men of the coni>ti-.v. 
ducted the hotel for two years. In the mean- thoroughly understanding his business and 
time he also bought the Planfei-s' Hotel, at always evolving new methods which tend to 
('airo, and also carried on business there for promote the comfort of bis uuest^ and the 
a y<'ar, or \uitil the yellow fever infested the popularity of his li<itel, 

city and some cases broke out among his ( )ii the lUfh of Febrnar.\', lHOl, .Mr. hliiin'w 

guests at the hotel. .Mr. Egnew then returned was married to Miss Ella .M. .Morgan of 

to Detroit, but aftei'wai'd again went to Cairo. Mount Clemens, He is a man of genuine 

where he chtsed the St, Chai'les Hotel, where worth and value as a citizen, always iiiter- 

the fever had been, but continued the Plant- ested in everything |)ertainiiig to progi'css 

ers Hotel for fifteen months. ( >n the expira- and imiirovemeut. Since starting out in life 

lion of that |)eriod he sold his intei-est and for himself he has made continued advauce- 

i-eirioved to Indianapolis. Indiana. Iiecoming nient in his liusiness career. 
pro|irietor ol' the Occidental Hotel, which In- 
conducted until ISSO. He then sold out and 

afterward leased the Remey Hotel, at Indian- 'ri|()M.\S ELDltKD. 
apolis. I'ciiaiiiing it the Brunswick after i-e- 

titting and refurnishing it in line shape. He Thomas Eldred was for yeai-s numbered 

oi)eucd this for business on the 1st of .May. with the thrifty and frugal farmers of Uruce 

1S80. and afterward sold out to Swarts Brotii- townshiii, winiv he yet owns a laiin of two 

ers. He then returned to Detroit as proprietor hundred a<'ns. \\v is now liviiu; retired in 

of till- Hi-unswick Hotel, which he opened May Komeo in the I'u.joyment of the fruits of 

1st. Both hotel ventures in Indiana had his former toil. His residenci' in the county 

netted hiiri a good linancial return. dates from 1S40. He was at that time twelve 

On till' ;5rd of .May. ISSl. however. .Mr. years of age, his birth having occurred in 

Egnew had been stricken with rheumatism Otsego county. New York, in 1Sl>S, His 

and ill health made it necessary for him to father. Thomas Eldred. Sr.. was also a native 

dispose of his hotel. The efficacy of the :\lount of the Emiiiiv state and was there I'i'ar.'d and 

Clemens mineral waters had become known to married. In lS4n he removi'd westward to 



I'AST AND i'i;i-;s|':nt oi'" macoaii; {'orx'i'^' 



133 



.Mii-liii:;iii. locatini;- in iNIacoiiil) couiily. when- 
lie piiri'liasi'd j^ovi'i-niiiciit land and cli^'arrd 
and dfvclopcti a fai-iii. (•ontiimiiiu' his ivsi- 
dciicf tlicri'dii until liis life's lalmrs wimt 
ended in death. 

It was upcin this uhl lioniestead place thai 
Thdiiias Hidred si)ent the tla\s of his hciyhdncl 
and yiiuth. Wlieil a lail he knew what haid 
hihor meant, for he assisted his father in 
cleai'ine' and inipi'ovin^ tlie farm, lie saw 
no irasoii to change liis ocenjtation after \\f 
had reached adult age. for farmini; was eon- 
genial to liim, and lie lionght a small traet 
of land of twenty-five acres, which he lieean 
to improve for his own henefit. As a c(im- 
j)anion and helpmate for life's journey hr 
ch(»se .Miss Anna ircCafferty. a sister of John 
McC'atferty. who is represented elsewhere in 
tliis work. He now had further reasons to 
api)ly himself closely to his work and make 
his lahors count for the most in tlie aeqiiii-e- 
meiit of a eom])etenee. He at once heuan to 
deal- th<' fai-m and erect hniklines. and when 
his cro|)s hi'onulit him added eai)ital he pnr- 
chaseil more land from time to time antl in 
the cour.se of years became the pos.ses.sor of 
a valuable farm, the splendid ai)|)earance of 
which was an indication of his careful super- 
vision and i)ractical. jiroeressive methods. 
He ]ilanted an oirhard. I)uilt fences, tilled 
tile fields and raised good grades of stock. 
Aftei' some years he erected a neat frame 
residence, added tliree good barns and other 
outbuildings, and to-day has a splendidly iui- 
jiroved farm property upon which he lived 
for fifty-four >'ears. I'emoving in .May. ls;ill. 
to loomed, where he bought a residence thai 
he has since occupied, while lixiiiL; a retired 

life. 

.Mr. Kldred lo.st his wife in ISIt.'). 'I'hey 
wer<' |);irents of the following children : Xa- 
than, a farmer of Almont township; dames. 
who is |)ro|)rietor of a hotel in Oakland 
county; .lohii, a fariiiei' of ]\lacoml) county; 
(Jeorge. who resides with his father: Ijeonard. 
a resident farmer of Homeo; l\o.\aiina. the 
wife of Emei-y (iould. ;i farmer living in 
Ixomeo; I*h(ebe. the wife (if (leorLie (iiiuld. 
who follows faninnu in Hru<'e township; 
and .Mary .\ini. the wife nf I-'raiik Shoe- 
maker, a farmer of \VashinL;'ton townsliip. 
There were also two children who passed 
away: I'iKebe. at the age <d' thicc year<; and 
'I'iiomas. at the age of six yea is. 

Mr. Kldred exercises his rii;h1 of I'ranchise 
in accordance with the ininciples ol' .lack- 
soriian democracy and has served as coiiimis 
sioiicr of liigliways. He has seen .Macomb 



counts t I'ansfiir-incil IVoiii a wilderness and 
swamp into a splendidly improved section 
ol' the stale and at all tunes has endorsed 
an<l co-operated in the pi'oLiressi ve measures 
which have beiieliled his locality. He de- 
sei'\es till' credit and praise due to the self- 
iriade man. for he started out in life empty- 
handed, working hi-; wa\- upward througli 
unfaltering elieruy and uni'cmitting persever- 
ance, ^liiny there are who inii;hl well follow 
his examjile and gain the success th;it comes 
throueh honoi-alile. peisislenl labor. 



'i'i;i .M.\.\ (;.\ss. 

Truman (lass, living on section L'S. l\a\ 
townsliij), was iiorn August S, 1M44, in ^la- 
comb county and was rean-d here by his uncle 
Nelson Gass upon a farm m the township 
where he yet resides. No event of special im- 
portance occurred to vary the routine of farm 
life for him in his yoiitli. He attended the 
common schools, and when not eiiuMged with 
his text-books worked in the fields. lie is 
largely a self-educated as well as a self-made 
man and his force of character, laudable am- 
bition and untiring energy have been salient 
features in winning him success. At the time 
of the Civil \\ar. his patriotic spirit being 
aroused at the continued attempts of the 
south to overthrow the rnimi. he I'lilisted in 
IS(i4 as a memlicr of (_'om|iany H. Thirtieth 
.Michigan Infantry, being at that time about 
twenty years of age. He was not called from 
the state, however, and at the close of the 
war. in June. ISfi"). was honorably discharged. 
.Mr. (fass remained with his uncle until his 
death, which occurred in ISIiil. He was mar- 
ried in this county, in ISIiM. to .Miss Sarah 
J. (Ja.ss. a daughter of John (iass, also an 
early settler of the country. Following his 
marriage he engaged in cultivating the Gass 
farm for two years and then located where 
he now resides, beginning the furthei- devel- 
opment and impro\c>ment of this tract of 
land. He now owns one liiindred and twenty 
acres, constituting a valuable faiaii well 
ei|uip])ed with modern conveniences and ac- 
ccssoi-ies. He has erected a good r(\sidence 
and also built outbuildings, has planted an 
orchard and has made other im|)rovi>ments 
which indicale that his ideas are in kcH'ping 
with the progressive spirit of the times. 
Farming and stock-raising claim his atten- 
tion and he is also interested in dairying. 
liealizine that labor is the basis of all jiros- 



134 



PAST AND I'KHSEXT OF .AIACOMB COINTY 



perity, he lias been i)ersistent in liis work 
and his reliability and energy are pronounced. 

I'nto ]\Ir. and ilrs. Uass have been l)orn 
three children: Nelson yi. of Detroit, who is 
engaged in the undertaking business and is 
also a musician of considerable talent, being 
now pipe-organist in the Ba])tist clnirch : 
Truman 11., who is a student in the Univer- 
sity, pursuing a four years" course in the lit- 
cnii'y department and a two years' course in 
law; and Harold J., a yoiuig man at home. 

Politically Mr. Gass is a stanch republican, 
who was elected and served as township treas- 
urer for two years and has also been .justice 
of the peace. His aspii-ations, however, are 
not in the line of ottice-lioldiim'. for he pre- 
fers to give his undivided attention to busi- 
ness affairs or to th<' interests of his home 
and church. He and his wife are membei-s 
of the .Methodist Episcopal church at Davis 
and hr is now serving on its official board 
and is also one of the board of trustees of 
the Simpson Park ('amp fleeting Association. 
His life is well rounded, having the varied 
interests that contribute to a physical, men- 
tal and moral well-being. He has always been 
a resident of Ray townsliip, and the fact that 
numy of his warmest friends are those who 
have known him from boyhood indicates that 
his career has been straightfoi'ward and hon- 
orable. 



.\LP.ERT YATES, M. D. 

Dr. Albert Vates is one of the prominent 
members of the medical profession in Macomb 
county, having successfidly followed this call- 
ing at Washington for thirty years, or 
throughout the i)eriod of his residence in this 
place. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
Septenibei- 18, 1842, and his father, Richard 
Yates, was also a native of that county, where 
he was reared and educated. He was married 
there to .Miss Caroline Nicholson, also a native 
of England, and in order to provide for his 
family he followed mechanical ])ursuits. l)eing 
largely engaged in cari)eiitering throughout 
his active business career. The favorable re- 
ports which he heard concerning America led 
liim to seik a home in the new world in 1849. 
He went direct to Ontario. Canada, where he 
made a permanent location and althoueh he 
owned a farm there he also engaged in con- 
tracting and building, being closely associated 
with the .substantial improvements of the 
locality. He spent his last years there and at 
length passed away in Ontario. 



Like the other members of his father's 
family Dr. Yates was reared in Ontario and 
acquired good educational advantages there. 
In 1S71 he went to Detroit, where he pursvied 
a course of lectures in the Detroit iledieal 
College. He then returned to Canada and en- 
tered upon the practice of medicine with his 
old jireceptor, who had directed his studies 
and reading ere he entered college. In the 
year 1872 he again became a student in the 
Detroit iMedical College and following his sec- 
ond course of lectures was graduated with the 
class of 187:1 \Vhen he had received his 
diploma he again went to Canada, locating in 
Pismarek. where he was actively engaged in 
practice for about three years. Since 1875, 
howevei-, he has lived in the village of "Wash- 
ington and has continuou.sly resided in his 
l)resent home. He has a neat office and it is 
well equij)ped with many of the most modern 
ai)pliances known to medical and surgical 
practice. Here he has built up a good busi- 
ness, having the confidence of the people of 
the village aiul surrounding country. He is 
a member of the Macomb county ^Medical So- 
ciety, the Northeast Medical Association, the 
;\li('higan State Medical Society and the 
American Medical Association, and through 
the affinity of thought and experience there 
keeps abreast with the profession in the prog- 
ress that it makes toward perfection. He also 
I'cads the new medical woi'ks and .iournals and 
practices aloiiii- modern, scientific lines, cou- 
tinuall.y promoting his efficiency through 
study and information. 

Dr. Yates was mari-ied in Kent county. 
Canada. .March 1'. 1S(;4. to .\riss ^Margaret 
Eastman, who was I'cared and educated in 
that country. She died in \Vashington. ]\Iay 
•"), 1S78. leaving foui- children : Dr. Heni-y 
Wellington Yates, a pli\'sieian of Detroit: 
ilinnie. the wife of Charles D. Hartley, a 
farmer of Macomb county: Albert E., the 
cashier of Blodgett, Merritt & Company of 
New Yoi-k city: and Mai'y M.. the wife of 
Prank W. Spi-ingstein. of Detroit. Dr. Yates 
was again mari'ied in Michieau. July 23. 1879, 
his second union being with Miss Clara B. 
Davis, who was reared and educated i7i Ma- 
cond) county and is a datighter of Milo Davis, 
one of the early settlers of this state. There 
are also four children by this union : Richard 
L., a mechanical engineer, of Dayton, Ohio; 
.\aney B., of Detroit; Maud E. and Helen A., 
at home. 

Dr. Yates .joined the Masonic fraternity in 
Canada. Imt afterward demitted. lie takes 
an active interest in local politics and since be- 




ALBKKT VATKS. .M. 1). 



KMOKV I'. DAVIS. 



PAST AND l'i;i'".SK\T t)F :\1 A( '( ».M I! CorNTV 137 

c'oniiiijr ;iii AiiHM'icjiii I'iti/.i'ii has sii|)|ici?tr:l till' iwid Annie, who is jilso li\inir in l-'raiiklin. 

republican party and it-^ priin-iplrs. lie ha ■; The I'ctci's I'aniilv was unr of the |>iiuiiTr 

hy iT-clcction lilird tin- nflicc nf justi,-.' (if the raniilics of .IcI'lVrson riiunl\, Ki-ntnrky. 

pi'at'c t'lir civci' twenty years, and liases his di'- Iviniry I'. Davis pursued his educalinu in 

C'isioiis upon the equity and the law of the the |inlilic sel Is of Franklin. Indiana, and 

easi-. his eapahility in oftii'e heiim' iinlicatei was >;i-adiiated from the liiyli sel I with tli<' 

hy his own litigation therein. Hi-; ])rofes- class of ISIIO. lie entered business life at 

si(Mial skijl is widely acknowU'ilfred and his that place and aller the consolidation of the 

fi'lliiw practitioners give evidence of (lii'ii- watei-. liuht and iiowcr conipanies he became 

faith in his ability by ofti'n callniL; him into manauer of the new company in IMtL'. lie 

consultation. Thus his life has proved of held that position for six ycai-s. when he was 

<ire;it good to his fellow. iii'ii and both |)i-ofes- appointed snpci-intendent of the .Mount Clcm- 

sionall.\- and sociallx he ranks liiuli. ens ( ias Comiiiiny. which |)osition he has since 

lillcd. I'^ew places the >i/.e of .Mount Clemens 
have as well iMpiipped gas plants I'liilcr- the 
Ullidanee of .Mr. |)a\is the liusiuess has been 
largvly increased, the output being more than 

Emory I*. Davis, superuitendent (d' the two hundred |iei- cent what it was when he 

.Mount t'lcmens (ias ('om|)any. was Imu-u in took charge, anil it iiu'reaseil si.Kty-seveii per 

Franklin. Johnson county. Indiana. .Inl\ 12, cent in the year 1S!)4. Mv. Davis is very 

1S74. His patei'iial .urandfathi'r. .lohn D. progressive and enterprising in the inanage- 

Davis. was a mei-chant at Hloomington. In- ment of his business interests auil the plant 

(liana, and still follows connnereial i)ursuits is now supplied with all modein appliances, 

although he has reached tiu' a<l\aneed a^i- ol' while a liberal patronage is en.joyi'd by the 

eighty yeai's. The ancestry cd' this biancli mcndiers of the company. !Mr. Davis has had 

of tile Davis family can be traced liaek to offers of other positions clsewhei'c. but pre- 

Xew En.elaud and at a more remote pci-iod to fers his present location bu' social and other 

Wales. Ill the family of John D. Davis ai'i' reasons. 

five cliildi'en : .Mai'.earet. the widow of ( ieorge Fi'atcrnally. .Ml-, Da\is is connected with 

A. Slocuiii. of Terre Haute. Indiana; Jaiiii's .Mount C'leiiieiis lodge No. KiS, K. P.. was 

L. ; Sherman, who is one of the professors in chosen clianecllor comma iidcr in 1904 and was 

the Indiana State rniversity; (iiiy. who fob re-elected the present xcar. He is also a 

lows merchandising in Hloomington. Indiana ; memlier of Blount Clemens Lodge .\'o. ti. A. I-"'. 

and Emma, who is also living in Klooiiiiui;ton. i.t A. il.. and the Odd Fellows lodge at 

James L. Davis, who was boi-n in the Franklin. He is pre-;ideiit of the Republic 

Hoosiei' state, was reared to the occupation of Club at Mount Clcniens. an honor which was 

merehaiidising and through many years has un.sought by him, but to which he was called 

carried on hnsines.s along that liin' in Fi'ank- by his fellow townsnicn. who I'ccognize his 

lin. Indiana. He married .Miss Dora I'eters. ability and liis devotion to the cause of his 

who died ill ISII."). at the ai;e ot' foi't.v-six party. His own untiring efforts liave brought 

years. Her father. Hernardian P<'ters. was a him success and business |iro:iiinence. 

cabinetmaker of Franklin. Indiana, and lived On the 12th of June. liSiMi, occurred the 

to the advanced agv of eighty-eight years. marriage of .Mr. Davis and .Miss .\lice ]\Iussel- 

])assing away September 12. 1!I(I4. II is wife. man, a daughter of John K. .Muss(>lnian of 

who bore the maiden nan f .Matilda Wells. Johnson count.v, Indiana, who filled the posi- 

lived to the age of eiiilit.v -t liri'i' \cars. The tiou of sheriff there. .Mr. and .Mrs, Davis 
griindfjither was promiin'iit and inlliii'iit ial in have one child. Roscoe V., born June 7. Ilt(i2, 
.Masonic circles and has served as eminent 
commander in the Knight Templar eommand- 
ery. Ills jifi' was so manly an<l his acts so 
kindly and sincere that he won the iinipialitied 
regard of all who l<n<'w him and <lied without The farming and stock-raising interests of 
an enemy. Into .Mr, and .Mrs. Peters were .Macomb count.v find a worthy representative 
boi-n six children: Preston, now d(>ceased : in Leslie L. Millar, living on section P?, Wash- 
Dora, who became .Mrs. Davis; Kat heririi'. the ington townshi]). where he is enga.ued in gen- 
wife of Wiley .\ckman id' Windfall. Indiana; eral agri<-ultural pui-siiits and in the breeding 
-Mattic. of Franklin. Indiana: Lulu, the wife of shorthoi'ii cattle and Berkshire hogs. He 
of Thomas Roberts of Oak Landiiitr. Indiana; isalo woi-th\' of representation in this volume 



LKSLIK L, .MILLAR. 



138 



PAST AXl) PRESENT UF .MACOMB COUNTY 



because of liis long residence in tlie state, 
covering a period of seventy years, lie was 
born in Strongville. Ohio. Septembei' 15. 1835. 
His father, Wilson W. ilillar. whose bii'th 
occiiri-ed in Erie county, Nin\ ^'ork. in 1SII4. 
was a son of William Millar, a native of Scot- 
land. Later, having becoinc a resident of the 
new world, he served his adopted country as 
a soldier of the war of llSli* and afterward 
resided for a number of yeai's in the state 
of New York. Wilson W. Millar was reared 
in Erie county and when a young man went 
to Ohio, where he met and married ]Mrs. Betsy 
Ann CoUis, nee Cooper, who at that time was 
a widow. Mr. Millar followed merehamiising 
and also owned and operated a farm near 
Strongville, not far from the city of Cleve- 
land. It was in that locality that the subject 
of this review was born. In the same year, 
however, the father removed with his family 
to Micliigan. settling in Ray township, ^la- 
coml) county, where he purchased a tract of 
land of si.Kty acres. Later he bought an addi- 
tional tract of eighty acres, on which he erect- 
ed good buildings and raised his family. 
There he spent his last years, passing away 
about 1850. His wife survived him for a 
number of years and they were numbered 
anu)ng the worthy pioneer people of the lo- 
cality. 

Leslie L. Millar is one of a family of three 
sons and one daughter, all of whom reached 
years of maturity. One brother, Apollis 11. 
Millar, was a soldier of the Rebellion, serv- 
ing as biuid master. He died at liis home 
in 1865 as the result of disea.se contracted 
ill the army. One sister, Victoria E., became 
the wife of William Bellows and died in Ray 
township, in 1895. Eugene W. Millar is a 
farmer of Ray township, and with the excep- 
tion of Leslie \i. Milhir is t!ie only survivor 
of the family. 

Leslie L. .Millar spent his lioybood days in 
Ray township, where he en.ioyed the educa- 
tional advantages afforded by the public 
schools. He left home wlieii a young man of 
sixteen years to learn the carpenter's trade, 
and followed tliat juirsuit prior to the Civil 
war. ill Aiigiisl. 18(ii;. responding to the 
country's call for aid, he joined the Fourth 
IMichigan Cavalry as a musician of the regi- 
mental band and was assigned to Company B. 
During the last two years of his service he 
was leader of the hand. He went south with 
the army of tlie ( 'umlierland and remained 
at the front until llie close of hostilities, when 
he was honorably discharged, in July, 1865. 
After his discharge he returned home, located 



ill Lenox, .Michigan, and there engaged in 
contracting and luiilding, assisting iiiateriall.v 
in this way in the improveiiu-nt of Richmonil 
and of Lenox. A great many of the Iniild- 
iiigs in those towns and at .New Haven stand 
as monuments to his skill and enterprise. In 
April, 187!). he removed to the farm whereon 
he now resides and continued its iiiiproveiiieiit 
in connection with building operations until 
1890. He erected for himself a good home 
and l)arn and has developed ;i valuable farm, 
planting fruit trees and adding all modern 
accessories. The farm was old and run down 
when it came into liis pos-.ession. hut by cul- 
tivation and the use of fertili/.ers he has made 
his land rich and productive and no better 
farm land can be fount! in this part of the 
state than is owned by Mr. Jlillar. In his 
business operations he has prospered and at 
the same time he has been a very useful cit- 
izen, assisting largely in tlie improvement of 
this section of Michigan. 

Mr. ]\lillar was married in Kay township. 
in 1855, to Miss .\daliiie Ihizellon, a sister 
of Thaddeits Hazelton, who is mentioned else- 
where in this work. iMrs. ilillar died in 1861. 
leaving three children, of whom two are liv- 
ing: Theron W.. who is ;i mechanic now en- 
gaged in contracting and building in Detroit; 
and Allison R., a contractor and builder of 
West Bay Cit.v. .Micliig;in. One son. Ralph 
C, was engaged in coojx'ring and died at the 
age of thirty-five years, leaving a wife. In 
1866 Leslie L. Millar was again married in 
Ray townshi]!, his s(>eoiid union being with 
Vandali;! Fj. Risk, who was horn in St. 
Louis. Missouri, and is a daughter of 
Louis Risk, a native of (iermany and one 
of the first settlers of St. Ijouis, where lie 
owned and operated several steamlioats on the 
^lississippi river. Li 1849 he went to Cali- 
fornia and seven times made trips to that 
state. From St. Louis he removed to Cape 
(4irar(k'au. Missouri. He was married in the 
former place to Miss Li/zie Conuell, a native 
of England, and later he removed with his 
family to London, Canada, where the family 
remaiiKvl while he traveled and looked after 
his hiisiness interests in California. He is 
siijiposed to have been massacred by the In- 
dians while on one of his trips to the west. 
The marriage of ;\lr. and ^Irs. Millar has been 
blessed with five children who are yet living: 
.Apollis II.. a resident of Nemaha county, Ne- 
braska : .\uburn, a contractor and builder: 
Minnie, who is conducting a dressmaking 
establishment in Detroit: .\rthur R.. who oc- 
cupies a business position in Detroit: and 



PAST AND I'I;KSE\T OF MACO.MH COIXTY 



159 



'I'lioiiias ('.. who is filliiiu- a positimi in Min- 
neapolis. They also lost two children: Eliz- 
abeth A., who died at the age of twenty-one 
yeai-s; and Louis L.. who died at the a^xe of 
twent>'-five years. 

Politically Mr. :\iillai- has he.-n a lit'e-loii'j' 
denioei'at. siipportini;- James Pueiianaii for 
l)resident in I.S.'jG. while his last presidential 
vote was ea.st for Judge Parker of New York. 
He has served for four \ears as jiistice of 
the peace, but otherwise has neither held noi- 
desired ])ublic office. He belongs to the .Ma 
sonie lodge at Eonieo, and ]\laeonil) ehaptci-. 
and lias tilled a number of iiositions in Imtli 
organizations. ^Mr. ]Millar may well be nnni- 
liered among the pioneer residents of ]\Iiehi- 
gan, having lived in ]\Iaeoml) county for 
seventy years, during which time he has seen 
it transformed from a wilderness and swamp 
into a rich agricultural district in the midst 
of which ai'e also tiiriving towns and cities 
with their manufacturing and industrial in- 
terests. At all times he has been equally con- 
cei-ned in the public welfare and progress 
and has done his full share as a citizen in 
promoting the upbuilding and development 
of this [)iii-ti(in iif till' state. 



WILLIAM J. DUSSE. 

William J. Dusse, cue of the younger mem- 
bers of the bar of Macomb county, whose 
years, however, seem to prove no obstacle to 
his ready advancement and success, is now 
.serving a.s assistant prosecuting attorney and 
is also circuit eoui't commissioner. He makes 
his home in .Mount Clemens and is a native 
of Waldenburg, ilacomb county, born ]March 
18, 1875, his parents being John and Wil- 
helmina (Wolf) Dusse, both of whom are na- 
tives of (iermany. The paternal grandfather. 
Jacob Dusse, who always remained a resident 
of (iermany, although he spent a year in visit- 
ing in .Macomb county. ^lichigan, served on 
the staff of King William and tiled at the age 
of seventy years. John Dusse remained a 
resident of the fathei'land until 185i2 when, 
thinking that he might have better imsiness 
oi)portunities in the new world, he came to 
America and took up his abode in Macomb 
county. .Michigan, where for many years he 
followed the occupation of fai-ming. but is 
now living retired. He was mai-ried, in Ma- 
comb township, to .Miss Wilhelniina Wolf, a 
daughter of Jacob Wolf, who came from Ger- 
many to this county and here spent his last 
ten years, following the nccuiiation of fai-m- 



ing. lie died at the aei' of si.Kty-ninc. .Mr. 
and Mis. John Dusse are now living in Mount 
Clemens. They are the parents of four chil- 
dren: William J.; Augusta, the wife of 
(jeorge Pollock of Detroit: Wilhelniina, who is 
living ill Mount Clenu'iis ; an<l Ernestiiia of 
Detroit. 

William J. Dusse, at the usual age. entered 
the public schools and continued his .studies 
here until he had completed his more specif- 
ically literary education by graduation from 
the high school with the class of 189t). In 
the fall of the same .year he began prepara- 
tion for his profession, being enrolled as a 
student in the law department of the State 
L'liiversit.v of ilichigan, at Ann Arbor, where 
he was graduated in the class of 1899. He 
next entered the Detroit College of Law, in 
which he completed a post-graduate course in 
the spring of 1900, aftei' which he began prac- 
tice ill connection with Franz ('. Kiilin. with 
whom he eoiitinued for two years, when he 
formed a partnerslii|) with Silas B. Spiei', this 
association being maintained until January 1, 
1905, when he was appointed assistant prose- 
cuting attorney under Allen AV. Kent, for a 
term of two years. He was ai)]ioiiited circuit 
court commissioner by Governor Bliss in 190H. 
and in the fall of 1904 was elected to the 
office, in which he is now serving. 

In his political views Mr. Dusse is a stal- 
wart reiuiblican, active in the work of the 
pai'ty and doing all in his power to jiromote 
its upbuilding and i>rogre~s. Fraternally, he 
is connected with the Knights of the Mac- 
cabees and the Woodmen of the World and 
in the latter he has filled various offices in 
the local lodgi\ He is an active worlcer and 
faithful member of the (iei'iiian Evangelical 
Zion church, is treasurer of the Sunday 
school, secretary of llie choir and treasurer of 
the Younu' People's Society. He is a young 
man of strong purpose ami laudable ambi- 
tion who has made his way unaided and 
already he has attaiiiecl a creditalile position 
in a profession wherein advancement depends 
ui)oii individual merit. 



EDWAK'I) S. in 'XT. 

Edward S. Hunt, who is now practically 
living retirt'd in i\iclimond, was born in iMoiint 
Clemens, Macomb count.v, Ma.y 6, 1837, his 
parents being Hiram and Mary (Vandercook) 
Hunt, both natives of the Em])ire state. The 
father was born in Batavia, New York, and 
his father was John Hunt, who came from 



140 I'AST AND IM;KSK.\T OF .MACO.MIS CorXTY 

Pciiiisylvaiiia iiiid (U'Vdti'd his lifr to t 111' w ciil< iiiMii infanti-y. under coiiuikiikI of Cdloiicl 

of tin- ministry. l[ifaiii Hunt, iciikjn Iiil; to l*ari\erluii'st. Ur was iiiustefril in at .Jackson 

tile west, settled in .Mount (Icini'iis. in lln- ;uul went direct to Nashville, Tennes.see, and 

';!0s. He was eiiiploycMl in Ihi- new tilass then went to Chattanooga, wliere he was 

worUs. serving' there as a i;iass IiIowit for a detailed with (tthers to iiuard pi-isoners. He 

ninnber of years. Ili' afterward houiiht a tlieiv reiiuiined until taken ill with the 

farm in Coliunlnis. St. Clair eountx-. .Mi<-lii- measles, when he was sent to the hospital 

<:an. whei'c he m;ide his home until his de;ith. and later was transfei'red to the hospital at 

lie was prominent antl aetive in puhlie affairs Nashville. lie afterwai-d was sent to the 

and sei-ved as eonstahle and shei-ifV. taking- eountry ant! wIicmi honiiialil\' discharged he 

an activi' part in iiolities. l''or many years retlli'iied home. His lie;dth was so ahso- 

lle was tnwii ti-e:isurcr and I'oi- thii't.N' \ears lutely impaired that for eighteen months 

he was in the secret sei-vie<' of the I'nited after his i-et\ii-n he was incapacitated for 

States jioverinnent in watchine the line he- active lalior. He is a memher of the (irand 

twceii this eountry and Canada. In the dis- Ai-iiiy of thi' Ke|)ul)lic, takes an active ])art 

charec of his duties he s])ent mui'li time in in its work and is tleeply iiitei'ested in the 

I'oit Huron and he continued a resident of Cause of tile veter.ins of the Civil war. He 

.Michigan lint il his ileniisc. I ii his family were also ix'lones to the Masonic fraternity, for 

ten childri'ii, of whom the eldest dieil in in- the past ten years he has s|)ent the winter 

fancy. seasons larycl.v in Florida. Alahanui and Cal- 

Edward S. Hunt, tin- second in ordi'i- of ifoi-nia. He has visited the ^'ellowstonl' Park 

birth, was four years of ai;i' a) the ii ne of niid othei' places of interest in this eountry 

his jjareiits" removal to St. ('lair county and ami has matlc it a point to eii.joy lifi', while 

there he livetl upon the homestead farm until at the same time he has carefully controlled 

twenty-four yi'ars of aue. when he took' up )iis business affaii's and faithfully performed 

his abode in Casco. I'un-hasiiie- a tract of all duties of citizenshij). 

land, h<' carried on general farmiii-i' on his 

own ai'count and later he sold that pt'opei'ty \S\HF'l H\IIFY 
and boiiuht a fai'iii in Columbus. This he 

contiinicd to improve and he has .-idded to Asaliel Hailey 's name is cdosely iuliu'woveii 

it tnitil it now comprises two hundred acre^ with the history of .Macomb count.v through 

of rich land, the •ireater part of which is that period when 1h.' foundation of material 

under a hii;h state of cultivation. There is progress, intellectual iiii]irovement and moral 

living- water upon the ])lacc and the land lies advancement was beiui;- laid, and his efforts 

excellently for drainaiic i)nri)oses. .Mr. Hunt were of marked value in the upbnildins of 

followed farmiui;' alone pro<ii-essive lines and this section of the stat<-. lie i-anie cd' Kne-- 

in the course of time his farm became lish and Scotch ancestry and Stephen was 

one of the best of the locality. He is now the name of four of his ancestors in the di- 

rentinji it, while for the past twenty yeai's i-ect paternal line. The founders of the fam- 

he has iJractically \\\ri\ retire<l. Sim-e com- il.\' in .\merica caiiu' from Kiieland. His 

int;- to Richmond he has erected a modern erandparents were Stephen and Kiiiiice 

brick residence of attractive style of archi- (Ci'ooks) Hailc.x'. the latter of Seoteh liue- 

tecture and supplied with all the city con- a-ic. and his pai-ents were Steiiheii and 

venicnces. F^illowin-;- his removal to Pich- Lydia (Freeman") Haih'y. Tlu' hitter hail a 

moirl he enfi'aj;vd in the cai'riaef business for family ol' three sons and three d;iue|iters. 

six years and then i)ut aside all mercantili- They were Presbyterians in early life, but 

interests and other business affairs save the afterward became identified with thcKpisco- 

supervision of hi-i investmt'uts. palian faith, in which the.\- reari'd their fam- 

In lS(i2 'Sir. Hunt was marrietl to .Miss ily. 
.Mary Jane .Meaboii, of St, Claii' county, whose Asaliel Bailey was born in lladdam. Con- 
parents were natives of the state of New uecticiit, -lanuary l2!t. 1789. pursued his cdii- 
^'orlc. .Mrs. Hunt dieil September 1.'). ISItT. cat ion I here and determined to st inly for t he 
and in .\pril, IIHIII. Mr. Hunt was a^ain mai-- miiiistr.w but the (dose coiifiiiemeiit n\' stu- 
ried. his secmid union bein^ with .\iina .M. dent life undermined his health and forced 
Swiso. a native of Wisconsin. him to abandon his plans for (diurcdi woi-k. 

At tlu' time of the Civil war .Mr. Hunt man He afterward eneaui'd in manufacturiiii;- and 

ifested his loyalty to the Fnion <-ause by in tcachinu-, Imt eventually devote, 1 his undi- 

enlistin^- in the spiine nf ISti.") in the Mich- vided attention to aj;rieultural pursuits. 




ASAIIHL liAILKY. 




MRS. CYNTHIA BAILEY 



PAST AXn PHESEXT OF :\rA('().MI'. COUNTY 



145 



In ISiy, ill Kic'luiioiiil. New York, Asahel 
Jiaik',\' wedded liis eoiisin, .Miss Cyuthia 
Freemau, the marriage ceremony being per- 
formed by Elder Wright, a minister of the 
Methodist Episcojial ehureh. She was a 
daughter of Joseph and Sylvia (Newman) 
Freeman, the latter of ^Yelsh lineage, while 
the Freemans were of English descent. The 
family was founded in America at Cape Cod 
and later representatives of the name re- 
moved to Chatham, Connecticut. The paternal 
gi-andpareiits of .Mrs. Bailey were Closes 
and Susan (Brooks) Freemau. the former a 
sea captain, who was lost with his vessel 
and crew when his son Joseph was a child. 
The only trace of the wreck that was ever 
found was a blanket, marked with his name. 
^Irs. Bailey was born in Berkshire, Ver- 
iiiiint. September 18, 1798, and in 1821 she 
accompanied her husband from Richmond, 
New Yt)rk. to Mic-higaii — then under terri- 
torial government. 

They crossed Lake Ei-ie in the first steamer 
on that lake, suggestivelj- named Walk-in- 
the-^Yater. reaching Detroit September 14th 
and in a small boat started from Detroit to 
Jlount Clemens, but the boat sprang a leak 
and they soon hail to abandon hope of reach- 
ing their destination in that way. The sun 
was low when they discovered a log house 
in the woods and landed, but the French set- 
tlers there refused them aid, the woman tell- 
ing them to cook their own victuals, when 
they asked her to prepare a meal, and the 
man refusing to take them on their way 
with his team, although they oit'ered to pay 
libei-ally. Aid ca)Tie. however, when Judge 
Clemens drove up and ilireeted the French- 
man to take the ])arty to his house. In an 
ox-cai't they were driven to the home of 
Judge Clemens and there procured horses 
and wagon, with which they started on to 
their destination, which they reached in Jan- 
uary. 1822. At tiuit time Romeo, then called 
Indian Village, contained but one building — 
a log cal)in which stood on a farm that had 
been owned by Jeremiah Allen, who had be- 
gun the cabin and had also dug an unwalled 
well. Tiring of his jiioneer home, ]\Ir. Allen 
gladly trailed the claim to ^li-. Bailey, who 
oft'eriMl him fifty dolljirs in hoots and shoes. 
The exchange made, the Bailey family, then 
consisting of husbaiKl. wife and infant 
daughlei-. were soon installed in their new 
home and continued residents of Romeo 
throughout their remaining days. 

The Bailey family were friendly with the 
Indians, who trusted ".\sa Billy" implicit- 



Iv. The sldiy of their life was the story of 
pidHicr limes. Mr. ]iailey went once a year 
111 Drlroit i'lir Irtters, on each of which he 
hail to pay twenty-five cents postage. Pon- 
liac was their nearest milling place. Their 
first orchard was plantetl by himself and wife 
on the north side of East St. Clair street 
and later they set out another on the west 
side of Jlain street. .Mr. Bailey continued 
the work of farming for many years, improv- 
ing a property which in course of time 
brought to him a good income. In Februai-y, 
1887, he sold his farm in Romeo and bought 
a tract of new land in what is now lierliu 
tiiwnship, but the purchaser failed to pay 
and the family returned to the old farm at 
the end of three months. His pioneer log 
cabin was replaced by a frame house, built 
of lumber, which he hauled with oxen from 
the north woods, making many laborious 
trips. The third home of the family, in the 
south end of the village, was completed in 
1S.')S and was first occupied on Januarv 1, 
1S.")I). 

In the meantime, while carrying on his 
farming operations. Mr. Bailey assisted ma- 
ter'ially in reclaiming this i-egiou for civili- 
zation, assisting lai-gely in the work of i)n- 
l)rovement and upbuilding. He surveyed the 
first pulilic roails in the county, extending 
to .Mount Clemens and St. Clair and in 1832, 
in connection with N. T. Taylor, he platted 
the village "f Romeo, which had been sur- 
veyed by John B. Ilollister. He gave the 
land on Miiich the first sehoolhouse was 
built and also for the l)uilding of a house 
of worship for the Congregational denomi- 
nation, and these tracts are still used for the 
original purposes for which they were be- 
stowed. He was one of the first school in- 
spectors of Bruce township and his co-ojier- 
ation coi;ld always be counted upon to fur- 
ther the welfare or promote the upbuilding 
of town or count.y. 

.Mr. and ^Irs. Bailey became the parents 
of seven children: Prudence Cynthia died 
.Vpril 17, 1872: Maria ;Matilda ; Stephen, who 
married Isabella Harriet Davis, of James- 
town. New York, was engaged in farming 
for a time in Iowa, afterward following mer- 
chandising and in iMarch. 18(i0. went to 
Pike's Peak, returning in the following De- 
cember to Romeo. He had two children, 
Edith .Maud .iiid Clara JIarinda. but the 
latter died .March 11. 1881, and the mother 
died .\pril K!. 1881: Lois Curtis was the 
next member of the family of Asahel Bailey; 
Newman died in infancy: and Lydia and 



146 



PAST AND I'HKSKXT OF .AIACO.MH COINTV 



Phehc Jiiiu' were the younuest niciiibci's of 
the fMinily. The t';ither"s death oeeiirred at 
Romeo. Jamiary 27, 18(j2, aud on the seven- 
ty-third anniversary of his birth he was laid 
to rest. Jlrs. Bailey, long surviving him. 
passed away July 4, 1881. He was always a 
great reader, the taste of tlie student being 
manifest throughout his entire life and 
making him a man of superior education and 
wide intelligence. His naiiu^ is inseparably 
interwoven with the hi.story of the county 
and the village of Romeo largely stands as 
a monument to him. as he was one of its 
founders and early promoters. 



ARTHUR E. \AX EPS. 

Arthur E. Van Eps, who is engaged in the 
abstract and fire insurance business in Blount 
Clemens, was born in this city, ilarch 5. I80I. 
He comes of an old family of Holland ances- 
try, the oi-iginal i-epresentatives of the family 
in America having settled on the Hudson river 
in New York. His patei'nal grandfather was 
a soldier iu the war of 1812. The father. 
John E. Van Eps, was a native of the Empire 
state and came to Jlichigan in 184:4, settling in 
:\Iouut Clemens. He was a hai-iu^ssnuikei- by 
tratk' and in connection with his business in 
that lini' also carried a line of shoes. He 
likewise conducted a tannery for some years, 
and was a partner in the general stoi'c of 
Traver. \'an Eps & Comjiany. He is now 
living retired. He was married after his re- 
moval to Mount Clenums, Miss Ada Traver be- 
coming his wife. She, too, was a native of 
New York. .Mr. Van Eps has been i)roiuinent 
in community affairs and at one time was 
mayor of ]\lount Clemens, lie has now 
reached the advanced age of eighty-tlu'ce 
years, his birth having occurred in 1822. 

.\rthur E. Van Eps began his education in 
II1C pi-iniary schools of IMount Clemens ;nid 
advanced tlu-ough successive gi'ad(>s until he 
became a high school student. In early life 
he learned tile trade of taniu'r and currier 
and coiUinued at that busiiu'ss until tW(Mity- 
one years of age, a part of the lime carryini;- 
on wiii-k on his own account. In 187H. the 
yeai' in which .Mount Clemens was incorjiora- 
ted as a city, he was elected tli(> fii'st sujiervisor 
and held that position for twelve consecutive 
years. In 188f) he was chosen register of 
deeds and served for four yeais in that offici. 
He was also city clerk for three years and in 
these various positions discharged his duties 
with promptness and lidclit.w In ]»olitics 



he is a tleuiocrat ami is deeply interested in 
the success and growth of his jjarty. 

While still holding office .Mi-. \'an Eps em- 
barked in his present line of business, turning 
his attention to abstracting and fire insurance 
ill 1887. He i-t now a partner of Trangott 
Lungershausen. iiiidi'i- the firm style of 
Lun.;ei'shausen & \'an E]is. This relation was 
been maintained continuously for eighteen 
years and the firm has the original and only 
set of abstract books in the coiinty, it having 
l;een prepared by ^la.jor Alonzo Keeler whih 
he was register of deeds. They have a good 
business which is continually growing. 

On the 28th of October. 1880. .Mr. Van 
Eps was married to Miss Ilattie Jl. Church, 
a daughter of Ilaswell and .Mary A. (Davis) 
Church, who were natives of \'erniont. Her 
father served as sheriff of .Macomb comity 
for four years and it was in Macomb connt\- 
that ilrs. \'an Eps was born. She has be- 
come the mother of (me daughter. Alia, who is 
now a teacher in Mount Clemens. 

Mr. Van E])s is ii charter member of .Mount 
Clemens lodge, Xo. 168, K. P. lie was master 
in Mount Clemens lodge. No. 6. A. E. & A. il., 
in 1879 and 1880. and was high priest of 
-Mount Clemens eha]>ter. R. A. .M., for fifteen 
years; a member of [Mount Clemens council. 
No. 8. R. & S. M., and in 1878 was a member 
of Romeo conmiandery, Xo. G, K. T. He also 
belongs to the Knights of iMaccabees. .Mr. 
"\'an Eps is always approachable, according to 
every one the courtesy of an intei'view. and 
his own success never alters in any degree his 
feeling for those less fortunate. 



T. Cll.\i{LES CHITTEXDE.X. 

T. Charles Crittenden, living on section 18. 
Che'-'terfield township, was born in this town- 
ship, January 7, 18.57, a son of Charles J), and 
Lois Ann (Knight) Crittenden. His grand- 
father, John Critt<'iiden. was born in Franklin 
county, .Massacluisetts. January 'A. 17!>(). and 
married Phoebe Coodrieh. In 18:^ he came 
with his family to Michigan and purchased 
eighty acres of government land on section 
18. Chesterfield township. Xot a furrow had 
been turned nor an iiriproveiuent made there, 
and in fact the tract was covered with a dense 
growth of timber. As there was no market 
for wood at tiiat time he dis|)osed of inueh of 
the timber by |)iling it U|i and burning it. lie 
was a passenger on the first lu'actical steame' 
built by i\obert Fulton in the Fiiifed States, 
plying on the Hudson ri\iM-. He served at a 



PAST AND I'lJKSKXT OF .MACO.MI! tUlNTV 



147 



inililiaiiiaii in the state of New York in 1S14. 
For many years lie reniaiiiecl an lionon'il 
pioneer resident ol' Maeonih eonnl.v and dir:l 
here Xovemher "J!). ISSli. 

Cliark's I). Crittenileli. l)0l-n in tlniario 
eounty. New York, April 10, hS'JT, was 
brouirht by his parents to Miehiiran when foui- 
yeai-s old and was educated in the disti'iet 
school. lie worked on his fathei'"s farm until 
he attained his majority, when he purchased 
a f;irm on the Quick road, lie afterward sold 
this and houiiht forty acres in Viacom!) town- 
ship, which he deeded to his fathei'. i-eceiviny 
in exchange tliirt.v acres of the homestead on 
which he built a dwelling. There he i-enuiiued 
niitil 1S72. when he retii'ed from active busi- 
ness cares and established his home in IMouut 
Clenu'ns. AVhile upon the farm he spent 
fifteen winter seasons in the lumbei- bus- 
iness cutting timber, but in the spring lie 
always i-eturned to his farm. He was 
sup(>rvisoi' of Chesterfield township in 1860-61 
and 1S7(I-71. He was treasurer of his 
township in 18.j6-.57 aiul superintendent of 
the i)oor of ^lacomb county for eight years. 
In pul)lic office he was always found true 
to the trust rcpo-ed in him and in his 
business affairs he was active and energetic, 
winning well merited success through his un- 
tiring lalwn-. He died March ii, 1895. His 
wife, who bore the nuiiden name of Ann 
Knight, passed awa.v September 29, 1891?. 

T. Charles Crittenden was educatetl in the 
district schools aiul the high school of .Mount 
Clemens, living with his father, where he now 
resides. In 1878, at the time of his marriage, 
he removed to the home farm. Here he re- 
modeled all the buildings and nuule nuuiy im- 
provements. He has tiled about one half 
of the farm and he now has a i)i'oductive 
]iro])ei'ty, from which he aiuuudly gathers 
good harvests. In all of his work he is i)rac- 
tical and at the same time i)rogressive and his 
efforts are bringing him well merited |)ros- 
perit.v. He was one of the organizei-s and is 
at ))resent on the board of dii'ectors of the 
Chestci-tield Creamery. 

On the 27tli of .March, 1S7S, .Mr. Critlcndni 
married Jliss Elizabeth ;\I. Arnold. ;i d.-nnjiitri' 
of Samuel and Ellen il. (Marsh) Arnold. 
llei' i)aii'nts were natives of Brooklyn, New 
Yoi-k, and Massachusetts, respect i\i'ly. Her 
father died in Brooklyn, after wliicii hrr 
mother came to Oakland county, .Michigan. 
s<'ttling in Pontiac, where she marrieil (Icorge 
W. Petty, a hardware mei-cliant, wIki in 1900 
retired from active business ami is still livinu 
in Pontiac. where be has made bis iionic \\)r 



about sixty years. He has served as tax col- 
lectoi- thei-e. is prominent in Mas.iuie circles, 
having attained the Knight Temi)lar dem'ce 
in Pontiac comiiiandery. and is inri\icnti;d in 
public alTairs. being I'ccognized as the friend 
ol all movements for the benefit of the com- 
munity. I nto .Mr. and .Mrs. Crittenden were 
liorn seven children: Bessie L.. born ^larch 
.">, 1879. iu)w the wife of John Cunningham 
of Port Huron. Michigan, coiniectcd with the 
Pere Mar(iuette railroad: .\ellie Ma,v, liorn 
Jiuie 18. 1881: Carleton M.. boi-ii August 4, 
iHS'.i, now with the National Sand & Cement 
Block Company of Detroit; Don C, who was 
born April 17, ISSti, and died January 23, 
1904, his I'emains lieiiii; laid to rest in the 
Crittenden family imrying ground, which is 
l)artly on the old homesti'sul : Hay T., born 
December 23, 1888 : Ma.\ C., born October 18, 
1898; and Lila N., born August .J, 1900. The 
first two childi'cn of this family had three 
great-grandfathers and two great-grand- 
mothers living at tlu' saine time. 

'Slv. Crittenden has acceptably tilled the 
office of .justice of the i)eace for five years, his 
decisions being strictly fair and impartial. 
He was school directoi' for thi-ee years, was 
treasurer of the Chesterfield Creamer.v Com- 
pany for four years, a uicmber of Jlount 
Clemens lodge, No. 168, K. P.. and a member 
of Chesterfield (irange. He has a wide ac- 
([uaiutance in the township aiul connt.v in 
which his entire life has been passed and the 
fact that many of his stanchest friends are 
those who have known him from boyhood is 
an indication that his has been a straightfor- 
ward and commendable career. 



ALEXAXDHK J.XCOBI. 

The commercial interests of Mount Clemens 
are well represented by Alexander Jacobi, 
who throughout his entire business life has 
been connected with the clothing trade here. 
He is a native of Buffalo, New Y(U'k, born De- 
<enil)er 24, 18r)r), and he was educated in the 
public schools of New York city. He went to 
Port Huron, ^lichigan, in 1870, and entered 
business life as a elei'k in the clothing store of 
his uncle, Joseph Jacobi. There he remained 
until 1S77. when he b(>came manager of his 
nni-lc's lii'anch stoiv in .Mount Clemens, tak- 
ing charge here on the lOtli of February of 
■ hat year, and this business arrangement was 
■oiitinued until 1880, when .Mr. J.icobi became 
^ole owner of the store which he has since eon- 
ducted, lie lias a lari;c and iMrefullv selected 



148 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



line of iioods and his busiucss has increased 
f(mi--f'old (hiring' the time that he has man- 
aged the store. His methods in trade are such 
as will hear the closest investigation and 
scrutiny ami his earnest desire to please his 
patrons is another element in his prosperity. 
lie has not confined his attention, however, to 
this line alone, i'oi' in ISdO he was one of the 
originators of tlir .Mount Clemens Electric 
Company and has since sei-ved as secretary, 
treasurer and manager. Whatever tends to 
liru<'tit the city. pronu)te its progress alimg 
substantial lines and add to its conunercial 
prosperity, receives liis ('uddi-scmciit and co- 
operation. 

In li^S.") occurri'd the mari'iagc of .Mi'. Jacohi 
and .Miss Kose .Moore, of Chicago, and they 
now have one daughter — Helen. .Mi'. Jacohi 
was made a Mason in 187!) and served as 
mastei- of ]\Iount Clemens lodge. No. 6, A. F. 
tk A. .M.. in 1885-6. He was also high priest 
lit .Mount Clemens chapter. K. A. "SI., in 1887, 
and was twice illustrious master of Mount 
Clemens council. R. & S. M. He has held otiHce 
ill the Knights of Pythias fraternity and has 
lircn worthy patron of the Order of Kastern 
St;ir. being the fii'st to till that position in the 
chaptei' at Mount Clemens. He also belongs 
to the Mount Clemens Cluli. His political 
allegiance is given to the demoeiatic jiarty 
and he served as city treasurer from ISSli 
until 1891. Progress and patriotism might 
be termed the keynoti^ of his character, for 
they have been manifest in all that he does in 
connection with the city's welfare, as well 
as in his business life. He earnestly desires 
the advancement and improvement of -Mount 
Clemens and what he has done has proved of 
beiietit here. He is a man of sound business 
.judgment, of pleasing address and of attrac- 
tive social (|ualities, and his ])osition in the 
comumnity. both eoiiniiei'i-ially and socially, is 
an enviable one. 



(;K()U(iK I'. KCKSTKI.X. 

.MacoDili county has been favoretl in the 
class of citizens who have held her public 
offices, and among this nuni'^er is George P. 
Eckstein, of Mount Clemens, who is now 
serving as county sheriff. He was born in 
Stei'ling townslii|), January 1'). 1871). his \>:\v- 
eiits being Lambei't and .\ugusta (Keefe) 
Eckstein, both of whom were natives of (ier- 
iiumy. The father came to this country with 
his i)arents when only ten years of age and 
first li\ed in Detroit. .Mirhigan. In ISliO he 



jmrchasetl land in Sterling townshij), Ma- 
comb county, beconiing owner of sixty acres, 
which was covered with timber. This he 
cleared away, placing the land under culti- 
vation. aii<l he still makes his home there, 
having now a well-developed proiierty. His 
wife died in 1892 at the age of forty-five 
years. In their family were the following 
children: William, of Sterling township; 
Hicka, the wife of Julius Zoolner, of Roch- 
ester. .Michigan: Martin, who is turnkey at 
the county jail: .Mary, of .Miniiit Clemens; 
Lena, of Sterling: ^lichael, who is living in 
Warren township; Elizabeth, the wife of 
Amil Hecker, of Sterling township: Jlinnie 
and Amelia, at home. Three children of this 
family died in infancy. 

(ieorge 1^. Eckstein pursued his education 
in the i)ublic schools and for one year was a 
student in the (ierman school. He was con- 
tinued in the German Lutheran church in 
188:^. His boyhood and youth were passed 
on the home i'arm, where he early became 
familiar with the duties and labors that fall 
to the lot of the agricidturist, ami lie con- 
tinued to assist his father until twenty years 
of age. when he began dealing in tiiid'iM' and 
in operating a sawmill. He manufactured 
hardwood lumber, long oak. shij) timber, 
bridging, etc.. and continued in this business 
with excellent success until the fall of 190-1. 
when he sohl out. having been elected to 
l)ublic office. 

.Mr. Eckstein was chosen sheritf (.if .Ma- 
comb county on the re]uiblican ticket, in 
1904. by a plurality of seventy-seven votes, 
and is now lilling that office in a fearless 
manner, being prompt and eajiable in the 
discharge of his (.luties. lie was trustee of 
the village of Warren and was (le|)uty sher- 
iff of the county in 190:i-4. Twice he made 
the v:\vf for townshi|) treasurer and jiolled a 
large \dtc. although he did not put forth 
any great effort to secure the office, and, 
theref(U'e. did not overcome the usual demo- 
cratic nui.jority. In public office, howex'cr. 
he jiroves that he is the I'ight man in the 
right ]ilace. for he is capable and jn'ompt 
in the discharge of his duties and never fal- 
ters in the ])erfoi'mauce of any task which 
is assigned to him in this connection. He is 
an indefatigable worker in behalf of re])ub- 
licaii ]U'inciiiles, having labored earnestly for 
the success of his ])arty since attaining his 
majority. Fraternally he is associated with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the 
Knights of Maccabees and the Knights of 
Pvthias. 




(;K()i;(iE I'. ECKSTEIN'. 



PA8T AND rKKSlONT OF MACoMi; COIN'I'Y 151 

111 1;kii) Mr, Ki-Usti-iii was inan-icl to .Miss (•(luiity. Oscar. \\li.> was a fanner ami lived 

Hose May. a daii^litei- of the late llariiioii at Avon, in Oakhiiid eount.v. dii'd at tlie a^c 

.May. of Macoiiil) county, and they have one of fifty-seven years. A.xford is a retired 

.son— Dayton Xornian Eckstein. Mr. Ei-k- farmer, livini;- in Rochester, Oakland coniity, 

stein finds his chief source of recreation in and he has two livinu' sons and one deceased, 

fishin.e-. iK'iiie very fond of the sport, and NeNou .M. Price, the liftli iiieiiilier of the 

disjilays considerable skill in an.uliii<i- for family, was educated in the schools of Koch- 

the r.nny tribe, lie is widely known in .Ma- ester and Koiiieo, and at Dickinson Institute, 

comb cininty, where his entire life has tieen After leaviiiii' school he followed farmiii>;- in 

jmssed. and'the fact that many of his warm- Avon township, oi)erat iiiu' the old homestead 

est friends are tho.se with whom he has been on bis own aeeount. There he remaiiu-d for 

aeiiuainted from hi.s boyhood ilays is an indi- about tm years, after which he purchased the 

cation that his life has been upri'jrht and hon- <>1<I Hiill which he conducted for eighteen 

nrable. months. He then sohl that jiroperty and 

lioui;ht a farm of one hundred and s;xt.v acres, 

which he still owns. Throuiihont his entire 

\'FT "^OX At PRTCF ''^'' '"' '''"^ carried on aaricultural pursuits 

' 1' ::nd is still an active factor in farm work. 

Nelson .M. Prii-e. who is classed with the havini:' to-day a well develo]icd iiroperty 

representative and ])rosperous farmers of which is an indication of his life cd' thrift and 

Shelby township, resides on section 7. lie ent<'rprise. 

w;is born in .\voii townshi|). Oakland connt.v. Air. I'ric-e was married in ISii!) to .Miss 
Michigan. .March :5(), IMl. his parents beinii' Charlotte (i. Co.x, a daimliter of Clarke and 
\Villi;ini and Sallie (A.xford) Price, the for- .Mary (Wood) Cox. both of whom were repre- 
mer born in Frederick, .Maryland, and sentatives of old .New York families. .Mrs. 
the latter in Warren county, New Jersey. The Price wa.-i born in Macomb county. .Michigan. 
paternal grandfather was Phillip Price, who December lil, 1M44. and was edneatiMl in the 
served in the Hevohitionary war and died district schools of 0;ikland county. Her 
when .Xelsoii .M. Price was (piite young. In parents were of English lineage and spent 
his family were eight children, five sons and their childhood in tin- Empire state, after 
three daughters, of whom one daughter is yet which they came to Michigan in its |)ioneer 
living, Ellen, who has been married twice. tlays. They had one son. Pyroii L.. who is 
William Price was a miller by trade and came living on the old homestead farm in Oakland 
to Michigan in 1823, casting in his lot with county and is married and lias a daughter, 
its first settlers. lie ground the first barrel of .Mr. and .Mrs. Prii'c have two children. Tlie 
Hour in Oakland county and his mill, which son, Clarke ('.. born .1,-iiiuary "_'4. ISTO. was 
was locatetl in .\von township, he conducted educateil in the district schools and has always 
with success until 1830, when he juirchased a ent:aged in the raising of black game cocks 
farm across the I'oad from the one upon which which he sells throughout the eountr.\-. He 
our sub.ject now resides. lie afterward has a ver.v large jiatronage and finds his Ims- 
traded this farm lor the old mill auaiii and ine: s iirofitahle. 1 le uses incubators and gives 
for thi'ee hundred and twenty aci'es of hnnl mo.^t id' his time to the work, having 1)een con- 
in .\voii townshii) ad.i'oining the mill. At a nected with this business lifteen years, his 
later date he again disposed of his milling sales reaching to .Mexico and Canada as well 
[iroiiert.v and gave his attention to agricidtnral as all poi'tions of the I'liited States. The 
imrsuits. In politics he was a democrat and daiiyhler, Clara, is the wife of Homer T. 
fiu- a numbei- of years served as township Shoup, who is a motorman running between 
sui>ervisor. lining the office at a time when the Kochestei- and Detroit, and tlie.\- li\-e in the 
supervisors had to ride on horseback to do former city. Mrs. Shoup was boi'ii .\ovember 
the assessing in the count. \-. lie died in 1S,")7. '-. 1S72. and was educated in the district 
while his wife. surviviiiL;- him twent.v years, schools. 

passed away in 1S77. The.v were the |)arents In jiolilics .Mr. Price has always lieeii a dem- 

of live children, three sons and two dauiihters : ocrat, while liis son is a republican. Ih' 

Maria became the wife of E. J. d'aleiiliiie served as commissioner of highwa.vs when 

who was a money loaner at K'ochesti')'. .\i'W liviiu;' in Oakland county. He became ;i 

^'orl;. Both are now deceased. They had .Master .Mason when tweiit.v-two years of age 

two children. Rachel, now seventy -five years and now lielongs to Uochcster lodge, .\o. .'), 

of aue. is liviiii;- at Slon\- Creek, in Oakland .\. P. it .\. M.. in whic-h he has servi'd as sec- 



152 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.AIB COl'XTY 



i-etai'v foi- ii nuiiihcr of years. There is now 
a very fioui'ishing' Masouie organizatitm at 
Hocliester. He is also identified with Koehes- 
tei- iodjre. No. 77. I. O. 0. F.. and the Inde- 
pendent Oi'dei" of Foresters. He can remem- 
l)er when the eoiintry was all wild and when 
there were deer, wolves and bear in the tinibei'. 
Some of the thriving' towns and villaires hail 
not then sprnntr into existence and tlie work 
of improvement and progress lay largely in 
the future. Jlr. Price has home his full share 
of the work of upbuilding and has long been 
accounted one of the reliable and tiMistworthy 
farmers of Shelby township. 



C'llAHLES LOXSBV. 

Charles Lonsby. the treasurer of the Lonsby 
Lumber Company. Limited, was l)orn in Clio, 
(ienesee county. ^Michigan. April 27, 1862, his 
parents being Joseph and Lucy Ann (Web- 
ster) Lonsby. the former a native of New 
York, and the hitter of Ohio. The grand- 
father was Fetei- Loiisl)v. a native of Canada. 
The father was born in Jefferson county, New 
York, July 2-t, 18:37. and came to Michigan 
in 185-1. He engaged in clerking for Price 
Rein, in Genesee comity, and afterward was 
engaged in the lumber business for five years 
in Alcona county, being thus engaged until 
his arrival in IMoiint Clemens, in 187"). lie 
became an extensive dealer in lumber, shingles, 
lath and cedar posts, in ilount Clemens, hav- 
ing a business which netted him a good profit. 
He was also part owner of the steamboat Ida 
Burton and the barge S. H. Johnston. He 
established his lumbei- business in iMount 
Clemens in 1875. and here continued until 
1881. when he removed soutli of the river. 
He formed his plans I'eatlily, was determined 
in their execution and was notably prompt 
■md reliable in the management of iiis business 
affairs. He held membei-shi)) in the .Masonic 
fraternity and also in the Royal Arcanum and 
he died in 18!)(). at the age of fifty-nine years. 
His wife bore the maidt'U name of Lucy Ann 
Webster and they were married in 18tJU. 
They became the parents of two .sons — Charles 
and John, but the latter is now deceased. 

Chai'les Lonsby pursued his education in 
the public schools of llari-isville and of .Mount 
Clemens. .Michigan, and eai-ly in life became 
largel.v familiar with the lumber business 
through the time .spent in his father's lumber 
yard. After he had completed his education 
he was admitted by his father to a iiartner- 
shij) in the business, in 1882. under the firm 



name of Lonsby & Sou. and here he has since 
continued, carefully controlling the business 
ami develoi)ing a trade which has reached ex- 
tensive proportions. He enlarged his plant 
and in 1901 he organized the Lonsby Lumber 
& Coal Company. Limited, of which he be- 
came the treasurer. This is to-day one of the 
leading industi-ial and commercial enterprises 
of the city and as its chief promoter, ilr. 
Lonsby ranks with the representative business 
men here. 

On the 6th of Augu.st. 181(1. was celebrated 
the marriage of Charles Lonsby and ]\Iiss Au- 
gusta Breit-ileyer. a daughter of John Breit- 
ileyer. of Detroit, and their children are 
Helen Lucy and Catherine Fi'cderika. Mr. 
Lonsby is a member of ^Mount Clemens lodge. 
No. 6, A. F. & A. ;M., with which he has been 
identified since 1882. and he has also taken 
the chapter degrees. Socially he is a genial 
gentleman of refined and cultured tastes, find- 
ing his congenial fi'ieiids in the best class of 
society. Honored and respected by all. he 
occupies an enviable position in commercial 
and financial circles in Mount Clemens, not 
alone by reason of the success he has achieved 
but because of the honorable, straightforward 
policy he has ever followed. It is true that he 
entered upon a business already established. 
l)ut in eonlrolling and eiilai'ging this many a 
man of less resolute spirit would have failed. 
He. however, was watchful of oppoi'tunities. 
I'ccognizing the advantages offered by the busi- 
ness conditions of the i)resent. and in his 
career has again demonstrated the fact that 
success is not a matter of genius but is the 
outcome of clear .iudgment and exi)erienee. 



CHAHLES S. (IKOESBECK. 

Charles S. (loesix-ck, now deceased, was for 
many years a well-known business man of 
.Macomb county, a valued citizen and capable 
official. He was born in Warren lownshij). 
this county. November '-i. IS'.VA. and ]>assed 
away in .Mount Clemens, Septembei- 1. VMM, 
when about sixty-six years of age In his 
youth he attended the common schools and 
was reared to the occupation of farming, 
early becoming familial' with the duties an(\ 
labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. 
In his business career he jirospcreil and at 
various times he followed farming, milling 
and the lumber business, dealing in [uml>er. 
staves and vessel propeiMy. .\ liberal jiatron- 
age was accorded him and in the management 
of his business atf'airs he displayed sound 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



153 



judgUK'iit. marked enterprise and keen sa- 
gacity, so that his etVorts brouijlit to him a 
•rood finaneial return. 

But it was not ah)ne in l)usiness eireles 
that ^Ir. (iroesbeek became prominent, as he 
was reeognized as a leadei' in [uiblic affairs 
and his views formed an intiuenee in mohling 
public thought and opinion in his uative 
county. While living in the second district 
he was elected a memlier of the state legisla- 
ture, serving from 1862 until 18(i4 — am im- 
portant session, for the Civil war was then 
in progress. He was also supervisor of Wai-- 
ren township at one time and in 1S70 he was 
elected county clerk of ilacoml) county, an 
office which he filled for eight years. lie 
served as village councilman in Mount Clem- 
ens before the incorporation of the city and 
was supervisor for the second ward, lie 
lived in Mount Clrmens continuously after 
taking up his abode there in 1S71 until about 
four years prior to his death, when he re- 
moved to Detroit, where he was engaged in 
the lumber business, but owing to ill-health 
he returned to his farm, where he remained 
for a year, taking up his abode in ilount 
Clemens a few weeks prior to his death. 

^Ir. (iroeslieck was married in Ajiril, 1865, 
to ;\Iiss Lydia Beebe a daughter of John L. 
and Esther (Davy) Beebe, the former a ua- 
tive of Albany, New York, and the latter of 
England. Iler father was a tinsmith by 
trade, but after following that pursuit for 
a number of years he turned his attention to 
merchandising. He died in AVarren town- 
ship, Macomb county, at the age of sixty-six 
years. His wife passed away in 1900, at the 
advanced age of seventy-nine years. She 
came with her parents to ^lichigan when 
twelve years of age, the family settling in 
Detroit. After her marriage she removed 
with her husband to Quincy, Illinois, where 
they were living at the time of the birth of 
their daughter, Mrs. Groesbeck. Later they 
returned to ^Macomb county. ^Irs. Groes- 
beck is the eldest in their family of eight 
children and the others still living ai-e: 
Theresa, the wife of P^dward Tharett, of 
]\[ount Clemens: Lillian, the wife of Archi- 
bald Lyons, of Warren, Macomb county : Lor- 
enzo v.: and ITeni-ietta. Samuel died at the 



age of eighteen 
in infancy. 

Unto Ml-, and .Mrs. 
eleven children, eight 
namely: ^Irs. Ilariy 
Frank G. Lennebael 



years, wliilr the (ithers died 

bdl'll 



(iroesbeek were 

of whom are 1 

.M. Hamilton, 

<er, Josephine. 



dietl Xdvi'iiiber IS. llMMt. and the others died 
in infaney. 

.Ml-. Groesbeck led a very liusy and useful 
life and through his industry he accumulated 
a good property. He had many warm friends 
whose regai-il he riebly deserved. He was up- 
right in every relation of life, was kind and 
considerate and will long be held in ait'ection- 
ate remembrance. He was a member of the 
Mount Clemens Chamber of Connnerce, the 
Hunting and Fishing Club and other local 
organizations and he also held membership 
in St. Peter's Catholic church. His widow 
and ehildren yet reside in Blount Clemens 
•■111(1 have a wide Mi-quaintanee in the city. 



Frank. Ilenrv, Howard and l\a\'miind. 



iviiiir, 

Mrs. 

John 

Anna 



GEORGE W. BARTLETT. 

George W. Bartlett. who is engaged in the 
hardware business in ilemphis. conducting one 
of the leading stores of that enterprising town, 
was born in Pontine, ;\Iichigan, December 7, 
1865. His parents are Harold J. and Rose L. 
(Keyo) Bartlett. both of whom are natives of 
the pjiiipire state. The graiulfather. James 
Bartlett, was born in England about 1800, 
and with his family came to America, settling 
in New Y'ork where he continued to reside 
until the '50 's when he came to Michigan, 
taking up his abode in Oakland, where his re- 
maining days were passed. Under the pat-eu- 
tal roof Harold J. Bartlett was reared and 
with his parents came to the west. At the 
time of the Civil war he responded to the 
country's call for aid and with patriotic spirit 
joined the First ^Michigan Artillery, with 
which he was connected for four years and two 
months, seeing much active service during that 
time. He participated in the important bat- 
tles of i\lissionary Ridge, Ivookout ^lountain. 
Stony Creek and others, and made a most 
creditable military record, displaying valor 
upon many a battlefield. Following the close 
of the war he came to j\Iemphis where he en- 
gaged in the harness luisiness in which he con- 
tinued uninterruptedly and with a gratifying 
measure of success until 188'2. when he retired 
from active business life and was succeeded 
liy bis son. E. A. Bartlett, who .still continues 
1lie business. He w'as a member of the Grand 
.\i-iiiy of the Republic and en.ioyed the high 
regard not only of his old comrades who wore 
I he liliie l)ut all with whom \w was associated 
in business or social lif(\ His family num- 
bered three children. 

George W. Bartlett. the second child, spent 
his school days in >b'mphis and after putting 



154 



PAST AND I'KESFA'T OF .AFACO.MB COIXTV 



asiile his text-books lr;n-ni'(l the harness 
maker's trade with Iiis I'athci-. which he cdii- 
tiiiued to follow in his fathei'"s store until the 
hitter's death, lie afterward woi-ked for a 
siiDi't time in thr stniT hut in 1S!)S cntei'ed 
upon an active iiiereantilc career, ijurehasini; 
the hardware store and stove business of "Wade 
lie Bywater. the store l)ein<;' located in the 
central part "!' the villai;c. Here he has since 
successfully continued business, cari'vini;- a 
full and coni])lete line of <;enei'al hardware, 
stoves and in fact everythini;- usually found in 
a fir.st ela.ss establishment of this eharaetei'. 
The public accords him a liberal patronage by 
reason of his straightforwai'd business nieth- 
iids. his fair jjrices and his earnest desire In 
jilease his i)ati'ons. 

In Fei)i'uary, IS!)!), .Mr. liartletl was nuir- 
ried to Miss Enniia ]ii-own, a initive of Kich- 
luond township and a daughtei' of C'leander 
Brown, one of the representative citizens of 
that township. They have one daughter, 
Eunice. ^Tr. Bartlett and his wife havi' a 
large circle of Marm friends aiul their own 
home is noted for its generous and gracious 
hos])itality. Tie has taken an active interest 
in affairs relating to the village and its wel- 
fare, was one of the village ti'ustees and for 
two yeai's served as township treasurer. His 
social relations are with the JIasonic frater- 
nit.v, the ^laecabees and the Mutual Benex'o- 
lent As.sociation. 



JA.MKS .MADISO.X HATHAWAY. 

James .Madison Hathaway, now deceased, 
was for many years an active, practical and 
enterpi'ising farmer of Kichniond township. 
He was born in the state of Xew York, June 
11, 182!), a sou of Ilii'aui llalliaway. There 
he spent the da.vs of his boyhood and youth, 
his education being aecpiired in the public 
schools :iud (lu the 2)^(1 of Ajiril, lSo4, he was 
united ill iiiairiage to .AHss Jane P. Duidiani. 
who was liciiii in Henrietta, Orleans county, 
N'ew ^■ol•k. Di'cember I). 1S:U. Her father 
was Daniel I). Dnnliaiii. a native of liatavia. 
N'ew 'S'lirk, and the grandfalhei-. Daniel 
Duiiliaiii, Sr.. was also born in that ])lace. 
The family is of English linejige and came 
to Amerie;i in colonial days. .\mong the 
aiieest(U's of thi' raiiiily weri' tlicise who 
served the country in the war of 1S12. In 
the maternal line .Mrs. Ilalliaway is desceu.b 
ed from the (lark family, wliicli was repre- 
sented in the Hevoliit ioiiary war. In l,s:!S 
Daniel I ). Dunham came to .Miidiigaii and set- 



ili'l in the township of Armada, ilacomb 
comity, where he spent his remaining days, 
devoting his energies to the occupation of 
farming. His children were: ]\Irs. Hath- 
away: Orson, who s])ent his life in Armada 
and died in August, 18!)!^); Amanda, who was 
married in 1858 to Horace Sutton, a i-esi- 
denl of .Mac(»nd) eount.v, who died in June, 
l!)().'i ; Enieline, deceased : Cordelia, who died 
in 18!)(): Etuiice, who died in 1877: and 'Shw- 
tin, who is living in Jjinn, St. ('lair eount.v, 
.Michigan. 

Following their marriage .Mr. and .Mrs. 
Hiithawa.v began their domestic life on a 
farm in Kichniond townshiji, .Macoml) couii- 
ly. He was a millwright by trade and also 
followed carpentering and farming, and a 
great iiiMuy houses now stand as an evidence 
of his haiidiwoi-K'. He gave much of his atten- 
tion, however, to general agricultural pui'- 
suits and cultivated and <le\-eloped an ex- 
cellent tract id' land of oni' huiulrcd acres 
in Kichniond township, making it a vei'.v 
jn'oductive and well-im])roved fai-m. He 
woi'ked earnestly and jiersistently, realizing 
that diligence and persevei-ance are the foun- 
datiiMi of all substantial an<l ilesii'able suc- 
cess, and thus as years jiassed he accumu- 
lated a eomfoi-table competence. The home 
was also blessed by the presence of four chil- 
dren : Ann, who is now living with her 
mother in tlieir hmue in Kichniond ; .\ddie, 
wdio died .March 7, 181)2: Dorrance K., a far- 
irier of Kiehmond township: and Xellie, who 
died Septeniiier :^0, 1872. .Mr. Hathaway de- 
pa rt;'d this life on the 2!)tli of .lanuary, 1!)()1. 
F(u- many years he had been accounted one 
of the res|)eeteil citizens of his commiunty. 
He served as supei'visor for one yr:\v and 
I'or two terms filled the oftice of ])ostmaster 
in Kichniond und(>i' President Cleveland. His 
political allegiance was given to the demo- 
cratic party and all wdio knew him resiiected 
him for his fidelit,\', his honorable principles 
and his upright manhood. 



-lOlIX W. lliWIX. 



• loliii \V. Irwin, city engineei' of .Mount 
Clemens, was born here Decendier 18, 1872, 
his |)ai'eu1s being John and Xellie ( Devaney I 
Irwin, both (d' whom were natives of Camida 
although their ancestors came originally fi'om 
Ireland. The Father took up his abode in 
.Mount Clemens in 1872. In the spring of 
1S7:{ he purchased a farm in llai'i'ison town- 
.•■liip and has since carried on general ai^rieiil- 




MR. AM) MRS. I. M HATHAWAY 





D. U. DUNHAM 



MRS. D. D. DUNHAM 




UK. AND ^H.;S. HH<.\M H.MHAWAY 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



157 



Iiii'mI pursuits iiiiil siix-k-raising: upou u tract 
(if land wliifli lie purchased almost a third of 
a eeutiiry ago. I'lito him and his wife have 
heeii lioru seveu children : Gussie, John W., 
Kdward. Charles. CathciMiu', Georgia and 
.laiiirs, all living in .Macomb county. 

John W. Irwin was educated in the public 
schools, l)eiug graduated from the high school 
of Mount Clemens in 1892. He afterward en- 
tered the University of Michigan, completing 
a course in the civil engineering department, 
with the class of ISiKi. lie w.is employed the 
s;ime ycai- in railroad ronstruction and in 
platting and in IS'JT he was appointed city 
engineer of ]Mount Clemens by A. T. Donald- 
son, who was then mayor, lie has been ap- 
poiiitiMJ luider each successive administration 
whether the chief executive of the cit.v has 
bci-n a repulilican or democrat. The brick 
pavement of the city was laid during his first 
year in office and he was also in charge of the 
sewer system by virtue of his position of city 
engineer. He also established the grades of 
the city, making them uniform. He laid out 
the only brick .sewer in Blount Clemens, de- 
signing, platting and looking after the work. 
This sewer is one and a half miles in length 
and was completed at a cost of fifty thousand 
dollars. In his political affiliation Mr. Irwin 
is a democrat. His thorough and comprehen- 
sive training as well as his practical experience 
well e(ini|)s him for the office which he is now 
lining. 

^Ir. Irwin is a valued and popular member 
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of 
Elks, the Knights of Columbus and the Mount 
Clemens Club, and of the last named he is a 
<lir('eliir. He has gained the friendship of 
many by reason of his genial spirit, kindl.v 
nature and deference for the opinions of 
others. 



HENKY J. BERZ. 



Henry J. Berz, a farmer of Sterling town- 
ship and the treasurer of the Warren Creani- 
ci'v Com])any, was born in (iermany, Jlay 7, 
1M.")1, ;ind is a son of George B. and Elizabeth 
(Schneider) P>er/.. The j)arenfs were boi'n in 
llesse Darmstadt, (iermany, both on the 16th 
of October, 1811, were confirmed on the same 
day, were educated in the same school and 
were nuirried mi their twenty-fifth birtiiday, 
while on the sevent.v-fifth anniversary they 
celebrated their golden wedding. The father 
died in October, ]89;i. at the age of eighty- 
two vears and his remains were iiiteri-(>d in 



Wiirrcn cemetery. Tiie mother survived until 
1904, jiassing away when ninety-two years of 
age. In early manhood the father began 
teaching and followed that profession for 
twenty-five years in one school in (iermany. 
He came to America in 182-4, settling at lloch- 
estcr. New York, where he remained for six 
months and then came to Jlichigan. Here he 
[)urchaseil one hundred and forty acres of 
land which he owned at the time of his death. 
He possessed considerable musical talent and 
was an instructor in piano music after coming 
to this state. He also superintended his farm- 
ing operations and developed a good home 
property. In the family were seven children, 
four of whom came with their parents to 
America. Three of the niniiber are yet living. 
Those who crossed the Atlantic to the new 
world are as follows: Eliza, who became the 
wife of Edward Schuster, of Warren town- 
ship, and died leaving five sons who survive 
her ; (jieorge P., who has always followed farm- 
ing and lives on section 28, is married and had 
eight children of whom six are living: Kate is 
the wife of George Berz, postmaster of one 
of the divisions of the (Jhicago i)ostoffice. He 
was also coroner for two terms in Chicago. 
By a former marriage he had two sons and 
one is county undertaker and all are promi- 
nent in political circles in that cit.v. 

Henry J. Berz, the youngest member of his 
father's family, is indebted to the public 
schools for the educatitinal privileges he en- 
.ioyed. He was only three years of age when 
brought by his parents to the new world and 
he has alwa.ys lived upon the old home farm, 
having to-day one hundred acres of rich land 
on section 32, Sterling township. He has 
made many improvements upon his place. 
erecting a house and good barns and added all 
modern equipments stich as facilitate the farm 
work and render the place of greater value. 

He has also dealt in real estate, has owned 
considerable propertv in Mount Clemens and 
now owns property in Detroit, including two 
dwelling houses which he rents. In connec- 
tion with his general farming operations he 
has been a stockholder and trciisurer of the 
Warren creamerv since its establishment in 
1901. 

In 1888 Mr. Berz was married to Miss 
Louise Ma.y, a daughter of Herman and Cath- 
arine (Metzger) Ma.v. Her father was born 
in Saxony and her mother was also a native 
of Germany, in which country the father 
learned the trade of a saddler and harne.ss- 
maker. He likewise became ati upholsterer. 
He was born in 1811 and his wife in 1833 and 



158 



PAST AND PRESENT (»F .MACO.AIB COrXTY 



in 1848 slie came to America. Becoming a 
resident of -Michigan at an early day ^li'. .May 
made liis home in Detroit and was a passenger 
on tlie lirst .Michigan Central railroad train 
that ran out of that city. He also acted as 
surveyor of the Ijake Sui)t'rior region of upper 
^Michigan ami was a material factor in the 
development and improvement of the state. 
In 1853 he married Jliss IMetzger and they be- 
came the parents of eleven children of whom 
nine are living: Lena, the eldest, is the wife 
of Joseph Bell, a fanner living in St. Clair, 
^lichigan, aiiil they had six cliildi'en of whom 
four survive. Dora is the wife of Ceorge 
P^rb of Detroit, statt' agent for the JlcCormiclc 
Harvester Woi'ks, and their t)nly child is de- 
ceased. Chai'les. a contractor living in St. 
Clair, ilichigan. had a family of five children, 
having lost one. Clara is the wife of Ernest 
Hlodel. a carpet salesman of Detroit, and they 
have three cliildren. .Mrs. Berz is the fifth of 
the family, (ieorge. a glazier of Detroit, is 
married and has two cliilch'cn. Herman, who 
is single, is a I'anch owner of Montana. The- 
odore, a ranchman of ilontana. is married and 
has one child. Rose is the wife of (ieorge 
Eckstein, a resident of Moniil Clemens and 
the sheriff of .Macomb countv. Tlicv havi' one 
child. 

Unto ^Ir. and .Mrs. Berz have been horn four 
children: Catharine Elizabeth, wlio was born 
Decendier 29, 1S8!) : IMarian .May, born Febru- 
ary 1-1, 1897: .Milton Henry. January in. 
19(12: and Margaret, December 4. 19i)4." T]\r 
two elder childi'cn are attending school. ;\lr. 
lierz belongs to tiie (li-ange at AVarren of 
which his wife is also a mendiei-. In polities 
he has always been a lepubliean. They are 
l)eo])le of stei'ling worth, held in high esteem 
and they enjoy the confidence and frieiulship 
of many with wliom thev have lieen associated. 



Ki)li.\R 



S.MdSlU'RV 



Edgar J. S;ilisbury, ;i real estate, loan and 
iiisiM-ance agent at .Mount Clemens, is a man of 
much natui'al talent, of strong indivi<lualily. 
of good intellectual force and keen discrimina- 
tion, and in the varied relations of life in 
which he has been round he has conunanded 
the resj)ect and good will of his fellow towns- 
men. He was born in Tiieresa, Jefferson 
county, -Xew York, March 2(), 1844. and comes 
of English ancesti'y, the family having l)ecn 
founded in -Xnu'riea two hundred and fifty 
years ago. His parents were Joshua and 
Kaehel ' Car|)cn1ci- 1 Salisbury, liotli natives 



of the Em|)ire state. The father was a farmer 
by occnjiatiou and died at the age of forty- 
seven yeai's, while his wife i)assed away at 
the age of si.xty-five years. In their family 
were four chikli-en : Percival. who died in 
Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1898, at the age of 
fifty-eight years; Charlotte, the wife of Will- 
iam Day, of Xorth Branch, Lapeer county, 
Michigan: Edgar J.: and ]\Iary, the wife of 
William Copeland. also of Xorlli Branch. 
Jlichigan. 

Edgar J. Salisbury, of this review, came to 
ilichigan fifty-three years ago when the state 
was largely wild and unimiiroved. He pursued 
his education in the i)ublic schools of Lapeer 
county an<l after putting aside his text-books 
he was employed in various ways, largely fol- 
lowing fai'ming and lumbering, liowever. Up 
to one quarter of a century ago his o])ei'ations 
were confined to J.iapeer county. He tiien 
came to Blount Clemens as managei- for the 
Singer Sewing Machine Company, filling that 
position from 1881 until 1S87. being em- 
ployed by the comi)any as disti'ict manager. 
whili' a lai-ge number of men served under 
him. In tile latter year he turned his atten- 
tion to the real estate and insurance business 
in Blount Clemens and has since contiruied 
in this line with constantly growing success, 
lie was a prime mover in laying off the Riley 
and llenbner addition. He handled the Hub- 
bai-d estate, comprising two hundred antl fifty 
lots which he sold and he has also greatly im- 
proved uiiuiy other ])!eces of in-o])erty. He 
is now conducting a large ival estate, fire in- 
surance and loan business, also makes eollec- 
tion.s and has a good clientage in each depart- 
ment of his business. He has conducted numy 
im|)orlaiit realty transfers and thi-ough his 
etforts in this direction has contributed in no 
small degree to the imi)rovement of the city. 

^Ir. Salisbui'y was elected police judge in 
188H, on the democratic ticket, and on the ex- 
piration of his tir.st term of four years he was 
re-elected so that he continued to fill the office 
until 1895. He is a man of ualni'al talent, 
capable of organizing and promoting new ven- 
tures and whatever he un(lert;d<es he carries 
forwai'd to success. This same executive force 
and business discei-inneiit have iriade him a 
valued rei)rescntative of a number of fraternal 
oi'ganizations. He belongs to llie Indeiiendent 
Order of Odd Fellows and 1lie Knights of the 
.Maccabees, and he oi'ganized the local Wood- 
men camj), closing the charter with seventy- 
two mend)ei's. He was the ])i-incipal officer for 
two years. He w;is also district deputy of the 
Odd F<'llo\\s S(ii'iet\' of Michigan for one tei'in 



PAST AND I'KKSKXT OF .MACO.Ml! (■(»r.\TV 



159 



aiul six times lias Ixn'ii rcjii-csi'iitativc tj'oiii tlu' 
local Iddm' to the uraiid liiduc. In ^loutit 
Clenieiis lie assisted in the oriranization of the 
ilaccahees Tent in ISSfi. elosinir the ehavter 
with twenty-two nieinhers, lie acted as com- 
niandei- foi' tlu' tent foi- ei^lit years, was i-epre- 
seiitati\e in the ^rand camp for eif;ht years 
and was oni' ot a eonunittee of thive to try a 
case against X'alhy City Tent No. 496. in !!)().'). 
After hearini;' the evitlenee in the ease and 
the arunnients ])i'o and eon. Mr. Salislniry 
made a niinoi'ity repoi't. which was adopted bv 
the grand camp of the .Modei'n Knights of the 
Maccabees. He was chairman of the commit- 
tee on new business and recommended to the 
grand cam|i the admission of ladies to an au.x- 
iliary organization. This measure was adopted 
unanimously. 

Mr. Salisbui-y was mai-ried. •'letober 9, ISl'-i. 
to Miss Louise Ilosner, a ilaughter of Jacob 
Hosner. of Romeo. Michigan. The.v have one 
child, F' ranees, who is now the wife of Charles 
R. Withe, of Port Huron, who is engaged in 
the government mail service. Few men ai'e 
more prominent or widel.v known in the enter- 
prisin.e' cit.v of ;\lonnt Clemens than ;\Ir. Salis- 
burv. He has been an im]ioi'tfint factoi- in 
business circles and his i)opulaiit,\- is well de- 
.served, as in him are embraced the character- 
istics of an unbending integrit.v, unabating 
energy and industry that never Hags. He is 
public spirited and thoroughl.v interested in 
Vvhatever tends to |ii-omote the moral, intellec- 
tual and material welfare of .Mount Clemens. 



PRANK W. PREUSSEL. 

Frank W. Preussel, who is connected \\itli 
business interests in ]\Iount Clemens as a man- 
ufacturer of acetylene gas generators and a 
shipper of Panacea water, was born in Ches- 
terfield township, ilacomb county, August 8, 
1869. a son of James and Sophia (Trost) 
Preussel. who were natives of (ierman.v and 
became earl.\' residents of this eount.v. lie 
attended thi' district schools of his native 
township until he reached the age of twelve 
years, when he became a student in the Ger- 
man Luthei-an school at Xew Baltimore, and 
while there was conlirmed. He also attended 
the high scIkhiI at .New iiallimore and was 
graduated with the class ol' 1SS6. The follow- 
ing year was spent in Detr'oit P)Usiness 
College. <if which he is a graduate of the class 
of 1SS7 and he eutei'ed business life as a 
clerk in the Wa.vne county poorhouse under 
James (lillisiiie. poornuister. After filliuL'' 



that [lositiiin I'oi- two years he resigned in 
Deeemlier. IMSS, and became liookUeeper for 
Robert Posuer in a hardware i)usiness in 
Mount Clemens. A few months later he be- 
gan liusiness for himself in partnership with 
.M. M. Smith, opening ;i hardware store on 
Front street in a building erected by Captain 
William Dujjae. They conducted the store 
under tiu' tii'ui name of Smith lii Pi-eussel, 
the.iunioi' membei' renuiining in the tii'ui until 
after iiis election to the ofttce of register of 
deeds. He then sold his hardware business 
to Clover (.^ i"'errin and engaged in the manu- 
facture of acetylene gas generators, in which 
hiisine-s he is still interested, lie also origin- 
ateil the business conducted undei' the name of 
the Panacea S[)T'ings at the corner of Crocker 
av( line ami Second street, utilizing the medic- 
inal waters thei-e. His place was opened June 
4. I'lOli ;\lr. Preussel erecting a building for 
'he benefit of pati'ons. This is a large spacious 
h.all, si!ri'ounde<l by bi'oad porclies and the 
stranger visiting Mount Clemens can here sta.v 
antl tli'ink the cui'ing waters, acconuiiodations 
being sufficient for five hundred peo])le. There 
is a park in the rear of the place witii a show 
tent and other atti'actions. The water is pure 
drinking iuinei-al water with healtli restoring 
ingredients and its use is reconnnended by all 
physicians. An imiiortant branch of the busi- 
ness is the shipping of the water, thousands 
of gallons beinu' shipped annuall.v to Xew 
York city and all ]);ii'ts of the I'nited States. 
In fact this is one of the leading waters sold 
on the market ami it is all that its name — 
Panacea — implies. 

Mr. Preussel figures prominently in i)oliti- 
cal cii'cles in Blount Clemens. While engaged 
in the hardware business in 1S94 he was 
elected alderman of the thii'd war-tl, the fii'st 
repul)lican candidati' ever chosen from that 
ward. He contiinieil a member of the council 
until elected register of deeds on the rejiubji- 
can ticket in 189") by a ma.joi'it.v of ten Inm 
dred and sixt.v-eight, when the usual demo- 
c-ratic ma.iorit.v of the county is about one 
thousand. He was re-elected in 189.') by a 
ma.jm-ity of neai'ly one thousand votes and his 
fiattering ma.jorities are certainly indicative 
of a personal i)opu]aTity and also show the 
trust and confidence rc])osed in him l)y liis 
fellow townsmen. Mi'. Preussel is an earnest 
worker in republican ranks and his efforts 
have been effective and far-r(>aeliing. Frater- 
nally he is connected with the KniLfhts <il' 
Pythias and with the Ijoyal (iiiards. 

Mr. Preussel was married October 9, 1895. 
to Mi<s Marv M(dntosh. a dauirhter of William 



i6o 



PAST AND I'RESFA'T OF .MACO.AIB COUNTY 



iiiul .Mary (Douglass) ildiitosli, of Detroit, 
-Mii'liigaii, who were natives of Scotland and in 
1855 became residents of Canada, whence they 
removed to New York city in 1866. In 186!) 
they located at Niagara Falls and afterward 
went to St. Catharines, (Ontario, and later 
settled in Deti'oit. Michigan, where their re- 
maining days were passed. .Mr. .Mcintosh de 
parting this life in 1888 ;uul his wife in IDUO. 
He was a mechanic by ti-ade. In their family 
were seven childrcTi, those living being: Annie, 
the wife of Lawrence C. Cross, of the firm of 
Cross Bi'others, of Detroit: Henry, of Mount 
Clemens: Elizabeth, the wife of Fi'ederick 
Cin'istie, paying tellei' in the Commercial Na- 
tional Bank of Detroit; William D., who is 
compositor in the Journal office, in Detroit : 
and Jlrs. Mary Preussel. Those deceased are : 
John, Charles and Peter Mcintosh. 

JMr. and 'Sirs. Preussel have a wide and 
favorable acquaintance in ilount Clemens and 
he is one of the most enter])rising citizens 
liei'e. where for many years he has beeu en- 
gaged in business. He has taken an active 
part in the maintenance of the connnercial 
activity of the city and in furthering the in- 
terests of I'epublicanisin, anil success in com- 
mei'cial affairs has come to him as a legitimate 
result of well api)lie(l energy, unflagging de- 
termination and persistent purjjose. 



JAMES N. EWELL. 



James .\. Ewell. who follows fai'iiiing in 
SlK'lby township, was horn .\ovend)er 20, 
lKi'2, in this township, his pai'ents being 
Philander and Lydia A. (Wells) Ewell. Of 
their family live ai'e \et living, the daugh- 
ters being Mrs. .Mal\iii;i lii'oiisoii. who lives 
in Stony Creek, (takhnul county, .Alichigan, 
and has five children; ;\lr.s. ilary A. Wai-d, 
a widow, whose husband was a farmer of 
Ionia county and wlio had two sons and a 
danghtei-, but the lattei- is deceased; .Mrs. 
Sarah Ki'olick, who is a. widow, living in 
Detroit, and has five children: and .Mrs. 
Viola Cruttenden, who is a widow, living 
in Seattle, Washington, and lias two sons. 
while her daughter is deceased. 

J;imes X. Ewell i)ui-sned his edncation in 
the district schools and in 1855, when aliout 
twenty-three years of ay-e, he began fai-m- 
ing on his own account nn the tract of lanil 
which he now owns and ojierates. Iiei-(> 
he lias resided cdnl iiiiiiMisly. witli the r.\- 
ception of a bi'i<'f |)erioil nf live years spent 
in Utica and Hochester. lie owns in the 



home pi; Jiie hundretl and ninety-five 

acres, anil he has elsewhei'c eighty-four 
acres, so that his landed po.ssessious now 
aggregate two hundred and eighty acres, 
which is worth fifty dollars ])er acre. All 
is well imiiroved and the splendid condi- 
tion of the farm is largely attributable to 
the effoi-ts of ^Ir. Ewell, who is practical 
and pi-ogressive in all his work. 

On the 15th of April, 1855, Mr. Ewell was 
married to Miss Elsie A. Cannon, who was 
born in Saratoga county, New York, and is 
of Scotch descent. Five children have been 
born of this marriage: Lydia M., born Jul)' 
L'7, 1856, died Octobei' 7," 1873. Herbert P., 
born June 2:^, 1862, was educated in the State 
University at Ann Arbor, where he pur- 
sued a course in chemistry and medicine. 
He was a practicing physician at Rochester 
until 1905. He is now interested in a new 
process gold-se])arating nuichine, his own in- 
vention, which is i)ronounced a great suc- 
cess. He married and has one son, J. ilae. 
Ada M., born August .'^1. 1865, is at home. 
George N., born September 26, 1871, is mar- 
ried and has a daughter, Elsie A. Cannon. 
Frankie, born August 9, 1876, died on the 
9th of December of the same year. 

.Mr. Ewell is a tleniocrat in his political 
affiliati<ins and has served as road commis- 
sioner. He is a Universalist in religious 
faith, and to the same church his wife be- 
longeil. She died, however, March 3, 189'4, 
and her loss was deeply regretted by many 
friends, for she possessed excellent fi-ails of 
heart and mind, .Mr. Ewell has led an active 
and enei-gefic life ;iiiil has done his full 
share for the improvement and ujibuilding 
of the county. He was one of the two men 
wliii liiiilt tile brick schoolhouse in his dis- 
trii't. He lias watched the county develop 
rnmi a wililerness ;ind has had many expe- 
riences which are unlsiiown to the young men 
iif to-day. He helped to (dear the land on 
his father's farm and assisted in the arduous 
task of ])lacing the lields under cultivation. 
.X'ciw he has a valuable home property and 
ill bis agi'iciiltural pursuits is meeting with 
wcll-iiii'rifed siKM'css. 



JOHN M. Sl'.VLLEK. 

.John .M. Spaller. who follows farming on 
section 17. ( 'hcstei'lield to\viishi|), was born, 
.Xoveiiilicr 7. 18S1, in .Macomb county, his 
pari'iits being Fred and .Mary ( .^^atthews) 
Spaller. The father was born in Prussia, 



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^'m 


f 


^.^^j 


L^ 


^^S^^jPJ 


^^^^^ 


>n^H|^^B^Bfl 


• 



jAiiEs X. ewp:ll. 




PHILANDER EWELL 



PAST AND IMJKSKX'r OK .MACOMI'. CorXTV 



165 



(ienii;in\'. ( tctdluT •'il. 1S44. ;iii(l then' t'cil- 
lowt'tl I'ai'iiiiiiii'. Wlieii ol' -a^v lie was ilral'li'd 
into the army as a iiH-iiihor of the First Kiiiii's 
(irciiadicf Ixeyiiiu'iit. and was in active sci-vici' 
ill tJK' Fraiu-o-Prussian war. I'riiK-o Frederick 
Carl lieinjr eoinniander-iii-ehief. He took 
jiart in the battle of (iravelotte and the sieire 
(if .Met/., where he was in tiie trenches for 
eighty days. lie was also at Canipeiizer and 
in the latter part of the war was in the divis- 
ion niider eoniinaiul of Crown Prince Fred- 
eriejc. He fouiiht in the battles of Delay 
and I'ontlicr on the Switzerland boundary, 
dri\iiiL:' the French ai'iiiy into the ininintains 
whel'e they Were ke]it until Ihi' close of the 
war. After five years' military service Mr. 
Spaller was dischart;eil ami not long after- 
ward came to the I'liited States, settlinu' in 
1S72 in Detroit, ilichiuan. when' he worked as 
a carpenter in the central car shops until 188:5. 
when he pnrehased the Cudworth farm on the 
(iratiot road in Chesterfield township. There 
he at once began niakiny: improvements, for 
the farm was in poor condition, bnt after 
mneli hard work he wronsht a spleiuliil trans- 
formation. He has built barns and fences, 
has done much tiling and moved the house 
from the south farm to its present location, 
and to-day his property is attractive in a])- 
pearance and gives evidence of his careful 
supervision. 

Frederick Spaller was married in Detroit, 
in IS':], to ;\Iiss Riga Rose, a daughter of 
.John l{ose, of Buffalo, and they have one son. 
William, who is married and lives in Chicago, 
being a machinist with the Chicago & Xorth- 
western Railroad Company. The wife and 
mother died in 187.") and Mr. Sjialli'i' was mar- 
ried in 1877 to .Miss Mary M;itthews. a daugh- 
ter of Christ and Julia ^Matthews, of Mouiil 
Clemens. By this marriage there were four 
children, but John M., the third, is the onl.v 
one living. Paul and Hugo dieil in Detroit, 
in infancy, and ilabel died on the home farm, 
at the age of nine years. 

John .M. Sp;dler was educated in the public 
schools until twelve years of age. after which 
he spent two years as a student in the ( lermaii 
Lutheran school and later two years in the 
Miles Business College at Detroit, from which 
he was graduated in June, 1899. He then re- 
turned home and began farming with his 
fathi'i- and to this work has since devoted his 
energii's. He married Miss Mary I'\'uerhack. 
a daiiiihtiM- of Fred and Johanna Feuerhack of 
St. Clair county. ^Michigan, who were natives 
of (ierinany and came to the United States 
in 1882. at which time they purchased a farm 



on ('Inii'ch i-oad in St. Clair counl\-. .Mrs. 
Spaller is their fourth child iind the only one 
li\iiig in a fainil\- of ten. Her father died 
in October. 1S87. and her mother removed to 
Macomb county in 1902. she ami her brother 
now living on a farm in Chesterfield township. 
.Mr. and Mrs. Spaller are a well known yonng 
eouiile who en.joy the esteem and good will of 
maii\' friends. 



CHARLES C. BRADLFY. 

Charles C. lii-adley is a representative of 
one of the old families of New England, the 
oi-iginal American ancestors of Captain Brad- 
le.v having come from England in 163-1, set- 
tling in Connecticut. Representatives of the 
name served in the Revolutionary war. Ethan 
.\llen Bradley, grandfather of otir stibject. 
became a resident of Vermont. Collins Brad- 
ley, the fathei'. was born in the Green IMoun- 
tain state and came to Michigan in 1840, 
settling in Detroit. He was at one time sec- 
retary for William H. Seward and at an early 
day he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he 
engaged in business as a member of the firm 
of P. TIayden & Company. He afterw'ard 
sold out and removed to Columbus, Ohio, 
where he was engaged in tlu' wholesale sad- 
dlery business. He imin'ied Juliet E. White, 
who was educated in .\uburn. New York. 
His death occiirre<l al llie advanced age of 
eight.v-three years. 

Charles C. Bradley was boin in Detroit, No- 
vember 21. 1840. and imrsued his education in 
the public and high schools of lioineo. J\Iichi- 
gan. and was afterward engaged in teaching 
in the vicinit.v of Romeo for six years. He 
then went to Kansas City. .Mis.soui'i. where he 
engaged in the manufacture of cigars, bnt in 
1870 returned to Romeo, where he continued 
in the same line of business as a member of the 
firm of H. W. Bradley & l^rother. this rela- 
tion being inaintained niilil the fall of 1902. 
.Mr. Bradley was elected on the republican 
ticket to the office of connt.v clerk, with a ma- 
jority of one hundred and ninet.v-si.K. and that 
he discharged tlu' duties of the ijosition in a 
manner highly satisfactory to the general pub- 
lic is indicated by the fact that he was re- 
elect e(l with a ma.jorit.v of thirteen liundred 
and seventy-six. Previous to this time he had 
become an active factor in local political 
circles, having filled various positions in 
Romeo, where he w;is president of the village 
for seven terms, a member of the council for 
two terms, clerk of tlu' village for two terms. 



1 66 



PAST AND riiESEXT UF .MACO.MU L'UUNTY 



l)resiclent of the board of cdueation for nine- 
teen years and treasurer for both tlie villajre 
and township. 

In Aufjust. 187(1, ill Detroit, Miehiaaii, Mv. 
Bradley was married to iliss Sarah A. Thomp- 
son, a daughter of William Thompson, of 
Toledo, Ohio. She was boi-ii in England and 
by her marriage has become the mother of 
three children : Sadie, the wife of Bernard 
L. C'hnbl), of Homeo: Frank, who is engaged in 
the lumbei' business, in Bentle.v. ^Mieiiigan: 
:iii(l Charles ('.. a i-esident of .Mount (Temens. 

Mr. Bradle.v is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias fraternity, of the Ancient Order of 
I'nited Workmen, the Ro.val Arcanum and the 
Maccabees. lie is a representative of our 
best t.vpe of American manhood and cliivalr.v. 
B.v perseverance, determination and honorable 
effort he has ovei-thrown the obstacles which 
barred his jiatli to success and reached the 
goal of prosperit.v. while his genuine worth, 
broad mind and ])ul)lic spirit have made liim 
a director of iniblie thought and action. 



A.MOS (). CKISSMAN. 

Among the retired farmers who are pleas- 
antl.v located in comfortable homes in Romeo 
is Amos O. Crissman, who since 1830 has lived 
in IMacomb connt.v. lie is to-da.v one of its 
nu)st venerable citizens, having I'eaehed the 
age of eight.v-seven .vears, and now in the 
evening of life he can look liack over the past 
without r-egret, for his career has been charac- 
terized b.v activit.y in business and honor in 
all his relations with his fellowmen. He was 
born in Wari'en count.v. New Jerse.v, October 
8, 1818, a son of Ben.jamin and .Mary Crissman 
and a brotiier of M. 11. Crissman, whose sketch 
is given elsewheiv in this work. The famil.v 
came to ilichigan in 1830 and the father 
purchased land to which he afterward added 
from time to time luitil his possessions aggre- 
gated six hundred and forty acres. He made 
a good fai'm and continued to reside thereon 
until his death, wliich occuri'ed in 1861 . wliile 
his wife ])assed awa.v in 18r)r). 

Amos O. Ci'issman was about twelve ,veai's 
of age when he came to ^lichigan. All around 
was an unbroken wilderness, few settlements 
having ])een made within the borders of this 
count.v. while the cities winch are now pros- 
jierous and enterpi-ising wei-e then mere ham- 
lets or had not yet sprung into existence. 
Amos O. Crissman assistetl in the work of the 
home farm, whei'e he lived until twent.v-eight 
years of age, ainnudly taking part in the labor 



necessary for the cultivation of the fields. 
He then left home anil was nuiri'ied in 184G 
1o .Miss Abigiiil Pittinger, a native of New 
.lerse.N-, in which state she was reared. The 
following spring ;\lr. Crissman located on his 
own farm, which at that time comprised 
eight.y-seven acres. The little home was a log 
cabin, but afterward he built a good frame 
resilience and for eighteen years he contiinied 
to im])rove and develo]) that jilace. He made 
a speeialt.v of the raising of wheat and aniui- 
all.v harvested excellent croi)s, the fields yield- 
ing from thirt.v to foi-t.v bushels per acre. 
Later he traded that place for a larger farm 
of one hundred and twent.v acres which was 
well improvetl. This was also excellent wheat 
land and he continued as an active farmer 
until 181)3, when he sold his j)lace and re- 
moved to the town. Here he began bu.ving, 
improving and dealing in town jn-opert.v and 
also loaning mone.v:' He owns a good business 
house on IMain street and has other propert.v. 
in Romeo. He commenced life at the bottom 
round of the ladder but has steadil.v climbed 
upwar<l and his frugalit.v, diligence and jjcr- 
sistenc,\' of purpose have been the salient 
features in his success. He has thus accumu- 
lated a very comfortable competence and is 
classed witli the sulistantial residents of 
Macomb count.v. 

ilr. Crissman lost his wife. Novemlier L*l. 
1900. He has two daughters — ;\Iarv Finances, 
the wife of Fred A. Foster, of (lladwin, Mich- 
igan ; and Addie L., the wife of Allen C. 
Whitman of Romeo. There are few men to- 
da.v who can claim to have giv(>n allegiance 
to William Ilein'.v Ilai'rison. when in the cam- 
paign of 18-lrt) he headed the whig ticket and 
the ralh'ing crv "Ti])pecanoe and T.vler too" 
was heard throughout the land. Mr. Criss- 
man, however, voted for the hero of Tippe- 
canoe anil contiinied a supporter of whig can- 
didates and principles until the organization 
of the new republican part.y. He then 
espousetl its cause and supported John C. 
Fremont, since which time he has given his 
allegiance to the candidate of the part,y at 
the iiead of the ticket. He believes in good 
schools and comi)etent teachers iind while serv- 
ing on the school board has labored effectivel.v 
for the promotion of the cause of education 
here. Political honors, however, have had no 
attraction for him. He is a member of the 
Baptist chui'ch and during his life in Macomb 
count.v. covering three-(|uarters of a ceiitur.v, 
his career has been in harmony with his ])rin- 
cii)les and religious faith. In business his 
liros|)erit.v has been secured through hoiiora- 



1>.\ST AM) I'K'KSKN'I' (>F .MACo.MB COUNTY 



167 



l)li' I'l't'di't and upon this rniindatinn lu' has 
l)iiililed liis success, lie is now ciglity-scvcu 
years of airt' and is still a well preserved man. 
He has been on the side of pi'oi;ress and iiu- 
proveuient and while he has prosperetl he has 
piineil what is more desiralilr than success — 
an nntarnished name. 



HKLA 1;. DAVIS. 

Uela H. Davis, one of the sulistantial farm- 
ers of Kay township, who owns and operates 
ninety -two acres of well improved land, was 
hoi'ii in (ienesee count.v, New York, -luly 24, 
1829. His father, the IJev. Jonathan E. Davis, 
a native of Iluhhardtown, Massachusetts, w^as 
horn February 1, 1788, and his father was 
Kelii Davis antl his "randfather, Eleaser 
Davis, both luitives of ^lassjichusetts. The 
Davis family is of p]n,i;lish lineage and W'as 
established in ^Massachusetts at an early period 
in the colonization of the new world. Bela 
Davis removed from the Bay state to Vermont, 
where the Rev. Jonathan E. Davis was reared. 
;ind later he went to the Emjjire state. The 
latter was a self-educated and self-made man 
l)Ut ureatl.v improved his oppoi'tunities and 
ijained much bi'oad ireneral information as 
VicU as a substantial competence through his 
activity in business. lie became a pioneer 
teacher of ]\Iacomb county and was also a 
nunister of the ilethodist Episcopal church, 
lie was maiM'ied in New York to iliss Hannah 
Curtis, the wedding being celebi-ated in ;\Iiil- 
dleburg, that state. Having lost his fii-st wife 
he was married June 29, 1828, to Sarah Davis, 
a native of Coviuglon, New York, and a widow 
of Marshall Davis, a brother of Rev. Jonathan 
E. Davis. Her father was Stephen Heath. 

Jonathan Davis also followed fai'ming in 
New York and all his children of the first mar- 
riage wei'e hoi'n tliere. Hela R., of this re- 
view, was lioi-n of the second marriage. In 
1843 Jonathan E. Davis removed to ]\Iaeomb 
count.v, Michigan, locating on section 82, Ray 
township, where lu; entered eighty acres of 
land, entirely wild and unimproved. II(> cut 
the fii'st stick (if timber on that place and 
cleared and cultivated his laml, transfoi-ming 
it into a good farm with the aid of his sons. 
He was also the founder of the village, and to 
this place gave the name of Brooklyn, but 
later the name was changed to Davis in his 
honor. As time jiassed he became the owner 
of more land, becoming the owner of one 
hundred and forty acres on which he placed 
good buildimi's. He erected ,'i fi-ame house in 



1848. this being the second frame ijuilding in 
the township of Ra.v. While carrying on his 
farm interests he also continued his work in 
the ministry, being a i)ioneer jireacher of the 
.Methodist church here ;ind the main factor 
iu I'rectiiig the first church in Davis, in the 
year 184(i. He iireached his last sermon when 
ninet.v years of age, at the Davis .Methodist 
Episcopal church, and all of his children 
were present on that occasion. He exerted 
a wide intiuence in the moral develo])ment f>f 
the connnunity and his memory will remain as 
a blessed benediction to all «'ho knew him. 
The woi'ld is certainly better for his having 
live(l and .Macomb county was pai't iculai'ly 
blessed iiy his efforts ami assistance. He dieiJ 
December 24, 1882, at the ripe old age of 
nearly ninet.v-five years. lie served here as 
.justice of the peace for twent.v years and his 
decisions were always sti'ictly fair and impar- 
tial. He was a chai'ter member of the Davis 
Ma.sonie lodge, sei'\'eil as master for a iunnl)i'r 
of years and was its lirst secretary. His 
name is now inscribed high on the roll of 
pioneer residents. His second wife died Sep- 
tcinber 29, 1868. 

Bela R. Davis was a lad of thirteen years 
when he came with his parents to ilacondi 
county. He was reared uiion the old home- 
stead farm here and acquired his education 
in the district .school which he attended 
through the winter months, while in the sum- 
mer seasons he assisted in reclaiming the wild 
land for agricultural ])ur])oses and in carry- 
ing on the work of the farm until it became a 
very productive property. He remained with 
his father until twenty-one years of age and 
in 1852 he made a trip to California, traveling 
by way of the Pananm route. There he went 
into the tnines, seai-ching for gold for three 
years, and met with the varied experiences 
incident to mining at that day. He was some- 
times ver.v successful and again met with fail- 
ure but altogethei' he brought with him from 
the mines a fair share of the precious metal. 
He returned to his home by way of the same 
route in 1856, aiul upon i-eaching Macomb 
county he took charge of the old home farm. 
Ijater he divided a portion of this into town 
lots which he .sold, the disti'ict becoming an- 
nexed to Davis. Vnv years he followed farm- 
ing her<' and his en1eri)rising and progressive 
methods wen' resultant factors in wiiniing 
his |)i'osperity. 

In the spring of 1852 ^Ir. Davis was mar- 
lied to .Miss Harriet Cass, who was born in 
^lacond) county and is a daughter of Dmican 
(!ass, one of the ])ioneers who caiiU' from the 



i68 



PAST A.\[) I'KKSENT OV .MACO.MB CUrXTV 



Einpii'c state. They hejian theii' doiuestie life 
ui>iiii tlie lioiiie farm wliere they lived until 
1S71. when Mr. Davis rented his land and re- 
nidved to Evart. He was one of the promoters 
and orjjanizers of that village. He cleared 
a tract of land there on which he built a good 
hotel, conducting it for a year. The following 
year, howevei-. he returned to his home and 
family and once more took cliarge of the 
farm. 

Five children \vere horn unto Mr. and .Mrs. 
Davis : Jlilo W. Davis, who is cashier of the 
Citizens l^ank of Mount Clemens; Fred G., 
who is a merchant at Washington, this county; 
llattie E.. the wife of Ward 'SI. Davis, who has 
charge of her father's farm: Bela S. and Ella 
B., both deceased. 

In his jiolitical views .Mi-. Davis has i.ieen a 
republican since the organization of the party, 
ca.sting his vote for each presidential nominee 
since John C. F'remout was the standard 
bearer of the party in 1856. lie was elected 
and served as justice of the peace for five 
consecutive tei'ms. or twenty years, and made 
a splendid record in that office. He not only 
tried many cases in which his decisions were 
fair and impartial but he also married many 
couples, lie was census enumerator for the 
town of Kay in 1880 and he also served on the 
boai-d of review. He was only twenty-one 
years of age when he was elected constable 
and he tilled that jxisition for si.x consecutive 
years, lie was also the fir.st postmaster at 
Davis. i)cing instnnnental in acquiring the 
estalilishment of the office at this point. He 
has been a delegate to eounty and state con- 
ventions and his political record, like his 
])rivate life, is above i'e])roach. Mr. and Mrs. 
Davis hold membership in the Methodist 
Episcoi)ai churcii in which he has long serve<l 
as an official acting as steward and classleader. 
He joined the cliiireb in 1865 and has since 
been most true and loyal to its teachings. 
On the 5th of August, 1862, he enlisted for 
.service in the I'nion army at Pontiac, Michi- 
gan, joining Company B, of the Twenty-sec- 
ond ^lichisian A'olunteer Infantry. He was 
ih'um major and thus sci'ved until dischai'ged 
IVoiii disability at Lexington, Kentucky, in 
December. 18():!. He is also a member of the 
Crange. His name is enrolled among the 
pioneer settlers of Macondi county who have 
contributed in large and substantial measure 
to its upbuilding and ])rogress. He is one of 
the few renudning settlers who have witnessed 
its development through more than a hall' 
century. His life record will bear closest in- 
vestigation and scrutiny- and is worthy of emu- 



lation because it has ever been characterized 
by unfaltering allegiance to high, manly prin- 
cii)les. 



OTIS W. COTTON. 



Otis W. Cotton, who is one of the pioneer 
settlers of ^Macomb county, and well deserves 
mention in this volume, was born in Ver- 
mont, in October, 18U6, and was descended 
from John Cotton, a Puritan nnnistei-, who 
was born at Derby, England, Decend)er 4, 
1585, and emigrated to Boston, ^lassachu- 
setts, in 163;3, beconnng one of the first 
|)reachers of the Massachusetts colony. With 
his pai'cnts Otis W. Cotton removed to Xi- 
agai'a county. New York, in 1808. His mother 
ilied soon afterward and in 1818 he went 
with his father to New' Orleans, Louisiana, 
where the hitter's death occurred, after 
which Otis W. Cotton returned to the rela- 
tives in New York. In 1828, accompanied 
by his brother, A. L. Cotton, he removed 
to Xovi. Oakland county, Michigan, where 
they arranged to cut tindicr for a settler, 
preparatory to clearing the land, and were 
thus engaged luitil the succeeding fall, when 
Mr. Cotton returned to his old home in Xew 
York. 

The year 18lil witnessed his arrival in 
Macond) county, and being an e.xi)ei't with 
the ax. he again engaged in cutting tindier. 
In 1832 he contracted with E. S. Sibley, 
agent for the United States govei'ninerd, to 
(dear, grade and complete the eleventh one- 
half nnle of the Fort (iratiot turnjiike iiorth 
of Mount Clemens. In 1882. oi' the early part 
of 183.'5, he juu'chased the southwest frac- 
tional (|uarter of section 2(1. Chesterfield 
township, containing one huiidiid and twen- 
ty-eight acres of land, and soon afterward 
he started with a sui-veying i)art\' for Wis- 
consin, i)assing thro\igh Chicago. It was 
the only trading ])ost in whicdi provisions 
could be had and the supidy was so limited 
at that poiid that the trader <-iiuld not fur- 
nish enough to last eight men on a li\c days' 
journey to WisconsiTi. So much ti'onblc was 
occasioned by the Indians that .Mi-. Cott(Ui 
retui-ned to .Miciiigan, believing that he pre- 
ferred the work of developing a new farm 
in .Macomb county rather than facing the 
dangers aii<l ilit'ficult ies with the surveying 
party. 

In August, 183:-), occurred the marriage of 
.Mr. Cotton and Miss .Martha Fairchild. a 
daughter of Jonathan and Ivutli Fairchild. 




MR. AND MRS. O. \V. COTTON 



PAST AND IM;KSK.\-1' OF :\rACO.MR corxTV 



171 



Jlcr I'iitlicr was dcscciuli'd in llu' matiTiial 
liiR' from Henjaiiiiu IhiwcU. wlm ciiiim-ati'd 
from Wales in the year ItiaO. It was in 
1799 that Jonathan Fairchikl was married. 
The year foHowiug' he and his wife removed 
to what was then ealli'il thi' (ienesee coun- 
try, in the state of New York. Their .ioiir- 
ni'\' was a formidalile one and was made 
with oxen. 'Sir. Fairehild died in ISD^. h'av- 
inu- liis wife with the eare of seven children, 
all of whom reached adull aur. In the 
year lsi;52 Mrs. Fairehild came from the state 
of New York to ^Macomb county, ^lichigan, 
accompanied by her son Stephen. Her son 
John had preceded thein the prc\ioiis year 
and had selected the tract of land which 
slie |)urchased from the United States i^ov- 
ernment. comprisint;' eiiihty acres of sertioii 
19 in the township of Chestertield, now 
owned by George H. Nichols, lie has per- 
])etnated the name of the original owner by 
callinu' his station on the Rapid Railway. 
Fairi'liild. and yiviny the same name to 
his f;irm. Mrs. Fairchihl was a native of 
New Jci'sey. born in 1779. Her father, Jacob 
Hall, was a minuteman of the Revolutionary 
wai-. one who was not subject to military 
duty li>' reason of atre but was ri'ady to 
respond to his country's call at a iiiinule's 
wai'iiiiii;' in case of an invasion or emergency. 
The family home was near ^Morristown, and 
J. F. Cotton, who is represented elsewhere 
in this work, and who is a son of Otis CoHon, 
often heard from Mrs. Fairehild "s lipi the 
story of the execution of ila.ior Andre, \vliich 
was witnessed by hei' mother's sister, who 
luiri'ated the same to her. "He was a very 
I)i-(tty man." said Miss Moon', the aunt of 
Mrs. Fairehild, "ami he smile(l and bowed 
so politely to the spectators," Two broth- 
ers of Mrs, Fairehild fell in the war of 181:2, 
and one brother, Joseph Ilall, afti-rward of 
Roidu'ster, New Yoi'k. was the inventor of 
the first thi'eshing machine. .Mrs. Fair- 
child's first home in Macomb count.v was 
built of hewn logs and contaiiu'd two good- 
sized rooms, with an attic cluunber above, 
and was often used as a place for holding 
(dnii-eh services when the circuit [ireaeher 
would visit the neigliborlnxid. It stood oidy 
a few I'ods south of where now stands the 
Chesterfield Creamery. The |)eoi)le theri> 
thought it but a jileasant evening's walk 
through the woods to the Atwood school- 
house to attend preaching services. Mrs. 
Faircdiild died in 1859, one of the brave pio- 
neer women of the county. Her son Stephen 
remained on tlie old homestead until his 



death in 1889. Her dani^iitei' Martha, who 
became tln' wife of Otis W. Cotton, taught 
the tii-st school in the new s<'ttlement in 

18:5;]. 

At the lime of the mari-iage of (_)tis \V. 
Cotton ami .Martha Fairehild he began in 
earnest the woyk of I'lndaiming his tract of 
land for tlii' pur|)oses of civilization. The 
log house was erected in Febi'uary follow- 
ing and the woi-k of laying in the year's 
su|)pl.v of sugar commeiiciMl. He bori'owed 
his mother-in-law's kettle and boiled the 
sugar water at night, i-etui'iiing tlu' kettle 
to her carl.v in I hi' iiiorning tliat she might 
use it thi-ougli the ila\. It was a hard strug- 
gle to keep their famil.s' clothed ;md fed un- 
til the great gi'owth of tind)ei- could be cut 
anil the soil made |)roductive. .Misfoi'tnnes 
that woidd now seem ti'itling then seemed to 
them veiy heavy, owing to theii' limited 
financial eireumstances. It was a great loss 
when a row died and .it one time wolves 
bi'oke into their sheepfold at the side of the 
house and destroyed the fiock. This, too, 
pi'oved a serious loss, for the family de- 
jiended upmi the wool for clothing and bed- 
ding. Mr. and .Mrs. Cottnn became the par- 
ents of nine eliildrrn, of whom two died in 
eai'ly childliiMid. Tlmse who reached adult 
age were: Louisa C.. the wife of JIartin 
Ilaydeu: iMartha. the wil'e of lien.iamin ]\I. 
houcks; Leander A.: Owen W. ; .la.v F. ; 
Emeline A., the wife of S. X. Roberts: and 
Helen E., the wife of John Fui-ton. All of 
the sons served in the army in the wai' of 
the Rel)ellion. Leander enlisted in ('oinpaiiy 
F, Twenty-second Michigan Infantry, in .\u- 
gust, 1862, and was dischai'ged as sergeant 
in 18(15. Owen eidisted in IStil. was pro- 
moted to sergeant in Septend)er, 1861, to 
second lieutenant September V2. 1862, and 
first lieutenant October 21, 1862. He was 
wounded and disabled for active service at 
Chancellorsville, Jlay J, 186.'?. He was after- 
ward commissioned fii'st lieuteiuint by Pres- 
ident Lincoln in March. 18(i4. and did duty 
in the provost guai'il until after the sui'- 
render of the Confederate troops, when he 
was assigned to duty at Hilton Head, South 
('amlina. where lie reiii.-iiiied nntil March. 
18()7, when he resigned and went to Nebras- 
l\a. where he has since resided. 

.\s the years |)assed Otis AV. Cotton con- 
tinued his farming operations. ()iu' by one 
the conditions of pimiecr life gave way tc 
the e\i lenees id' an a d \;i need civilization and 
lir kept ill touch with modern methods of 
r,-iniiiiig. .\t lciii;tli pros|icrity came to him 



172 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



and he enjoyed a comfortable eonipetenee 
as a reward of his earnest labor, lie ilied in 
the year 1884, while his wife passed away in 
1887 and thus two more of tlie pioneer set- 
tlers were added to the great list of the 
honored dead. 



REUBEN C. ULLRICH. 

Though no land is richer in opportunities 
or oftVrs greater advantages to its citizens 
than America, success is not to be obtained 
through desire, but must l)e persistently 
.sought. In America "labor is king"" and the 
man who resolutely sets to work to accomjilish 
a purpose is certain of .success if he has Init 
the qualities of per.severenee, untiring energ\' 
and i)ractical common sense. Reuben C. 
Ulli'ich is one who.se career excites the admira- 
tion and gains the respect of all. for througli 
his diligence and persistent jjurpose he has 
M'on a leading ])lace in ^Mount Clemens. 

He was born in Blount Clemens, Januaiy 11, 
1863, his parents being Charles and ilargaret 
S. (Miller) Ullrich. His education was ac- 
quired in the graded and liigh schools here and 
in Mo.vhew Business College, which he at- 
tended in 1879. He then entered the emj)loy 
of V. Ililsendegen, of Detroit, with whom he 
remained for two years, after which he went 
to Toledo, Ohio, where he entered the whole- 
sale hardware house of C. < ierher. A year 
later, however, he returned home, his father 
having died, and he here entered liusiness life 
as a member of the firm of Ulli'ich, Kuhn & 
Company, propi'ielors of a general stoi-e. He 
sold out a year and a half later and in 1S87 
purchased the hardware store of C. .M. 
Stevens, at No. lo North (iratiot avenue and 
No. 22 North Walnut street. It is a double 
stori' which at that time was eighty feet in 
length, luit Mr. Ullrich has enlarged this until 
it is now one hundred ami eight.v feet. He 
has also extendetl the scope of his labors by 
adtiirii;- a plumbing ami lieating department. 
This is the oldest e.stablishetl business of the 
kind in ]Mount Clemens, having been begun 
in 1850. and the store was the first pressed 
brick front in the count.v. The trade is now 
extensive and Mr. Ullrich cari'ies a lai'ge and 
well selected line of shelf and heavy hard- 
ware. His success has come to him because 
anytliing needed ma.v be foiuul in liis store 
and a1 tiu' same time his business methods are 
straight foi-WMrd and n'liabh' and his prices 
reasonabli'. lb' also ligurrs in business circles 



in ^[oaut Clemens in other ways, being the 
vice i)resident of the Ullrich Savings Bank. 

On the mth of September, 1884, Mr. Ullrich 
was married to Miss Lena A., daughter of 
Jacob and .Mary Roessel, of Jiuftalo, New 
York, and their chiUlren are: Charles R., 
Huss(dl W., Christine and Francis (i. They 
also lost a daughter — Laura — who died in in- 
fancy. ^Ii-. Ullrich is a leader in conniiunity 
afl'airs in Mount Clemens and was elected and 
served as alderman at large for two terms. 
He was also chosen for twti terms as nuiyor of 
Mount Clemens, has l)een president of the 
Chamber of Connnerce for one .vear and a 
membei- of the board of education foi- nine 
yeai's. He takes gi'eat jii-ide in the puljlic- 
school system here Mud has done much to 
raise its .standard and pi'omote the etificienc.v 
of the schools. Fraternally he is a IMason 
and is also connected with the Knights of 
I'ythias and the ^Yoodmen of the AYoi-ld. He 
has contrii)uted in sulistantial measure to the 
improvement of ibmnt Clemens by the ei'ec- 
tion of a niunber of fine business blocks here. 
He started out upon his business career with 
few advantages but developed his latent tal- 
ents and strengthened his energies by exercise 
until he became a .successful business man. 
In manner he is free from ostentation and 
display and his intrinsic worth is recognized 
and his friendship inost prized b.v those who 
know him best, showing that his character 
will bear the scrutiny of closest investigation. 
He is a generous, bi'oad minded man and a 
tyi>ical American citizen. 



1S.\.\C CUAWFOHI). 

Nature .seems to have intended that man 
should en.jo.v a .sea.son of rest in his later years. 
In youth he possesses great vigor, hope and 
ambition, which in the ])i-ime of nuudu)od is 
guided and establislu'd by .indgment and ex- 
perience so that his efforts nui.v i)ecome re- 
sultant factors in a business career. In later 
years when one's activit.v somewhat dimin- 
ishes it is well if former laboi' and energy have 
liniULilit cajiital sufficient that one may en.joy 
a Well eai-ned rest. sui'i'o\uuled by the comforts 
and conveniences that go to nud\e life worth 
the living. Such has b(>en the history of Mr. 
Crawford, who for years was a i)romineiit 
manufacturer and business nuin of Romeo, 
where he is now living I'ctired, He has made 
his home in Michigan since 1840 and in ^la- 
comb count.v since 1S.')(). He was born in 
Warren cotuit.v, Nt'w Jerse.v, January 5, 1833. 



PAST AND im;i;si;x'|' ok .macomi; coixtv 



173 



His t'athcf. Klijali CrMwl'urd. a native ciT tiic 
same eouiity. was burn in lt^l2 and was a son 
of Isaac Crawford, who was of Scotcli lineaue. 
The family was fountled in New -Jersey at a 
very early period in the eolonizatiou of the 
new world and Isaae Crawford also served iis 
a .soldier in the war of 1812. Eli.jah Crawford 
wa.s reared to manhood in "NVarren eounty and 
was there mai-ried to Naney (lalhiway, who 
was l)oi-n in ISIO and whose parents wi're 
nativ(>s of I'einisylvania. He learned and fol- 
lowed the blacksmith's trade, making' it ids 
life work. In 1840 he eanie to .Mieliifian. 
hoping- that in the new aud growing' west lu- 
might more readily aeipiire a competence, lie 
settled in Oakland county near the IMaeomb 
county line aud there established a shoj) and 
carried on business for a ninnbei' of years. 
He afterward removed to Komeo. where he 
sj)ent his last years, his death occurring here 
in 18(53. His wife survived him until 18t)ti. 

Isaac Crawford, of this review, was seven- 
teen }-ears of age when he left Oakland county. 
He had learned the blacksmith "s ti'ade with 
his father and he was reared under tlie jijiter- 
luil I'oof. enjoying the educational advantages 
that were also furnished to the other niembers 
of the family. He was one of four children, 
but only two reached mature years, his brother 
being T. R. Crawford of Romeo. Isaac Craw- 
ford was a yoinig man of seventeen years 
when in 1850 he became a resident of Romeo 
and began work for the firm of Snovei- & 
Bellows, being in their employ for several 
years and eventually becoming a pai'tnei' in 
the business. They carried on a lilacksmith 
and repair shop and foundry business and 
also engaged in the manufactuiv of wagons. 
He, therefore, continued with the firm for 
eight 01- nine years and then withdi'ew and 
established a shop of his own where he en- 
gaged in l)lacksniithing, wagon-making and re- 
pairing. For four years he devoted his en- 
ergies to that work and then in August, 1802, 
he put aside all business and personal con- 
siderations, prompted by a spirit of patriot- 
ism which caused him to become a member of 
('om]iany .\. I^'ifth .Michigan Cavalry. lie 
became blacksmith for the regiment, and dur- 
ing the last two years of his service was 
regimental farrier. He served in the army of 
the Potomac with (ieneral Custer's brigade 
and continued at the front until the close of 
the war. He was never absent fi'om his com- 
mand except on one occasion wlu'u he received 
a foiu-teen days' furlough which he spent at 
home in settling up his father's business. He 
took part in many impoi'tant engaireiiKuits 



ami was boiKjrably disejial'iied at the close of 
the war ill Leaveiiwcirt li. Kansas, in .Iiuie, 
lS(i."). 

When tln' country no longer needed his 
services .Mr. Crawfoi'd again came to Michi- 
•/aii and lii'i-e entered into partnershi]) with 
Timothy J..yon in the conduct of a similar line 
of business which had formerly claimed his 
attention. He was thus engaged for five years 
when he sold out and liought a farm of one 
liundi'ed and si.xty aci'cs in the township of 
Uiiice. Taking up his abode thereon he began 

its further develojt lit and iiii|iro\ement and 

he later bought more huRl and now owns a val- 
uable farm of two htuidred acri's. He added 
to it and remodeled the residence, built a 
good barn and other substantial outbuildings 
and continued his farming o])ei'ations for 
about ten yeai's. lie then i'ente(l the property 
and removed to Romeo. Here he has built 
a very good residence and one brick business 
block and thus has contributed in substantial 
measure to the improvement of the town. 

Mv. Crawford was nuirried in ^lacomb 
county, in November, 1854, to ]\Iiss Rachel 
Harber, who was born in Oakland county, 
.Michigan, and is a daughter of Calvin and 
Betsy (Kuiffln) Barber. Her father was one 
of the early settlers of that county, who went 
from Connecticut to that locality. There was 
one son by this union. Elmer Iv Crawford, 
who grew to manhood, was mari'ied here and 
died at the age of thirty-three years, being 
survived by his wife and one son. ArthtU' ]M. 
Ci'awford, who was boi'u in February, 188li. 
aud resides with his mother. 

In 1856 Isaac Crawfoi-d cast his first presi- 
dential ballot, supi)oi'ting John C. Fremont, 
and he has sinc(> advocated rc'publican prin- 
ciples where national issues are involved luit 
at local elections he votes iiule])endently of 
party ties. When on the fai'in he served as 
highway eonnnissioner for a nundier of years 
and in Romeo he has been a member of the 
Union school board. II<' was one of the pro- 
moters of the electric light system and served 
as chaiiMiian of the electric light commission. 
Whatever tends to advance the general wel- 
fare here and contribute to the material im- 
provement of the city receives his endorse- 
ment. He liecame ;i meiiibei- of Homeo lodge, 
A. F. & A. M.. in 18.57. filled all of its chairs, 
was its master for twenty years aiul served as 
a delegate to the grand lodge and also as 
district deputy grand master. He also belongs 
to Komeo chapter. H. \. .M.. and to the Knight 
Templar commander.\ . served as high priest 
in the f'oi'iiier and eminent commander in the 



174 



PAST AND i'KHSKXT OF .MACOMB COrXTV 



hittci-. Ilis syiiiiuithics are fully in accord 
with the teachin^^s and teuets of ^lasoiiry and 
ill his life he has exemplified the spirit of 
brotherly lie]i)fuliiess and mutual kindliness 
which form Ihc basic elements of the cirdi'i-. 
He lias loii<>- been a useful citizen, interested 
in material, social, iiK>ral. intellectual and 
jiolitica! prouress here. AVhatever tends to 
advancement elicits his attention ami usually 
^ receives his hearty co-operation. He is a iuan 
of tried iutes'rity and worth and the circle 
of his friends is almost co-extensive with the 
circle of his ac(piaintances. 



•lOlIX K. SXOOK. 



John H. Snook is a prominent representa- 
tive of the productive industries of Blount 
(Teiuens, being engaged in the niuimfacturc 
of staves and cooperage, lie was born in 
this city. December 9. 186-1. and is a son of 
Thomas W,. and Harriet J. (Rice) Snook, 
the former a native of New York and the lat- 
ter of Connecticut. His father w-as one of 
the valued residents of this part of the state. 
He was distinctively a man of att'airs, aetiv^e 
and enterprising in business, and lie wielded 
a wide intlueiice. He was born in Xew York 
city, April 1(1, 1822, and was of English pai-- 
entage. He was brought to I\Iichigaii by his 
parents in 1836 and embarked in merchandis- 
ing in Jlount Clemens in 1849. In 186(i he 
began the manufacture of staves, which liusi- 
iiess had been established in 1861 by Bruno 
Van Landegham and Rudolph Sleiger. Mr. 
Snook became a partner in 1866 and the fac- 
tory was removed to its jn-esent location. 
He was for a time in jtartnership with ^ly- 
ron White and with (ieorge Robinson, ^Ir. 
Wiiite continuing in the business until 
1872. In hiter years the firm name of 
T. W. Siiook & Son was assumed, .bihii 
K. Snook, of this review, being admittd 
to a partnership. The business gradually' 
develo])e<l until it reached extensive and im- 
portant propdi-lions. Before emliarking in 
I hi- (■(i(ipcr:iL;i- l)usiiiess ]\Ir. Snook Avas en- 
gaged in the manufacture of lumber and salt 
in .M(niut Clemens. His efforts contributed 
in substantial measui'e to the advancement 
of the commercial prosperity of this ])art of 
the state lie was a man of keen discrimina- 
tion in business affairs, brooking no obstacles 
lliat i-ould l)c oviTc(nnc liy determined elTort. 
and as tiie years ailvaneed he met with well 
merited in-ospei-ity. He was one of those in- 



terested ill the <ligging of the first mineral 
well, being ass((ciated in this work with 
Charles .Aloslier and others of a stock com- 
pany who were lu'ospecting for oil. Later 
he and Walter Bush, of Troy. New York, 
bought out the interests of the others and be- 
gan the manufacture of salt in connection 
with their lumber mill, the water being rich 
in saline ipialities. While thus engaged Dorr 
Kellogg got permission to use the water for 
medical bathing puriioses and Dr. Taylor 
erected a bathhouse, this being the first of 
the mineral bathing in Mount Clemens. He 
continued in the coo|)erage business up to the 
time of his death and as his financial re- 
.sources increased he held valuable real estate 
interests, making judicicuis iuv(>stnient in 
property. He also built and operated a num- 
ber of vessels. He had in the course of his 
career met with financial reverses, caused by 
fire, sliipwreck and hard times, that would 
have utterly disheartened a man of less cour- 
ageous and determinetl sjiirit, but he per- 
severed and his efforts ultimately triumphed 
over all obstacles. He was also active and in- 
fluential in community aft'airs and in an early 
day he .served as president of the village of 
Jlount Clemens. He was associated with 
nine othei-s in estalilishing the (iintcui Crove 
cemetery. His co-oi)cration was sought for 
the advancement of every ■movement that 
tended tt) benefit his comniunity and his 
labors were far-reaching and beneficial. He 
was a member of the Odd Fellows and Ma- 
sonic fraternities and for thirty years was 
an active and influential worker in the Pres- 
byterian church, while in later years he was 
idiMitified with the Episcopal church. 

Thiuiias AV. Snook was twice niai'ried. His 
first wife, wiio bore the maiden name of 
Emily .V. Hubbard, died in 18.')!), and two 
years later he married Harriet J. Hice. who 
A\as lioi-n in Connecticut in 1822. His death 
oi-i-nrred in lilOl. when he was seventy-nine 
>-ears of age, and he is still survived by his 
ivil'e, who is the only representative of this 
branch of the Rice family in ]\Iouiit Clemens. 
Ml'. Snook, one of the oldest business men 
,■111(1 liielily respected <-iti/ens of .Mount ('lein- 
ens, passed awa\' amiil the dec]) regret of a 
very large circde of friends. In his long and 
useful career he witnessed almost the entire 
growth id' this city and his name was ever 
associa1<'d with pulilie ])rogress. with enter- 
prisi^s of general beneflt. ;ind stoo<l ;is a 
synonym ol' eoiirageons pur|iose. While hi' 
advanced in years he was still >'oung in 
spirit, his mind remaining keenly alert, and 





THOMAS W. SNOUl 



PAST AND PRESKXT Oh' .MACOMB COrXTV 



177 



thr failure of his |)liysical stroiigtii was all 
tiial iiulie-att'il in him tlii" i)assiiig oi' liiiR'. 

I'lito Thomas W. ami i'lmily A. (Ilubhard) 
SiHiok were hcnii \'(i\iv chilili't'ii : William 
.\.. a rcsidt'iit nl' .Minneapolis, ^Minnesota ; 
Aliee M.. the widow of Dr. .M. ('. Kelly: 
Kmily A., the deceased wife of Saiiiiiel 
Crocker; and Ed^ar 'P.. of Detroit. The 
children of the second marriajfe are Charles 
('., who is livinu' in Uacine, Wisconsin, and 
.John R.. of this revii'w. Miss Jennie A. 
(Jriswold. an adopted daniiiitiM'. is now living- 
\vitli .Mi's. Snook. 

•lohn H. Snook pni'siie<l his ediu'ation in 
.Mount Clemens until he liiid comi)lcted the 
high school coui'se liy liraduation with the 
class of 1883. lie aftei'wai-d attended the 
Detroit Bryant iV: Sti'atton Conunercial Col- 
lege, from which he was uraduated in 1884. 
He then entered ujioii his business career, 
securing' a situation in Detroit as Ijookkeeper 
with the firm of Lai)ham & Throop, acting in 
that caiiacity for three years, lie then re- 
turned to .Mount ('li'iiiens and became book- 
keeper for his father. In 181t-t he was ad- 
mitted to a partnership under the firm name 
of T. W. Snook & Son and the olil name has 
since been retained. lie built the steam 
barge Atlantis, and at the same time contin- 
ued the iiuinufactui'e of staves and eoojjcr- 
agc. the output iiiei'ting a constantly grow- 
ing- trade. The plant is well equipped with 
the latest improved machinery and the vol- 
ume of business now aninndly transacted 
rein-esents a large investment and brings an 
excellent financial return. The business has 
liad a continuous existence since 1866 and 
,]\rr. Snook, of this review, is to-day the last 
representative of the family connected with 
the industrial an<l conunercial itderests of 
^Fonnt Clemens. 

On the 16th of l)eceud)er. IS!)!, occurred 
the marriage of John K. Snook and iliss 
Kate Farrar, a daughter of Colonel J. S. 
Farrar, of Mount Clemens. They ai-e promi- 
nent socially, and both are meudiei's of Grace 
Episcopal chui'ch. in which .Mr. Snook has 
served as vestrvman for some time. Politi- 
cally he is a republican and sociall.v has been 
connected with Blount Clonens lodge. No. 6, 
A. F. (Jt A. ;\1. lie is also ;in old time mem- 
ber of th<' volunteer fire departnu'ut of 
.Mount Clemens. Although he entered upon 
a business already established, he has 
through his own exertions attained an hon- 
orable i)Osition and a inarkecl pi'estige among 
representative men of ^Facond) county. He 
has i)roved himself in all the relations of lift; 



an e.-ji'iiest. liorii-st. upright man and a citizen 
of whom an\- e(niiminiit\- nught be .justly 
pi'oud. 



IS.\.\C WIldJA.MS. 



Lying along the i);ink of the Clinton river 
in Clinton to\vnshi|) is the fai-m owned by 
Isaac Williams, a tract of land of one hundi'ccl 
and sixteen acres, which in its highly cultiva- 
ted and wi'll im|)r()ved comlition indicates the 
carefid supervision of a j)ractical, enterpris- 
ing and prosperous ownei'. lie is moreover 
I'ulilled to i-eprcseutation in this volume as 
one of the eai'ly settlei-s of .MacomI) county, 
for he ;ii-ri\cd in .Mount ('lemens in 1853 — 
more than a half century ago. lie was born 
in Prussia, (iermany, January L'd. IS44, and 
is a son ol' .lohn Williams, who was a native 
of the same courjtry and sei'ved in the Pi-us- 
sian .\i-my for three years, holding rank as an 
officer, lie married ^liss ,Mena Dittman, a 
daughter of Captain Dittman, who wa,s also 
a soldiei- <if the Prussian Army, and was 
wounded in service. He afterward drew a 
pension in recognition of the aid which he 
had rendei'eil to his country and he died in 
the Soldiers' Home. John Williams emigrated 
to the new world in 1853, coming at once to 
.Macomb county, Michigan. He located on 
the Clinton I'ivei- near where his son Isaac now' 
i-esides. Late)' he bought land on the river 
road which he improved and developed into 
an excellent fai-m. The Indians were still 
seen in this county in large nmifijers and there 
was ev(>ry evidence of frontier life. The 
homes of the settlers were largely log cabins, 
hut \'c\v I'oads had been made and the now 
thriving towns and cities w'ere mere handets 
or \illages or had not yet sprung into exis- 
tence. .Ml-. Williams carried on general fai'iii- 
ing and ri-ai'i^d his family in .Macond) county 
ami hei-e he remained initil his death, whii'h 
oceiii-ri'd .-iliout ISD'J, his wife sui'\i\ing him 
for a. few years. 

Isaac AVilliams was a lad id' nine years 
when, with his parents, he crossed the broad 
Atlaidic to the new world and bccami! a j-esi- 
dent of Macond) connty. In early life he be- 
gan earning his own living by working by the 
month as a fai-m hand and for nine years 
he was in the employ of one man — a fact 
which indicates his capable service and his 
lidelity to duty. On the 27th of February, 
1865, he enlisted in the Union Ai'uiy. .join- 
ing the Fii'st Michigan Calvary with which 
he went to Vii'giuia and .served until the close 



178 



PxVST AM) PIJESEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



of the war. Wlu-n liostilities wuiv over he 
proceeded with his eoinniaiid to Washiii<;toii. 
D. C, and pai'tieipateil in the ijrand review 
— the most eeiebrated military pageant ever 
seen on the western hemisphere. Later he was 
sent to Parkersburg, West Virg-inia. and after- 
ward proceeded by boat to Louisville and to 
St. Louis. Later the eonimand was ordered 
to Fort Leavenworth and afterward went 
aei'oss the plains to F'ort Halleek. starting on 
the 8tli of July, 1805. Subseipientiy they re- 
turncMJ to Fort Leavenworth where Mr. Will- 
iams and iiis comrades were honorably dis- 
charged. Ill' had to ]iay one dollar for his 
discharge papers and also had to meet the 
expense of his return home. lie arrived 
again in Macomb count.v in Decembei'. 186;'), 
havin.g done his full duty as a soldier. 

The following year Mv. Williams began 
woi'king on his fai-m, having sixteen acres of 
land, lie afterward bought a tract of twenty- 
five acres ad.joining and built thereon a l)arn. 
He there cai'ried on genei'al agricultural pur- 
suits for several years, aftei- which he sold 
that ]iroi)ei-ty and ])ouulit Hfty aci-es of land 
on the county line on which he took iqi his 
residence, making it his home for I'ight years. 
After selling that property he invested his 
capital in one hundred and eight acres of land, 
bordering the Clinton river, and upon this 
place he has since lived. He has erected a 
large, neat, two-story frame residence and 
has other modern e((ui|>menls on his plaei', 
Tlierc are two windmills upon tin- I'ai-iii. one 
beinu' used in drawing watci' Iroin tin- well. 
while the other is used for the operation of 
the feed mill. Evei-ything about tiie place is 
thoroughly modei'ii and pi'ogressive. There 
is a good orchard, which yields its fruits in 
season, and the place has been divided into 
fields of convenient size by well kept fences. 
This farm foi-ms one of the important featui-es 
of the landseaiie and its pleasant a|)|H'arance 
is eidianced by the stream of water which 
Hows through it. 

.Mr. Williams was iiiai-ried in this eount.v. 
April 10, 18(i(i, to .Aliss Frederiea I'rell. ;> 
native of Prussia, born in the same village in 
which her husband's birth occui'red. When 
a child she was brought aci'oss the Atlantic 
to New York by her father. Frederick Prell, 
who in 18(1.") I'cmoved to ]\lichiuan, settling in 
.Ma<'omb count.v. Mr. and .Mi's. AVillianis have 
become the |)arents of six children: Walter 
\V., a resident farmt'r of Clinton township: 
Albert, a nuiil agent on a rural route of IMount 
Clemens; .lohn, at home: Elizabeth, the wife 
of William Davis, nl' llattle Ci'eek. .Michigan; 



.\lnia, at home, and ^lary, the wife of William 
Whistler, of iMoiint Clemens, ilr. Williams 
and his sons are stalwart supportei-s of the 
ri'publican party and he keeps well informed 
on the (piestions and issues of the day, 
although he has never been an aspirant for 
office. The cau.se of education finds in him 
a wai'ui friend and as a member of the school 
board he has done effective service in its be- 
half. He and his wife hold membership in 
the Bajjtist church and he belongs to the 
Gi-and Army Po.st at Mount Clemens. A 
wonderful transformation has been wrought 
in Macoinb county during the fifty-two years 
of his residence here, and the work of pid)lic 
improvement and ])rogress has found its 
counterpart in the life of Jli'. W'illiams, who, 
as the years have passed, has dcvelopeil a 
character of strength and rectitude and who 
in his business career has met with success 
which is the fitting reward of eai'nest, persist- 
ent effort. 



CHAHLES rLLKICII. 

Charles I'lli-ich. now deceased, was a prom- 
inent citizen of Mount Clemens. He was born 
.Xovember 27, 1836, in the village of Dieme- 
rode, in the kingdom of Hesse, aiul is the son 
of Jacob and Elizabeth I'llrieh, He attended 
school in Euro])e until he w;is fourteen years 
of age. at which time he left school and 
woi'keil upon a farm until he arrived at the 
age of seventeen years, when he concluded to 
l(>ave the old world and try his fortune in the 
new. He landed in this country eom])ara- 
ti\ely without mi'ans ami a sti'angi'i- to the 
people and thcii- language. He came to De- 
troit and at or.ce went to I'arning his liveli- 
hood by working at the butcher's trade: 
worked there six months: and then removed to 
Chicago, remaining thei'e about one year. The 
following year he worked in St. Louis ami 
New Oi-leans. At each of the last named 
places he carried on the business of butchei'- 
ing. He fiiiiilly I'etui'ned to Detroit and after 
a shoi't time came to Mount Clemens, and on 
the L'Dfh of September. 1857, he entered into 
a co-partnei-ship with August Czizek ami 
opened a meal market. They conducted this 
business for two and one-half years, when Mr. 
nirich sold out his intei'est to his i)artner. 
and at once went into the liv(> stock business, 
which trade he carried on for a number of 
years, and, during the war, he took many 
heavy contracts fi'om the I'nited States gov- 
ernment I'oi- I'ui'uishing horses for the cavalrv. 



PAST .WD I'KKSKXT OF .MACo.Mi; (OrX'l'V 



179 



111 many nl' llirsi' coiiti'iU'ts mikI in pine hind 
.spcculiitiiins hr WMs (•(iniicctcil with the hitc 
J. \i. Dickinsiin. Ilr linally aliandoiicd tlu' 
live stock Imsiiii'ss and went into tlu' rval 
ostato business, buyinii- aiul sellinir farms and 
I'ity proi)i'rty. 

.Mr. riiriuli niari'icd .Marjiari't S. .MiliiT. 
.hiiisihtcr of John \V. MiUer, .Xovciiihcr 21. 
l.s.")S, and to tl)i'iii were born three children: 
William .)., Reuben C, and Francis P. lie 
was elected alderman of the cit.\- of Mount 
Clemens in the year 1880, which position he 
held for two yi-ars. As a member of the coun- 
cil, he was one of the most active and efficient 
workers; served upon many of the most im- 
portant and standinji' connnittees, and was 
one of the most able and })rominent members 
of the special buildinir committee, who had 
the matter of erectinjr the new courthouse in 
eharjie. ]'y thrift and economy he amassed 
(|nite a lar^e fortune and was the owner of 
some of the finest and choicest propiM-ty in the 
city of .Mount Clemens. lie was recoi:iii/.ed 
as a man of remai'kably uood jiidiiiiient and 
\-ery ((uick pei'ception in this and ad.joininu 
counties, where he was well ami favorably 
known. He departed this life in 1888, hon- 
ored and respected by all who knew him. 



WALTER J. DALHV. 

Walter •!. Dalby. who is eui;ai:iMl in the 
<lniL! business in Jlount Clenu^ns, was boi'ii 
in this city, ^larch 11, 1872, and is a son of 
(Jeor<ie antl Hannah (SpenceiO Dalby, who 
wei-e natives of Enaland, and on cominii' to 
America settled in (Quebec. They afterward 
located in London, Canada, and in 18()1, came 
to .Mount Clemens. 

Waltei' J. Dalby pursued his education in 
the |)ul)lie schools of Blount Clemens I111I 
early put aside his te.xt-books in order to 
earn his own living', beinu' employed as a bell 
boy in the Sherman House of this cily. lie 
afterwai'd occupied a position in a laiimlrx' 
office for a year and was then employetl as a 
delivery boy in the general store of A. .1. 
Olde, in 1SI)(I. He entered the employ of 
•lolin Westendorf as a drug' clerk and with 
him learned the business, continuinu' in his 
store until IDOl. In February of the latter 
year he orjianizetl the Dalby Driiu' ('(>in])any. 
which opened its store at No. 11 .\orth (iratiot 
aveinie. of which he became iiianau:er, and he 
has siiii-e conclncted a lart;e and profitabli- 
business here, haviiiu' a well .-iiiiiointi'd store, 



complete in all its ecpiipments and carrNini;' a 
lai'uc and well selecti'd line of drut;s. 

On the :2d of .May. 18!ir), .Mr. Dalby was 
married to iliss Charlotte llasson, of Hutfalo, 
Xew York, and 1he>' have one son. .Alaurice 
11. .Mr. Dalby beloiii;s to .Mount Clemens 
lotlge. .Xo. Iti8, K. P. lie is a man of excel- 
lent cajjability, iiopular with his fellow towns- 
men, havinj;- a lai'iii- circle of fi'iends, and 
en.joyinj"' the esteem as well as tlie confiilence 
of those who have had business relations with 
him. 



WAKI) W. SWIT/KR. 

Ward W. Swil/.er. wi-ll known as a repre- 
sentative of connnercial interests of Blount 
Clemens, conduetinj;' a .jeweli-y establishment 
here, was born in Davis, Macomb county, 
February 21, 1879, and is a son of William F. 
and Adell (Dieken) Switzer, who were natives 
of .Xew York and Macomb county respectively. 
The Swit/.er family had its oriuin in (iermany. 
while the ancestors of the Dieken family came 
to America from Enj;land. William F. 
Switzer was a mei'chant in Davis for a number 
of years and is now the cashier of the Xew 
Haven Savings liaiik at Xew Haven. .Macomb 
count.v, in which capaeit.\' he has served for 
three years. In his family are four children, 
luimely: Ward AV., .Maude .\.. who is a 
teacher of music in Athens, Pennsylvania: 
(leorge D., who is a.ssoeiated with Ward W. 
in business and is living in Mount Clemens: 
and •lohn D.. also a resident of iMount Clem- 
ens. 

AVard W. Swit/.er imrsned his education 
in the di.strict schools and in the high school 
of Romeo, and in .March, 18!)5, he began to 
learn the watchnuikei-'s trade with Dwight T. 
Dieken in Davis. Some two years later his 
i'inplo,\'er died and .Mr. Swil/.er continued the 
business for a year. He then entei'ed the 
('anadian lloi'ological Institute at Toronto. 
Ontario, where he pursued a two years" course 
of stuil.N', pei'feeting himself in his cho.sen 
trade. He then entered the em])loy of A. H. 
Kent, at ]\lount Clemens, in whose service he 
remained for seven moiilhs. when he obtained 
a |>osition in the store of Chambers iSi: Stewart, 
at Mount Clemens, continuing thei'e for three 
.\-ears. In Octobei-, 11)04, he established busi- 
ness on his own account at Xo. (!•"> .Xorth Wal- 
nut str<ct. where he eai'l'ies a general line of 
.jewelr.v and stationery and school siipjilies 
and also does a watch rei)airing business. In 
till' \-ear which has passed he has built up a 



i8o 



PAST AND PHESEXT OF :\IAC().MB COUXTY 



good trade and his patrunajre is constantly in- 
creasing:. In .March. 1905. he took (ieor^e 
D. Switzer in j)artnership. the firm now licinsr 
Switzer Brothers. 

Mr. Switzer is a member of thr Woiidiinii 
of the World and has the t'l-iendship and re- 
gard not only of ids hretliren of the fi-aternity 
but of many residents of Blount Clemens. 
He was mai'ried, June 17. l!Ki;{. to Vena K. 
Jones, a daughter of Charles II. and Celestia 
(Hart) Jones, of ;\Ieade, Michigan. The 
young couple enjoy the hospitality of many 
of the best homes of Jlount Clemens. They 
have one child. William J.. Iiorn Xovendier 
21, 1904. .Mr. Switzer is recognized as ;i 
young man of strict business integrity and 
possesses strong purpose and laudable andii- 
tion-^qualities which are essential to success. 



SYLVESTER A. ST(»XE. 

Sylvester A. Stone, whose liome is on sec- 
tion •4, Bruce township, is one of the leading- 
citizens of his community and is a successful 
fanner and stockraiser. Since 1843 he has 
been a resident of ilichigan and has thei'e- 
fore witnessed much of its growth and de- 
velopment. He was born in Monroe county, 
X'ew Yoi'k, .March 26, 1832, and is a son of 
Solomon and Betsy (Bradley) Stone. The 
father was ])orn and reai'ed in Vermont ami 
when a .voung man went to Monroe county. 
New Y'oi-k. where he was married, his wife 
being a native of Jefferson county, that 
state. I'nto them were born thii'teen chil- 
dren prior to till' emigration of the famil.\' to 
Michigan in 1843. Locating in ]\Iacomi) 
comity, the father entered two hundred and 
forty acres of land in Richmond townshi]). 
which he cleared, cultivated and improved, 
becoming a prominent and successful farmer 
of tliat locality, where he spent the remain- 
der of his life. Of his seven sons only our 
subject i-i now living, but thi'ce daughters 
yet sui-vive. these being INIrs. .Mar\- W. Sher- 
man, now ovi'r ninet.v years of age. her farm 
in Bruce towiislii|) being now operated by 
our subject; Mi-s. Helen S. Allen, a \\idow 
residing in the town of Richiiiond : and 
Elizabeth, wife ni' .\lexaiidei' Caster of Kieli 
mond township. 

S. .\. Slone was oiil.v eleven years (d' age 
when he accomiianieil his jiariMits lui tlieii' 
removal to this county and here lie grew to 
manhood, attending the common schools ami 
later the hi>ih school at Almoiit. Tn 1S.')S 
he w:is iniite(l in marriage to Miss Sarah 



Cordelia Rowley, also a native of New York 
state, who died on the 3d of August. 181)2. 
Soon after the death of his wife Mr. Stone 
entered the I'liiou army, for the Civil war 
was then in jjrogress, enlisting on the 22d 
of August, 18(i2, in Company E. Fifth Mich- 
igan Calvalry. which was assigned to (}en- 
eral Custer's Brigade, .\riiiy of the Potomac. 
He partiei])ated in a number of imjiortant 
engagements and once was sli.trhtly wounded 
in defending the old tlag and the cause it 
represented. When the war clo.sed he was 
ill in the hosidtal at Cumberland, Marxland. 
and was there honorably discharged. 

After his return home Mr. Stone was en- 
gaged in farming in Rielimond township foi' 
some years, owning a small but well im- 
proved farm. In 1873 he I'eiiioved to .Mont- 
calm county and purchased eighty acres of 
land near Carson Cit.v. but when the railroad 
was built through that section he sold the 
place and bought another farm near the city, 
continuing to make his home in tliat county 
until 1898. when he dis])osed of his pi'0])erty 
there and returned to .Macomb county to 
take charge of the farm of his sister. ^Ir.s. 
Sherman. In connection with general fann- 
ing he devotes considerable attention to the 
raising and feeding of stock. 

Mr, Stone v,-as again marrieil in Bruce 
township, this county, in 18()8, to ^liss Mar- 
tha Bishoii. a native of the county and a 
daughter of Truman and .Mary (Sherman) 
Bishop. B.v his first marriage he had two 
sons who reaidied yeai's of maturity. George 
II., the elder, was a graduate of the State 
University at .-\nn .Arbor <ind became a i)i'om- 
inent edm-ator. teaching English in tlie 
schools of Detroit, in whicdi city he died in 
1890. Eilwaid li. was reared and educated 
by his aunt. .Mi's. Sherman, lie attended 
the .Vgricultural College at Lansing, and 
jifter completing the cinir-ie took charge of 
his aunt's farm and business affairs, which 
he successfull.v conducted u]) to the tiiii(> of 
his death, which occurred .\pril 11. 189f). 
He was a >i>ung m^iii of e.\em|)lary habits, 
upright and honorable in all tliiims, and he 
possessed good business abilit.w By his sec- 
ond marriage .Mr. Stone has tlii'ee children: 
.Mary Louise, now the wife of T)r. (1. F. 
Siiiilli. id' Helding. Michigan: Charles Clif- 
ford, who i-i iiiarrie 1 and is engaged in the 
practice of dentistry al .\lmont: and Stu- 
art S., who is still at home with his parents. 

In his political views Mi-. Stone is a stanch 
''emocr.d. casting his first jiresirlent ial voti' 
I'or James Buchanan ;in!l for everv nominer 





MR. AND xMRS. S. A. STONE 



I'AST AND I'liHSKNT OF AlACOMT. COrXTY 



183 



since that time with exception iii' lS(i(l and 
1864 wlien he voted for Aliraiiani Liiicohi. 
While a resident of Montcalni comity In- 
served as treasurer of Hloonier township two 
terms and was also one of the draiiuiiie com- 
missioners. He has been dele}i:atc to numer- 
ous county conventions of his ])arty and has 
always taken a deep interest in public affairs 
as every true American citi/.en slioiUd do. 
He is a member of the CojiKi'e^ational cluirch 
of Carson City, to which his wife also be- 
longs, and as an honored veteran of the Civil 
war and one of the representative citizens of 
the community he is certainly desei-viiifr of 
jirominent mention in this volume. Fratci'- 
nally he is a member of the Ancient ()i-(Iit 
of United Workmen. 



PLIXY P. AXDKKWS. 

Pliny P. Andrews owns a farm of one 
hundred and fifty-five acres on section 8, 
Shelby township. He was born in this town- 
ship. January 1, 1850, upon the farm which is 
yet his home, his jiarents beiiifi' Chester and 
Rhoda Ann (Lockwood) Andrews, both na- 
tives of the state of Xew York. The paternal 
iirandfather was Hiram Andi'ews ami llie 
maternal grandfather was Jeremiah Lock- 
wood. Chester Andi'ews was only twelve 
>eai's of age when brought by his parents 
from the Empire state to Jlichiuan in ISl^l.'. 
his birth having occurred on November 8, 
lS2l). His wife was born January 1."). 18'2:i 
and w;is only eight months old wIumi biMUght 
to .Michigan. The gi-andfather settled a half 
mile east of where Pliny P. Andi'ews now 
I'csidcs, purchasing land there of a man who 
had entered it from the government. Mv. 
Lockwood had obtained land of the govern- 
ment and at one time was the owner of eighty 
acres, while Chester Andrews becaiiu> the 
owner of a valuable farm of one hundred 
acres. He devoted his entiri' lil'e to agricul- 
liiral pursuits and passed away in 18811 1 1 is 
widow still survives him and has now reaclu'd 
the age of eighty-two years. 

Pliny P. Andrews was r('are<l to farm life 
,111(1 piirsiii'd his education in the .Xiulrcws 
school. He has always devoted his attention 
to agricultural pursuits with the exception 
of two yeai-s, which he jiassed ui)on the road 
in locating agents for the sale of a fertilizer. 
In recent years he has rented his fann bill 
still gives his attention to his place, which 
comprises one hundred and fifty-live acres of 
valuable aiul ]irodiiclive land. 



In ISdIt .Mr. .\iidrews was married to Miss 
.\ltliea .\. Dennis, a daughti'r of Andrew and 
.Mary (Corwin) Dennis, who were Xew Jersey 
|)eople and came to .Michigan at an early day. 
lie and .Mrs. Andrews have one son, Ki'ank 
('.. who was educateil in the Andrews school 
and for one term was a student in Washing- 
ton. He married Jennie Baker and they have 
one child. Homer \V. Frank C. Andrews 
is a broker and bond dealer of Detroit. 

In his political views Pliny P. Andrews 
is a stalwart republican and served as justice 
of the peace for eiulit years, prosing a capa- 
ble officer, his decisions lieiiig sti'ietl.\' fair and 
impartial, lie lielnngs to llie .Maecahei' lodge 
in Washington, and is now a member of the 
rnion clun-ch at Washington. He has seen 
the country develoji from a wilderness to a 
veritable garden and as the years have passed 
has taken just i)ride in what has been accom- 
plished. He has borne his full share in the 
work of agricultural imiirovenient and has 
also been a co-o|)erant factor in man> meas- 
ures for the general good, while in all matters 
of citizenship he has been loyal and in busi- 
ness aft'airs he has been found worthy the trust 
of the ])ublic. 



lOllX E. CAREY. 



John E. Carey, who since 1893 has con- 
ducted a tiorist business in Mount Clemens 
with continually increasing success, was born 
in Ireland. April 1, 1857, his parents being 
.Matthew and Alice (Clarke) Carey, who were 
also natives of the (ireen Ish^ of Erin. They 
came to the United States in 1861, locating at 
Long Island City. Xew York, where the 
father's death oecuri'ctl when h(> was sixty- 
three years of age, while his wife jiassed 
away at the age of sixty-eight ,\'ears. Mat- 
thew Carey was the onl,\' member of his branch 
of the famil.v that came to .\merica. 

John K. Carey received but limited educa- 
tional opportunilies. lie liegnn work while 
still a boy as a floi'isi mi Long Island, and 

in 1884 he c to the west, locating in 

Detl'oit. whel'c he was employed as a tiorist 
Tor about ten scars. He came to Mount 
Clemens in 18;i:{ and established business for 
himself on a small scale. He <it first had i>nly 
three greenhouses but has increased his |)lanl 
until he now has ten greenhouses all located 
at No. 17 North Wilson boulevard in .Mount 
('leiiieiis. His biisiiiiss is of extensive and 
prolilable proportions at the |)i'esent day. 
owing to hi-i Well directed el't'orts. his thor- 



1 84 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IA('OMB COUNTY 



oiigh knowledge of tho work, his eai'nest de- 
sire to please his patrons and his straightfor- 
ward dealing. 

In 1888 occurred the marriage of 'Mr. Carey 
and ]\Iiss Maggie Wakefield, a native of 
Canada, and their children are John. Isabella. 
Edith. James. JIary and Margaret, all at home 
in Mount Clemens. .Mr. Carey is a member of 
the Ancient Order of I'nited Workmen, the 
Woodmen of the World and the Catholic 
^Mutual Benefit Association. He is a man of 
rather retiring disjjosition but one who com- 
mands the un(|ualifii'd respect of the business 
community. He has been quite successful in 
his business career, taking great pride in this 
work and devoting liis entire attention thereto. 



GEORGE B. ROWLEY. 

George B. Rowley, wlio carries on gem-ial 
agricultural pursuits in a practical and pi-o- 
gressive numner tliat pi'oduces desired results, 
has made his home in Romeo since 1890, 
while his farm is situated in Ray township. 
It was in that town.ship that his birth oc- 
curred, April 1. 1844. II is paternal grand- 
father. Brainard Rowley, resided for many 
yeai's in the Em])ii'e state and there Anson D. 
Rowley, father of oui- subject, was Ijorn June 
16, 1806. His youth was pa.ssed in the Empire 
state and when a young man he came west to 
^Michigan in 1832, his destination being Ma- 
comb county. lie located in Ray township 
and from the government secured a tract nl' 
land of one hundred and forty acres which 
was wild and unimproved. Therefore, the 
arduous task of clearing and developing it 
devolved uj)on him and with great energy he 
undertook the work of developing his farm. 
He brought Susan Becraft to preside over 
his home, their marriage being celebrated in 
this county. She was born, however, in tlie 
Empire state, and was there reared to the 
age of eighteen years, when she came to ^lich- 
igan with her parents, .Moses and ^largaret 
(Fenton) Becraft, who thus east in their lut 
with the jiinncer settlers of ^lacoinb county. 
^Fr. Rowley having married, thus liail an 
added im|)etus for elTectivr and earnest labor. 
lie erected good buildings upon his farm and 
developed a nice home, which was sui'i'ounded 
by well tilled fields that aniuially yielded him 
golden harvests. There he reared his family 
and spent his renuiining days, passing away 
in 1886, at the age of eighty years. His 
widow still survives Iiim and now makes her 
lionie with a dautrhter in Romeo. In their 



family are tlu'ee sons and three daughters, 
all of wliom are living and are now heads of 
families. Wells A., of Romeo, t)orn February 
18, 1834, iiiari'ied ilary Ilulbei-t. ilargaret, 
born September 21, 1835, married Henry 
Rogers and after his death became the wife 
of Andrew Stranahan. They live in Romeo 
and have six ciiildi-en. William, born ^larch 
16. 1839, married Helen Dows. and after her 
death wedded Enuna Welch. They live in 
Ray township. Sary ^larie. born July 15, 
1841, is the widow of Henry Richards, (ieorge 
B. is the next of the family. Josephii.e. boi-n 
December 12. 1S52. is the wife of Daniel 
Stone, of Detroit, and has five children. 

(ieorge B. Rowley was reared in the usual 
nuiinier of farmer lads, no event of special 
importance occurring to vary the routine of 
life for him in his boyhood days. He attended 
the district schools and continued to assist 
in the operation of the old homestead farm 
until twenty-six years of age, when he mar- 
ried and went to a home of his own. He 
wedded Miss Elizabeth Rose, daughter of John 
and Julia (Fox) Rose, in Ray township, June 
7, 1870. She is a native of this township 
liorn Febi'uary 24. 1844, and was reared and 
educated here, her father being numbered 
among the eai'ly settlers of 1822. coming fi-om 
New Yoj'k. 

In the family wei'e th(> following children: 
Jo.seph P.. born October 18, 1S34, uuiri-ied 
Clara Freeman, lives in Detroit and has three 
children. J. Wesley, born November 11, 1841. 
married Julia .\. Fox. by whom he had three 
children, and their home is in Kalamazoo. 
.Michigan. Luna L. Rose, born November 30. 
1846. is the widow of Austin Bannister and 
lives in Davis, ^lichigan. 

^Irs. Rowley was a teacher for several years 
l)i-ioi- to hei- marriage and is a lady of superior 
cnltiirc an<l rclinement. always interested in 
inlelleclnal devel(i])meiit. She went as a bride 
to her husband's home, and they continued 
to reside (in the old homestead farm for a 
year and then i-emoved to .Vrmada townshiji. 
when' he rented land for two years. He then 
returned to Ray townsliip and rented the place 
which lie now nwns cdnlituiing its cultivation 
foi- two yeai-s. He afterward leased and 
opei-ated a farm in Washington township for 
two years and the succeeding years were s])ent 
by him in Bruce township. He nest lived in 
Romeo foi- a year and in 1882 lie bought a 
farm which he now owns, locating thereon in 
that year. He at once began its further de- 
velopment and cultivation and year by year 
has continued the work of improvement until 



PAST AND 



l.'MSKXT (»F .MACOMIi CorX'l'V 



185 



lie now has an cxcclli-nt prnpci'ty. 'I'lu' Imnsc- 
has Ijocii I'elniilt, two barns have Iw'cn l)uill. 
foni'i's liave also bet-n const met cd, tlic land 
has been tiled, an orchard has been planted. 
and altoj;ethei' the eciiiipnients of the faini 
ai'c such as are found upon a model i)ro])erty. 
In 1890 he rented the farm and leased a resi- 
dence property in Komeo, where he lived re- 
tired for one or two yeai-s. He tiien aiiain 
took charge of his farm, which he conducted 
with the assistance of hired hel|) until l!iii."). 
He now owns his own home in Komeo. 

]\[r. and ]\Irs. Rowley have hcconie tlie par- 
ents of one child, Jfcrton K.. who is a traveliii'4 
salesman with headquarters in Del roil. .Mi'. 
Kowley. interested in Jetfersonian democracy, 
has always liiven his support to the men and 
nu'asui'cs of that party and I'or one term he 
served on the village boai'd. Init has always 
been without political aspii-ation. His wife 
is a inendier of the ^lethodist chuiiii. 'i'here 
is in the life history of 'Sh: Rowley much that 
is conunendable and woi'thy of iMuulation. 
for he started out a poor man and by continu- 
ance of labor, frugality and eeonomy. com- 
bined with grood business .judgnient, has 
steadily advanced until he occujiies a credita- 
ble place among the substantial residents of 
this part of the state. His fellow townsmen 
have always found him trustwoi'thy and lu' 
certainly deserves the somewhat trite, but 
hoiiiiriMl .\merican title of a self-made man. 



EDAYIX E. rOXXOR 



Edwin P], Connor was born February 1:5, 
IS.'ift, on the old family homestead in Shelby 
township, where he yet lives, his jiarents being 
David and Sarah (Price) Connor. The 
father was born in Quebec, Canada, October 
25. 1813, and removed from the state of Xew 
York to ^lichigan in 1836, settlinji in Utica. 
His childhood and youth were ])assed in Xew 
York city and there he learned the trade of 
coach building and following his removal to 
l.Itica he engaged in carriage making. He 
remained a resident of I'tica for about ten 
years and during that time was married, in 
1842, to Miss Sarah Price. Four years later 
they removed to the old Price fai'm, her 
father having died in 183S. .Mrs. Connor 
had three sisters and seven brothers of whom 
Phillip is still living at .Marlette, .Michigan, 
being a retired farmer there. .\dam Price. 
Mr.s. Connor's fathei-. M'as one of the valued 
pioneer residents of the county and \\:- Imilt 
the second hous(> in l'tic;i an<l also the lirsl 



mill. He came to .Michigan from Rochester, 
.Xew York, traveling by way of the Krie canal 
and on ;i steand)oat fi'om liuftalo to Deti'oit 
and thence by o.\-team to Hoyal Oak. where 
he was entertained by a family who lived in 
a log house of one room, beils being made 
upon the Hooi- to acconunodate the guests. 
After reaching Ptiea .Mr. Price lived with his 
brother. Jacob Price, whose house was the first 
in the town, it standing on the site now occu- 
pied by the store owned by (Icoi-gc Koberson. 
There was only one house between Utica and 
\Yashington ami tliei'c was no I'ailroad. not 
even a wagon I'oad — only an old Indian trail. 
.Many of the red men still lived in the state, 
there being two hundred of them encamped 
in l^tica on theii' way to get pi'csents to be 
given them by the government. Thei'e were 
lieai-s and wolves in the forests ;ind fre({uently 
large herds of i\fi'f were si'cn, while lesser 
game was to be had in abundance. The I'rice 
family endured all the hai-dships incident to 
pioneer life and also en.joyed nuniy pleasures 
such as are unknown at the jjresent day. Mrs. 
Coinior attended school, being a student in 
an old log schoolhouse. The teachei' was Mi'. 
Whitmore who gave insti'uction in reatiin'.;. 
writing, ai'ithmetie and grammar. Old 
fashioned spelling matches wi're held in which 
everybody in the neighboi'hood ])artii'ip;\ted 
antl thei-e was much ])leasant rivalry thi'ough 
one's ability to spell and some gooil speller.' 
were produced in this wa.\'. Mrs. Connoi 
eventually became a teacher, I'cceiving one 
dollar ])er W(n'k for teaching school for six 
da\s per week. ( )ne of the rooms in the house 
was used for school jturposes. The old house 
is still standing in which .Mrs. Connoi' taught 
school, and in which her son, Edwin K.. was 
born. 

Edwin E. Connor imrsued his education in 
the public .schools of Disco and Utica. He 
has always followed farming, having been 
trained in early manhood to the labors of 
field and meadow so that jiractical exi)erience 
well (|ualificd him to cai'i'.s- on his work after 
attaining his ma.jority. He has made man.v 
excellent impi'ox'emcnls on the old hoiin'stcad 
and (>verythiiig alioni the place is in good 
condition, the buildings and fences ahva.vs 
being kejit in repair while the fields produce 
good crops. He has licri' two hundretl and 
forty aci'cs of rich land and annually secures 
li'olden harvests as the I'cward foi' the care 
and lalior which he bestows upon his farm. 

Mr. ('onnoi' was married to .Miss Ella 
(lein'cc. who was a (laiitilitei' of •!. K. (leorge 
Mini died in ISSIt. |.",ir his second wife he 



i86 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MAro.MlJ COr.XTV 



chose Rachel duff, a dautrliter of William 
and Jane ((Ti-iffin) Cluff. who are natives of 
Canada. This iriarriaize was celehi'ated in 
1893 and in 1896 a eiiiid was born unto them 
but died the same year. ilr. Connor is a 
republican in his political views and has hehl 
the office of supervisor for three years, lie 
was also at one time school inspector. He has 
a wide acquaintance in the township and 
county where his entii-e life has been [lassed 
and he is to-ilay clas-jed with the rei)ri'seiita- 
ti\c' farmci's here. 



(iEXERAL CORTi:Z FESSEXDEN. 

General Cortez Fessenden, who is now liv- 
ing retired in Romeo, has hee!i one of the 
prominent and intiuential citizens of ]\Ia- 
condj county and a resident of Michigan for 
many years. He is iiundjered among the 
old settlers here, dating his residence in the 
county since 1846. He is a native of Can- 
ada, born Octolier 11. 18-J.'j. His father, 
Eben Fessen<len. was horn in Worcester 
county, ^lassachusetts, and was descended 
from English ancestory, two brothers hav- 
ing emigrated from the "merrie isle" to the 
new world, being among the first settlers of 
Cand)ridge. .Massachusetts. p]ben Fessenden 
was reared in the state of his nativity and 
when a young nuin went to Vermont, where 
he was nuirried to ;\liss Haiuiah ."\Ioss, wlio 
was born in Connecticut, but was reared in 
the Green Mountain state. Jlr. Fessenden 
owned land in both Vermont and Canacbi 
and liir sume year> hi' resided across the 
border in Canada, rearing his family there 
and spending his last days in the Donnnion. 
His wife sui-vived Inm for a inimber of year^. 

(Jenerai Fesseiulen was educated in Ver- 
mont and Canada, attending the common 
and high schools. Study at home has also 
greatly liroadene,! bis knowledge. He li.-is 
long been a (dose and earnest student and 
has kejit in touch with the world's progress 
and with the great (piestions affectinu (he so- 
cial economic jiolicy of the coiuitry. When a 
young man he studied surveying, gaining his 
knowledge lai-gely by practical ex])erience in 
the fi(dd ami thus he beeame an e.\i)ei-t sur- 
veyor. He came to .Macond) county in 184(), 
settling fii'st at Romeo, where he taught school 
through the succeeding wiidei- and also con- 
tinued his e:lucational work for a nund)ei' 
of yciirs and at the sann' time surveying as 
01)portunity olVei'ed. .\nd)itious to improve 
his own elneation he hecaiii<' a student in 



the academy at Romeo after it was estab- 
lished, and subse(pu'idly he again taught 
school. In 1856 he went to S|)ringfield, Illi- 
nois, where he engaged in surveying, open- 
ing an office in a room adjoining the room 
of Abraham Lincoln, with whom he became 
personally aci|uainted and a warm fideiul- 
ship s|)iMing up between them. 

General Fessenden remained in Illinois for 
some .vears and next went to Dakota on a 
general survey, having a government con- 
tract for that work in that section of the 
country. For three years he was engaged 
there, after which he returned to Romeo and 
[lurcdiased a farm, which he cultivated for 
a year. On selling that propei'ty he took 
up his abode in the town, where he lived 
until 1881, when he was appointed by Presi- 
dent James A. Garfield to the position of 
surveyor general of Dakota. Here he had 
(diarge of an engineering corps ami the aj)- 
pointment of all surveyors in the teri'itory. 
In fact he had general supervisicui of the 
work in that line and the letting of con- 
tra(ts and for f<nir years he continued in 
the jiosition, I'cndering capable service by 
reason of his ability as a surv(\vor. In this 
county he was elected and served I'm- five 
terins as county surveyor, and he was also 
elected on two other occasions, but refused 
to i|ualify. He is now living a retired life, 
<'njoying a rest which he has ti'uly earned 
;Mid richly deserves. 

(ieneral Fessenden was nuu'i-ied in Romeo 
in 18H;] to ;\Iiss Caroline Sterling, a native 
of Livingston county, Xew York, wlio came 
to Michigan in her girlhood days and was 
here I'eai'cd. Her death occiu'red in Romeo. 
in March. 1S77, and she left a daughter. 
Agnes L.. who, having com]deted the high 
school course in Romeo, atteiuled the State 
Xornud School at V])silanti. Michigan, from 
whi(di she was gra<hiated. She now holds 
a life certificate for this state and has been 
a teacher in the high sidiool at Romeo for 
ten or twelve yeai's. In 1881 (ienei'al Fes- 
senden was again married, his second union 
being with Miss Emma Smith, a native of 
this state. 

When age gave to him the right of fran- 
chise he csjioused the cause of the whig 
party and cast his first iiresidential vote 
for (ieneral Winlield Scott. In 18(10 he sup- 
poi'tel bis i'e|inblicaii friend, .\braham Lin- 
coln. ;iiiil b;is since \(ited for eacdl l'ei)ubli- 
c-an nominee of the republican pai'ty. He 
has been a (hdegate to connt>' and state con- 
ventions and luis alwavs lieeii interested in 




(iEXERAl. COKTK/ FKSSKADKX. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMli COUNTY 



189 



political qiK'stioiis. lie has resided in Romeo 
during the greater part of the time for 
fifty-uine years. lie is a man whom to 
know is to esteem and honor because of his 
strength of character, his upright princi- 
ples and liis fidelity to every course that he 
lias believed to be right. He has had a wide 
acquaintance among ])romineut men and has 
enjoyed their friendship because he was 
worthy of their regard. He is to-day classed 
with the pioneer residents of ^laeomb coun- 
t}' and as one of its representative citizens 
deserves mention on the pages of its history. 



AltilST K. KAISER. 

The history of eity, state or nation is chietiy 
the chi'onicle of the lives and deeds of tlmsc 
who have confei'red honor and dignity upon 
society. The world judges the character of a 
connnunity by that of its representative citi- 
zens and August F. Kaiser was numbered 
amoiii;- those whose works and acts constitute 
the record of .Mount Clemens" prospei'ity and 
pride. He died January 6, 1902, at the com- 
paratively eai-ly age of forty-eight years, but 
his entire life was spent in ]\lacomb county 
and all who knew him — and his acquaintance 
was a wide one — entertained for him umiuali- 
fied regard and esteem. His educational priv- 
ileges were somewhat limited, but reading, 
experience and observation broadened his 
knowledge in later life. He was early em- 
ployed on a farm and in this way gained his 
start in the business world. For a long period 
he was ideutilied with the business interests of 
Xew Haven and he served as postmaster there 
under the administration of President Harri- 
son. In 1S!)4 he removed to IMouut Clemens, 
upon being elected county treasurer on the 
republican ticket. He was re-elected in 1896 
and on the exi)iration of his second term he 
retired from office as he had entered it — with 
the trust aiul good will of all concerned. He 
then associated himself with Thomas Broome 
and established a general crockery and china- 
ware store, becoming the senior partner of 
Kaiser & Broome. The business is still con- 
ducted under the old firm name at No. 49 
North AValinit street, in Blount Clemens, Mrs. 
Kaiser still i-ctaining the former interest of 
her liusl)Mud ill the business. Owing to fail- 
ing health for several months prioi' to his 
demise, .Mr. Kaiser was not actively engaged 
in till' conduct of the store. His condition was 
nl'tcii ci-itical and he submitted to a succession 
n\' oprrnt idiis. .\ rccii\cry was never antici- 



pated, but relief could only be ol)taiiied 
through these opei-ations and ultinuitely he 
jiassed away in Il.iipcr Hospital, in Detroit. 
It was oil the nth of October, 1882, that -Mr. 
Kaiser was united in marriage to ^li.ss Alice 
II. Iloiikiiis, a daughter of Nicholas and 
Minna (Price) Ilojikins. of .Macomb county, 
who wi'rc natives of Fiigland and on emigrat- 
iiiL;- to America settled first in the state of New 
^'ol•k, whence they reiiiovetl to .Macomb county 
ill ls,"i.'). Mr. jiiid .Mrs. Kaiser became the 
|)arciit of one daughter, Grace, who wa,s 
graduated from the I'niversity of ^lichigan, 
at .\nii Arbor, with the class of 1904, and is 
now a teacher of languages in the high school 
at ]\Ioiint Clemens. Jlr. Kaiser belonged to 
.Mount Clemens lodge. No. fi, A. F. & A. M.. 
and was also i(leiitifie(1 with the Knights of the 
.M;iccabees. lie was a man of superior judg- 
ment and of sterling worth. His career 
])roved that the only true success in life is 
that which is accoiiiplished by i>ersonal effort 
and consecutive industry. It also proved that 
the road to success is open to all young men 
who have the courage to tread its pathway 
and the life record of such a man should serve 
as an inspiration to the youth of this and 
future geuerations and to teach that success 
is ambition's answer. He was devoted to his 
family and while his UKiuy friends recognized 
his many excellent traits of character, his liest 
qualities were reserved for the members of his 
household. 



LOUIS F. WOLF. 



Louis F. Wolf, who is engaged in the hard- 
ware business in .Mount Clemeus, is a native 
of Otter Lake, .Michigiin, born January 8, 
188(), and is a son of Frederick L. and Emma 
(Schott) Wolf, who were natives of Roseville 
Mild Waldenburg, .Michigan, respectively. The 
former was Ixu'ii December 11, 1862, and was 
a son of Frederick Wolf, who was a native of 
(ieriiiany and came to the Ignited States 
whi'ii thirteen years of age. .Vt that time he 
took u]) his abode in Macomb county and is 
now living in ]\Iount Clemens, being one of the 
leading and valued pioneer residents of this 
part of the state. His .son, Frederick Tj. AVolf, 
was the fourth in order of birth in a family of 
eieht children and after ac(|uiring his educa- 
1i"ii in tlie public schools he began learning 
the carpenter's trade, which he later followed 
in Detroit, Michigan. He became a resident 
of Mount Clemens in 1887 and here estab- 
lished a hardware business in 1S95. This 



I go 



I'AST AXI) I'UHSKXT OP" :\IACO.MB ('(trXTY 



l)iisiiiess is now loeatrd at Xii. T(i Macdiulj 
street and is condiieteil by lii-i son. Louis F.. 
will) lias ))een iiianati'ei' since Aui;ust 1. 11)0:5. 
.Mr. Wolf has made for himself a ereditahle 
place in l)usiness eii'eles and en.joys the entire 
eontidenee of the eommnnity. In early man- 
hood he married P^nnna Schott. a danyhter of 
John Sehott, of ilount Clemens. Her father 
was propriet()r of a lumber mill at Walden- 
hurg and at Otter Lake for several years. 
I'nto ilr. and ilrs. P^i-ederiek L. Wolf were 
born tive children: Louis F., Elma, Arth\ir, 
Dora antl Ella, but the yoiuiiiest died in litol. 
at the a^re of three years. 

Louis F. Wolf pursued his education in 
the public schools and in IMiles Business Col- 
le<re of Blount ("lenien-. Tie entered upon his 
business career as a clerk in his father's 
hardware store in liS!)9, and served in that 
capacity until he was made mana,Ker on the 
1st of August, 190:5, being' then but seventeen 
years of age. He is a young man of nuirked 
enterprise and executive ability, possessing 
the sjiirit of energy which has been the domi- 
nant factor in the upbuilding of the midtlle 
west. He is a member of the German Luth- 
eran church and is i)res;ident of the Younu' 
People's Societ.v of that organization. An 
advocate of progre>s and inipi-ovement, he is 
in his own career making steady advancement 
along material, intellectual and moral lines 
anil he connnands the confidence and good will 
of all who know him. 



FLOYD E. ANDREWS. 

Floyd E. Andrews, engaged in the practice 
of law in New ]ialtinu)re, was born in Bergen, 
Genesee county. New York. August 8, 186fi, 
a son of George J. and ]\Iarion J. Andrews, the 
formci' a fai-mer by occn])ation. His more 
specilically literary education w;is comideted 
by graduation from the high school of B.ittle 
Creek, Michigan, with the class of 1886, and 
then having dclcniiincd to make the practice 
of law his life woi-k he became a student in 
the office and undi'r the direction of ^lecliem. 
Ilnlbert it Mccliem. attorneys of Battle Creek, 
being admitted to the bar Xovember 9, 18811. 

.Mr. Andi'cws has been a resident of Michi- 
gan since 1871. at which time he was brought 
by his pai-ents to this state, the family home 
being established on a farm near Battle Creek, 
and while a schoolboy his vacation months 
were largel.v sjx'nt in assisting in the cultiva- 
tion of the fields ami the harvesting of crops. 
I''iill(i\\iiig bis ailmissinn to the liar he en- 



tered upon the practii'c of law and in January, 
1891, he was appointed chief clerk in the 
coi-])oi-ation division of the secretary of state's 
office, at Jjansing. .Michigan, under Daniel E. 
Soper, which position he filled until there 
occui'red a change in the administration. He 
was then transfei'red, on the 1st of Jaiumry, 
189;j, to the insurance department under Will- 
iam p], ilagill, then eonnuissioner of in.sur- 
ance, to assist in the compilation of his report 
and acted in that capacity for si.\ months, 
when his superior of(i<'er was succeeded by a 
republican. 

In Jul.v. 189:i. ^Ir. .\ndrews removed to 
Montana, whei'e he remained for seven months 
when he I'eturned to .Michigan and later 
opened a law office at .Morlev. ^lecosta 
county, .Michigan, where he remained until 
-May, 1897. lie then I'cmoved to .Xew Balti- 
more, where he has contiinied in the pi-actice 
of law ever since, having now a good clientage 
of an im])ortant character. As a law stndeni 
he was thoi'ongh and in his practice he is 
painstaking and practical in the prepai'ation 
of his cases, earefull.v weighing the evidence, 
and the law apjilicable thereto, and present- 
ing his cause in a cleai', logical foi'm. 

.Ml', .\ndrews has ever given an unfalter- 
in,g su|)port to the democratic party, lie was 
a candidate for jirosecuting attorney of Ma- 
comb county in 1897 and 1899 and for rep- 
resentative to the state legislature in 1901, 
but was defeated with the entire ticket. He 
is now ])resident of the village. He holds 
membershii) with the .Modern .Maccabees, was 
commaiuler of the local tent for four years 
and reitresentative to the great caiiq) in 1899 
and 190:i. He is also a member of the ^lodern 
Woodmen Camp. He was married, Jul.v (i, 
1890, to Winifred W. Westfall. of Hudson. 
^Michigan, and Ihe.v are i)roiiiinent socially in 
New ]5altiiiiore, ;\[r. .\ndrews is interested 
in all the questions of the day which afii'i'ct 
local ])rogress or the n itional welfare, is a 
man of broad mind and has had no little in- 
fluence in molding public thought and action 
in his localit\'. 



FRANK X. TorsCAXY. 

P'rank .\. 'roiiscany. wliost' success and 
I)rominence in business circli's is the indica- 
tion of an aclivity in commercial life thai 
brooks no obstacles, was born in Harrison 
township, .Macomb county, .Xovember 20, 
1877, bis parents being Amand and Amelia 
(Stark I 'l"onsc,in\-. the former a native of 



PAST AND I'i;i-;SK.\T OF .MACO.Ml! (OIXTV 



i.ji 



Maeoiiil) county, and the latter of (ieriiiaiiy. 
The Touscaiiy family, liowcviT. is of Fiviicli 
lilieajii' and i-cpivselitativcs of tlic naiiic canir 
to Mic'hiuan at an i-arly day. taUin>; a jiruiiii- 
nent pari in Ihc di'\('l(p|)Mi('nt and jji-oj^rcss of 
^laconil) county. .\niand Touscany was a 
farniei' who followetl his occupation in Harri- 
son townshi]) for a iont;- period. He wedded 
]\Iiss Amelia Stark and thc.v became the 
parents of seven ehildivn: Frank X.; .lacoh. 
who is livini;- in ]\Iount Clemens: Aniand and 
Louis, of Jlount Clemens: Louisa W., tin' 
wife of Edward Irwin, of ?iiount Clemens: 
Ainia. the wife of Anthony llallci'. of this 
city: antl Xellie. at home. 

Jlr. Touscany pui'sucd his education in the 
public schools of ]\Iount Clemens, continuing' 
there until he had completed a high school 
course, and he also pursued a business course 
iu Detroit Business I'nivei'sit.v. in ]S<)."). In 
his youth, when his time was not occuiiied 
l)y his text-books, lie worked upon the home 
farm and when twent.v-one .years of age he 
accepted the jjosition of bookkeepei' for tlu' 
firm of Hallei- & Compan.v. of .Mount Clem- 
ens, acting in that capacit.v for three and a 
half .vears. (Jn the expiration of that period 
he began business on his own account as a 
dealer in groceries, meats and jn-ovisious. He 
became associated in i)ai'tnership with An- 
thony Seihert, under the lirm name of Seibert 
& Touscany. their store being located in the 
Czizek block. fi'Oiu June, 1902, until JIareh 
30, 1903, when they purchased the grocery, 
meat and provision business of August Prin- 
gintz, at Xo. 75 Xoi'th W;dnnt street, to which 
I)lace the.y removed, sulding this stock to tin' 
one which the.v had previously purchased. A 
large and constantly i?ii'i'easin,g business has 
been the residt. ami dni-iiej thi' past .year their 
sales anioiuiteil to one hundred thousand 
dollars, theirs being one of t lie leading mcfcaii- 
tile enterpi-ises of the kind in .Mount Clenu'iis. 
On the 1st of October. 190L>. Mr. Touscany 
was mai'rictl to Lillian .M. SchanlK'r. a daugh- 
ter of Frank Schaidiei-. of Detroit. She died 
Septembei' 24. 1903. at the age of twenty-live 
years, leaving a son, Clifford J. Jlr. Tous- 
cany belongs to the Catholic Mutual Benevo- 
lent Association and the Knights of Cohnnbus. 
He is an energetic young Inisiuess man of 
Blount Clemens, jn'ogressive and idive 1o 1lie 
interests that engage his attention, and what- 
ever he undei'takes he carries forward to suc- 
cessful com|)letion, having the abilit.v to in- 
stitute new methods where nom- exist and to 
utilize oppoi-tunities to his own advantage. 
Moreovei-. his business methods ai-e strictiv 



fair and will bear clo.sest investigation and 
scrntin.v and the house of which he is i)art 
owner bears an en\ialile i-eputalion in trade 
circles. 



lOSKI'JI WKLLKK. 



•Joseph Wcller. having put aside the duties 
and labors connected with the trade of car- 
pentering, is now living retired in Romeo. 
His life record began .Inly 4. 1831, in Ches- 
liM-tield township, where his father. Elisha 
Wcller. located in early j)ioneei- times. He 
was boi'u in Wai'ren c()unt.v. Xew Jerse.v, in 
ISIKI. ;iiid w'as a son of (ieorge Weller. who 
was of Cerman ancestry. Elisha Weller spent 
the days of his boyhood and youth in the 
state of his nativit.v and was married there 
to .Miss ^laria Vanetta. whose liiitli occurred 
in Philadelphia, where slie remaineil up to the 
time of her nuirriage. The .vear LS31 wit- 
nessed their arrival in the .state of .Michigan 
and the.v located in Chestertield township. .Ma- 
comb count.v, where Mr. Weller secured three 
tracts of land of eight.y acres each, making the 
pnrehas(» from the government. He cut the 
lirst stick of tindjei- ni)on this place and con- 
tinued to clear awa.v the trees until there was 
a spaci" sufficient to plant a crop. As time 
passed he continued his work of preparing the 
soil for cultivation and later rich harvests re- 
warded his labors. He always remained Tipon 
his fai-m. where his death occurred iu ilai-ch, 
1903. He had long sui-vived his wife, who 
died in lS(i3. Their family luunbered ten 
childi-en who reached adult age and thi-ee 
sons ;ind Ilir<'e daughters are yd living, 
naniel.\': Samuel, a resident of ilount Clem- 
ens: < Ieorge, who owns and operates a part of 
I he old homestead farm: Mrs. Sarah A. Sav- 
aiic. living in Mount CIcinens; .Mrs. Catherine 
.M. Wyckotf, a widow, residing in Detroit, 
and .Maiy H., the wife of Thurston Knight, of 
.Mounf Clemens. Those deccasi'tl ai'c: Will- 
iam, who was married and lived in Chester- 
Held township until his death at the age of 
seventy-four .years: Charles, who died at the 
age of Iwent.y-eight .years: Elizabeth, who be- 
came the wife of Jacob Brand and died about 
1895, and John ('.. who was a resident of 
Chestei'fii'ld township and died in .Xoveiuber 
1!)04. 

Ill takiiiu' ii|i the personal history of Joseph 
Wcller we present to our readers one whose 
long residence anil active life in ^[acomb 
count.v have gained him a wide and favorable 
aciiuaintance. He was reared to manliood in 



192 PAST AND PKKSEXT OF .MACOMB COlXTV 

tlie township of his nativity and attended wliat is now known as Belle Isle. He was 

the eoinnion schools there. He learned the tiie father of seven children, the eldest being 

carj)enter"s trade which he followed in early his son. Ignace ]\roross. who took up his 

life in connection with farm work, lie after- abode at the mouth of the Clinton river in 

ward boULiht a farm of eighty acres adjoining l.^dT. At one time he was known as the 

his father's place anil there he devoted his hii-gest seed wheat raiser in ilichigan. lie 

time and enei-gies to agricultural ])ursuits and alsci \\as tiic uAvnrr of tiu' first boat that plied 

also assisted in the operation of the old home- on 1liis river, makinu frequent trips from its 

stead. In Jaiuxary, 1865, he was nuirried in iiKUitli to Detroit. He was born in Wayne 

Armada to Miss Jennet Kennedy, who was county. .Michigan, and s|)ent his entire life. 

I)(jrii. I'eared and educated in .\rmada town- between Detroit and .Mount Clemens, living 

ship, ii daughter of T. P. Kennedy, one of at various points. He was a contractor and 

the first settlers of the Empire state. In the buikler. He served as a .soldier in the war 

fall following his iii,ii-riag<' Mr. Weller pui-- of 1812. being a captain of the artillery. He 

chased the sash, door and blind faetor\- at pai'tieijiated in the battle of ilackinaw. 

Komeo in connection with his l)i'other-in-law. and at the time the English captured Detroit 

A. Kennedy, and was in that business for he was made a jirisoner. While a ju'isoner 

seven or eight years, when lie sohl out. Sub- of war he was forced to assist in hewing the 

sei|uently he foljowed the carpentering trade tind>er to build one of the war vessels for 

during the building season. He bought a res- the English that took an active jiart in the 

idence which he now occupies, made extensive battle on Lake Erie. .\t the close of the 

and substantial improvements thereon and wai' he returned to his liouie. then at the 

now has a \r\y eomfoi'tabic and desirable mouth of the Clinton river. In later years 

home. he and his son, Antoine .Moross. the father 

Mr. Wellei' is interested in publir progress of oui- suli.jeet. wei'e the first to raft lumber 

idong all lines of jiermaneut benefit and con- through Lake St. Clair to Detroit. He was 

tributes generously to the su])port of the a gi'cat horseman, at one time owning the 

.Methotlist Episeopfd church, of which his fastest hoi'se between .Monroe and St. Chiir. 

wife is a menuier. He has spent his entire His death occurred when he had reached 

life in this cotuity and is lai'sely familiar the adv;inced age of eighty-nine .vear.s, being 

with the histoi'y of its growth aiul upbuilding. buried at (irosse Pointe. in Wayne county, 

lie a^si-<ted in the consti'uction of the Ci'aud .\ntoiiir Moi'oss, father of our subject. 

'I'l-unk Haili'oad and has been identified with was born in Wayiu' county. Michigan, and 

man.\- publi<' interests that have proven of was taken to .Maciunb couidy by his father, 

nuirked value to the county. He votes with Ignace Moross. when twelve years of age. 

the rt'i)td)licau pai'ty and although he has and ilui'ing his business career, followed 

nevei' sought nor desired office he has always fanning and lumbering. He wa.s eomniis- 

been a useful citizen, living an exemplary life sioned ensign of V(dunteei-s by Lewis Cass, 

and having the good will and trust of the in 1827, and provcil a very etificient officer 

entire commuinty. dui'ing sevei'al encoiuders with the Indians. 

aiul was held in great i-espect by them, 
being called by them, "'rwenashas,"' niean- 

A'lCTOR A. :MOKOSS. '"r "^I^""!' I^'K *;'"^:1'"" '■''>'';: "•"'"' I'f !•''- 

ceived because of his utlei' fearlessness of 
\'iet(ii' .\. .Moross is a representative of one them. It is related that at (Uie time, after 
of the earliest fannlies of Michigan, and one of tlieii' i-aids. he wi'iit among them, 
traces his ancesti-y bacdv to Henry of Xavarre single-handed ami alone, and recovered cat- 
of France, whence repi'esentatives of the tie and horses which they had stolen, and ad- 
name came to America at a very early day. miidstered ii re|U-imand lo them. He niar- 
The gi'eat-gramlfatliei-. .Vutoine ^foross. I'ied ^liss Cecelia Ti-oiidily. a dauuhter of 
having come to this cuiitincnt with .Mont- Thonms 'Pi'ondily. and set I Icil at tlic mouth id' 
calm 's army. w<is in connnand of a portion of the Clinton river, until 18211. when he tivok 
it dui-ing the battle of the Plains of Abraham up his residence just indside of the city of 
in 17(i:i. .After the sui'render of Montcalm. .Moinit Clemens. He helped survey the nnli- 
he. with a numlx'i- of the higher officers, came tai'\' state i-oad fi'om Deti'oit to Fort (Jratiot. 
to Detroit, lie was the fii-st of the imme to now known as (iratiot road. His wife en- 
settle in .Michiuan. taking up his abode in joyed the distinction of being the first 
Wayne cimnty on the Deti'oit I'iver. op]iositc woman who rode from Mount ( 'lemens to 




MRS. \\ A. MoROSS 





ANTOIKE MOROSS 



v. A. .MUROSS 




MRS, ANTOINE MoROSS 



PAST AND I'lJKSKNT UF .MACOMB lOlXTY 



195 



Detroit, ai'ter the rojicl luul been cut throuali 
a vast foi-est of soliil tiiuher. not passing a 
single honse on her journey. He was closely 
. assoeiateci with the material development 
of ^laeoinb county, and died at the age of 
seventy-nine year.s, while his wife ]iassed 
away at tlie age of fifty-nine years. They 
were the parents of six eliildren. of whom 
Victor A., was the fourth in order of birth. 
Those living are: Ignaee. of New Balti- 
more: Victor, and iMary. the wife of Frank 
Prevost. of IMount t'lemens. Those deceased 
are Ann, Joseph and Calista. 

Victor A. ^loross was liorn in Mount 
Clemens, February 17, IS'.V-^. being the third 
generation of Morosses born in ]\liehigan. 
He pursued his education in the district 
schools of Blount Cieniens and in Notre Dame 
I'niversity, of Indiana, where lie completed 
his studies in 1854. He afterward engaged 
in farming on land which is now included 
in the city limits of Blount Clemens. Later 
he went to Detroit and learned the mason's 
trade, and associated with his brother Joseph 
A. in the contracting and building nne. At 
that time they were among the foremost of 
Detroit's contractors. After several years 
he returned to ^loiuit Clemens, following the 
same line of business, and erected a ninnber 
of tile jirominent buildings, including the 
Chambers and Stewart building, the ]\Iount 
Clemens Brewei'v. what is now known as 
llic .Medea Cottage and the Lexington 
Hotel, which was erected for his private res- 
ideiiee and which was used as a county build- 
ing iluring the erection of the ^lacomb 
county courthouse in 1S80. His excellent 
workiiiaiiship and his fidelity to the terms 
of his contracts secured him a liberal patron- 
age, and one which he justly deserved. He 
is now living a I'ctired life, having seem'ed a 
(•(unfortable eoni])etence as the result of his 
eiitei'prise and well directed efforts. 

On the SOth of Ajiril, lS()(i, :\rr. :\Ioross was 
unite(l in marriage to ]\Iiss Philomena 
Jjabadie, who died in 1889. at the age of fifty 
years. Theii' childi'cn were as follows: 
George A. ami Helena, now deceased; Cecilia 
H., the wife of David (iiandy: ('harles V., 
projirietor of tlu' Mount Clemens Transfer 
Company: Ma\- Belle ]Mai-ie; ]\Iargaret K., 
and Victoria (ihu'ia. Mr. ^loross is a demo- 
crat in his jiolitical views and he served for 
three years as townshi]) treasurer. He has 
also been a delegate to the county and state 
conventions, and is interested in all that per- 
tains to the success and growth of his party. 
He belongs to the Mount Clemens Hunting 



and Fishing Club, and in fact was one of its 
organizei's. He belongs to Ihe "Old Crowd," 
to the Knights of Columbus and is a nu'mber 
or St. Peter's Catholic church. He represents 
(uie of the prominent pioneer families of 
this part of the state, the iloross family hav- 
ing had nnich to do with its earlj- settlement, 
with tlu' clearing of (he timbcM-. the develop- 
ment of the land and with the work of re- 
claiming this distri<-t for the iuu'i)ose of 
civilizatiiui. ^Ir. iloross recalls many inci- 
dents concerning the early days w^hen in his 
boyhood he became familiar with the con- 
ditions of pioneei- life. His has been an 
honorable, useful and active career, and he 
may well be classed with the representative- 
men and valued citizens of Mount Clemens, 
.Michigan, 



FERDINAND WOLFF. 

Ferdinand AVoHT is a native of l-'i'idberg, 
(lei'many. born Sep1emb(>r 8, 18:il. his jiarents 
being John and JIary (Schmidt) Wolff, who 
were also natives of that country, where they 
spent their entire lives, and the father be- 
longed to a family of six children, he being 
the eldest. All lived and died in (lermany, 
John Woltf passing away in 1848, when fifty- 
one yi'ars of age. His son, Robert Wolff, 
came from (iermany to America in 18(54 and 
followed the shoemaker's trade in Bay City, 
ilichigan, where he yet resides. 

Ferdinand Wolff", whose name introduces 
this I'eview, spent the days of his boyhood 
and youth in his luitive land and pursued his 
education in the public schools there. He 
was seventeen years of age at the time of his 
father's death. P^ventually he came to Amer- 
ica, believing that he might have better busi- 
ness opportunities in the new world. It was 
in 186.'{ that he crossed the Atlantic, locating 
in New Baltimoi'e, .Macomb county, where he 
followed the shoenuiker's Iradi", which he had 
learned in (iermany. luiving entennl ujxni an 
apprenticeship to tiiat woi'lc when thirteen 
years of age. Opi'uing a shoe shop in Mount 
Clemens in the latter part of the year 1863, 
he conducted l)usiness in that way until ISS,"), 
when he established a genei'al shoe store which 
he has since conducted at his ])i-esent location. 
During the year l!t()i? he i-emodeled and en- 
la I'ged the store and now has a veiy attractive 
place of business in which he is enjoying a 
good patronage. 

On the 18th of May. 18.-).-), Mr. Wolff was 
niai'ried to Amelia Land^recht, a daughter o{ 



196 



PAST AND PKESKXT OF .MACOMB COl'MV 



John IjiUiibivclit. a native of (lerinany, ttic 
family coiiiiiiii' to the United States in ISIi-l 
and settling' in .Macomb eoiint.v. lie after- 
ward went to Hay City, ^Miehiuan. and later 
to Chieago, Illinois, where he dii'ii in ISICi, 
at the age of seventy-eight years. The broth- 
ers and sisters of Mrs. Wolff are as follows : 
Godhelp Lanibrecht, who is a clergyman of a 
German Evangelical church in Chicago; 
JoliTi, who is pastor of a Gei'inan Evangelical 
church in Detroit: (iustav, who is living at 
Frankfort Station. Illinois, also a pastor of 
the (ivi'inan Evangelical chnrch: Charles, 
Julius and Edward, who arc shoemakei's of 
Bay City, ^Michigan. 

In 1904 Mr. Woll'f was called upon to mourn 
the loss of his wife, who died on the li^d of 
July, of that year, when seventy-eight years 
of age. Their children were : Annie, the 
wife of Henry Kettler, of Mount Clemens; 
Richard, of this city; August J., who is in bus- 
iness with his father: Augusta, who died in 
Germany; ilai'v, who became the wife of 
Rudolph Oesterich, of IMount Clemens, and 
died in November, 1888. at the age of twenty- 
one years; Charles; <nul Ilertiinn. .Mr. Wolff 
also has three gi'andchildi'en and two givat- 
grandchildren. The grandchildi-en arc: Fer- 
dinand A. and Hernia Wolff, children of 
Herman Woltf. and Harry, son of Richard 
Wolff, while the great-gi'andchildren are 
Bernai'd and Walter, sons of Harney Diehl. 

Fei'dinand Wolff is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Arbei- 
ter I'nterstulzungs Society. He is a high 
type iif the (!erman-.\merican citizen, who, 
on lc.-i\iiig the fatherland, has become a lo.val 
advocate of the constitution of the United 
States, taking an active interest in the prog- 
ress of the coiuitry and assisting in the local 
improvement. 1I(> has advanced in his busi- 
ness eareei' tlifongb faithful, honest labor and 
is recogni/cd as a valued citizen, kind and 
indulgent to his family, generous with his 
frieiuls and lii>al to every trust reposed in 
him. 

.\i:gust ■]. Wolff, who is iti jiartnershii) with 
his father in the boot and shoe business, was 
burn. .January 4, 1871. He was educated in 
the i)ul)lii- and high schools of ]\Ioinit Clemens 
and in a pi-ivate school, and he entered upon 
his business career in his father's store, being 
admitted to partnership in 1898, under the 
firm name of F. Wolff & Son. The business 
has pros])ered as the years have gone by and 
they are now en.joving a grafifyiiig pati-onage. 
On\he fith of April, 1899, August WollT was 
married to .Inlia Bobceau, a daughter of 



Charles Bobcean, of Macomb county, and they 
have one child. Klmei- A. .\ugust J. WollV 
is a member of the Knights of Pythias fratei-- 
nity and the Indi'pendent Order of Odd Fel- 
liiws and is also coiuiectcd with the lire depai't- 
ment of Mount Clemens. 



LEWIS I". .M.W. .M. I), 

Lewis P. May, re|)r('sent ing llie iiiedical 
fraternity as one of its leading mcnil)crs and 
a man influential in community affairs in New 
Baltimore, was burn in Charleston. Tioga 
county, Pennsylvania, .\pril 1, 18.j4, his 
parents being David B. and Marie (French) 
-May, the former a native of New llampshii'c 
and the latter of Coiuiecticut. The i)aternal 
grandfathei-, Waldo May, was a native of 
^lassachusetts and i-emovetl to Pennsylvania, 
where he spent his last years. In iSoT the 
parents removed to Ingham county, .Michigan, 
where the father spent his last days, devoting 
his time and energies to farming. He dieil in 
the year 1894 aiul is yet survived by his wife. 

Dr. .May was educated in the public schools 
of his native town until thirteen yeai's of age. 
when he accompanied his parents on Iheii- re- 
moval to this state. He afterwai'd continued 
his stiulies in Ingham eount\' and pursued a 
course in the high school at .Mason, .Michigan. 
His early youth was spent u])on his father's 
farm and in later years he devoted his atten- 
tion to the fai'm work throuuh the sununer 
inimflis. while in winter .seasons he (>ngaged 
in teaching in Ingham county, following that 
profession through five wintei- Icniis. De- 
siring, however, to make the (U'actice of medi- 
cine his life woi-k he entered upon his study 
under the direction of Di'. II. II. (_'ook, of 
Mason. .Michigan, and fui-ther coiitinueil his 
course in till' Delroit Mi'dical College, from 
which he was gra<luated in the class of 1881. 
He then began pi-actice in connection with 
his former lu-eceptor. Dr. Cook. This part- 
nership was continui'd for a few months, anil 
Dr. May engageil in ]U'aetice alone in Mason 
for two antl a half years. He then I'cmoved 
to Gagetown. Tuscola county, .Michiiian. wlu'i-i' 
he i)raetieed for a few nuuiths and later spent 
a short time at Holt, ^fiehigan. whence he 
came to Xew Baltinmre, in Xovend>er, 1884. 
Here he has since resided and has been very 
succe.^-sful in his practice, foi- he has demon- 
.strated his ability to cope with the com])lex 
ju'oblems which continiudly meet the jihysi- 
eiau. He is a member of the ^lacond) .Medical 
Societv and i-eading and inV(^stigation have 



'AST AND IM;KSK\T OV :\rA('(».\||', COIXTY 



197 



kej)t liiiii ill toiicli with llir prouress tliat is 
coiitiiuuiUy liiade hy the iiu'dic-al fratiTiiit y. 
On the ist of April. 1884. Dr. Jlay was mar- 
ried to ;\riss Xellie lluntlev, a dau<;liter nl' 
Lee Huntley, of Inii'hani eouiit.v. 'I'lieir chil- 
dren are Laura ^I.. L. Phillip and .Mai'iiuei'ite. 
Dr. Ma.v is a member of the luiyal Ai'eaiiuiu. 
with whieh he has been identified since De- 
cember, 1881. and for some time he has served 
as secretary. He is quite prominent in eom- 
nuinity affairs in his village and lias been 
called to serve in several positions of public 
trust. He has lieen village assessor for si.\- 
teen years, was custom house officer during 
presiilent Cleveland's second administration, 
has been village trustee and has served as 
school director since 1893. He has likewise 
been health officer of the village and of Ches- 
terfield township for fifteen years. No public 
trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed 
in the slightest degree. He occupies a credit- 
able position in his profession, being true to a 
high .standard of professional ethics. He is 
a man of kindly disposition, genial and cour- 
teous, and these qualities have been factors in 
his success as well as his knowledge and skill 
in the administi-ation of i-eiiii'dial agencies 
which he employs. 



JOSEPH lAl.MEN. 



Joseph Inimen. a retired farmer living in 
Blount Clemens, is one of the original members 
of the republican party, having voted for 
John C. Fremont. He has always l)een in- 
terested in matters pertaining to the general 
welfare along political and other lines and 
his co-operation can ever be counted upon for 
the furtherance of any movement for the 
public good. He is a native of (ilasgow. Scot- 
land, born January 19, 1835. and his parents 
were John and Mary Ann (Webb) Tmmen. 
The fatiier was born in Hanover, (Jermany, 
and then went to London, but he afterward re- 
turtied to (iermany and thence came to .\iiier- 
i<'a in IS.'il), laking up his alindc in .Macninli 
county, .Michigan. He was married, in Liig- 
land. to ;\Iiss .Mary Ann Wel)b, a native of 
London, Following his arrival in tiiis county 
he settled on section 5, Clinton townshij). 
where he |)urchased a tract of land, a pari of 
which he cleared, developing it into a line 
fai-ni. For many years he fiuured as one of 
the leading agriculturists of his connnnnity 
and he diecl in 1881. at the age of eight.v-one 
years, while his wife passed away in 1893. 
at the vei'v advanced age of eighty-nine years. 



Tlicy wei'c the i)ai'ents of six children. Those 
li\ing are: Frederick, who resides in (!rand 
l\a])ids. Michigan: Louisa, the wife of Ira 
Kniflin, of Macomb township: Ennua, the wife 
iif El-nest Coulon, ol' .Mount Clemens, and 
Joseph. Those deceased are: John and .Mary 
Ann, the formei- having pa.ssed away October 
3, 19(t-l-, at the age of sevent.v-four years. 

In his early life Joseph Lniiien was taken 
to (iermany by his ])arents and Ihere began 
his education, which he conlinucd in the pub- 
lic schools of Clinton township. In his boy- 
hood da.vs he worked on his father's farm and 
when a young man he also l)cgan woi'king at 
lumbering, being employed tii-st in the mills 
of Smith & Dwight, in Huron county, ilich- 
igan. In 1857, liowever, he took up his abode 
on a farm in Clinton township, which he 
cultivated for several years. There he lived 
continuoiisly for tweiit.v years with the ex- 
ception of the pei'iod whicli he spent in the 
army. He then I'emoved to Mount Clemens, 
in 1889, and erected his pi-esi'iil home at No. 
43 Lincoln avenue, in which he lias since 
lived retired. As an agriculturist he was in- 
dustrious and eiitei-prising. placing his fields 
under a high state of cultivation and annually 
liarvesting rich crops as the result of the care 
and labor which he bestowed upon liis place. 
His rest is. thercl'ore, .justly earned and richly 
deserved. 

In Sepember, 18()4. Mr. Iiiimen responded 
to his country's call for <ii(l and enlisted as a 
IM'ivate of Company F, Twenty-second Michi- 
gan Infantry. He was miisteretl in <it ''ontiac, 
Michigan, and thence went to .\tlaiita. acting 
as guard at Ueneral Thomas' head({narter.s. 
He was there statioueil until the arrival of 
Hood. He was ill with intermittent fever at 
Chattanooga. subsec|uent to which time he was 
mustered out at Xa^liville. Tennessee, in June. 
18(i5. He then returned to his farm, whei'e 
he remained until his removal to Mount Clem- 
<'ns. As a soldiei- he was brave and loyal, 
never faltering in llir pcrl'm-iiiancr of aii.v 
duty assigned lo him, and lliiis lie made a 
uiiiid military recdnl. 

• hi the ITtli of September. 1857. .Mr. Imiiieii 
w.is niiited in marriage to Miss Millie .\xtell, 
who was born on .lanuary '.^3. 1837. a daughter 
of Samuel L. and Xaiie.v (Sanders) .\xtell. o! 
Miirristown. New .Icrsi'y. .Mrs. Immen was 
burn in .Murristnw n in the house which had 
been (icciipiecl liy her ii'reat-grandfather. The 
ancestry of the laiiiily can be traceil back to 
Thomas Axtell. who liecamc a resident of 
^Massachusetts in 1()4'J. Samuel L. Axtell. the 
father of Mrs. Iinmen. served as a colonel of 



igS 



PAST AND I'KESEXT OF .MAL'U.MB COUNTY 



the luilitin in tlie wiir of 1812, and his gnuid- 
t'atlu'i-. .Major Henry Axtel. served in the Rev- 
olutionary war with Wasliinoton. In lS-11 
Samuel K. Axtell brought his family to Clin- 
ton township, ]\[acomb county, Jliehigan, set- 
tling' upon a fai-m which he cultivated and 
imi)roved. His political alletiiance was g-iven 
to the repnlilican party and his i-elioious faith 
was that of the Pi'eshyterian church. lie 
died in June. 18.33, at the age of sixty-thr(>e 
years, while his wife, long surviving hiui, died 
hi :Mount Clemens in 1881, at the age of 
eighty-nine years. ]\Irs. Immeii and her sister 
Nancy, who is now the widow of James Alex- 
ander, are the only surviving members of a 
family of twelve children. iNIrs. Inunen had a 
l)rother. Samuel P>. Axtell. who reachetl promi- 
nence in later life, Inning been admitted te 
the bar in ;\lacomb county and was congress 
man from California, and later was governo'- 
of New Afexico. Hei- bi-other. Dr. Julian II 
Axtell, a practicing physician, of Blount Clem 
ens, died in 1872, at the age of thii'ty-threc 
years, as the i-esult of wounds sustained while 
"fighting with the army of the Potomac, being 
a member of the Union ai-my during the Civil 
war for four years. lie enlisted in Company 
B, First .Michigan Infantry and served four 
years. .Mrs. Inunen has been a resident of this 
county for sixty-four years and her memory 
goes back to the pioneer times when thei'C were 
many difficulties and hardshijjs to b(> met, 
when the land was wild and unimproved and 
the work of progress and civilization seemed 
scarcely begun. The wolves were heard howl- 
ing at niu'ht and there was considerable wild 
game. 

Joseph Immen has been an intei'ested and 
active supi)orter' of the rei)ublican party since 
its organization. He cast his first pi-esidential 
vote for John C. Fremont in 18r)(), and was 
eluiirmaii of the Fremont Voters and repre- 
sented ilacomb county in the re-union which 
was held at Jackson, ^Michigan, in 1!)()4, to 
celebrate the orgiinization of the party. There 
are now living in ^Macoml) county fifty men 
who were supporters of P'remont. more than 
hall' a cenlui'y ago. In Huron county ^Ir. 
liiinieii aided in surveying the boundary line 
at an early day when this part of the state 
was almost an unbroken wilderness. Bears 
were still seen in the forest and there were 
many other wild animals. Large herds of 
deer were fre(|uently seen and venison was no 
unusual dish upon the table of the pioneer. 
.Ml- Innnen has for seventeen yeai-s been a 
member of H. D. Terry Post, No. 216, G. A. R.. 
of .Mount Clemens, has always taken an active 



interest in its work, has sei'ved as its com- 
mander and is now chaplain. Although reared 
in the Lutheran faith, he became a mend)er of 
the Presbytei-ian church of Howell, .Michigan, 
in his earlier days. ]\Iore than half a century 
has passed since Mr. Innnen eame to ]\Iacomb 
count.v and throughout this long period he has 
been the champion of every measure for gen- 
eral progi'css and improvement, lie is, there- 
fore, .justly accorded a place among the pronu- 
nent ami re]iresentative citizens of this poi-tion 
of the slate. 



Kl( HARD LEUSCIiNER. M. D. 

Dr. Richard Leuscliner. whose tlKU'ough 
|)reliminai'.v training, skill in the application 
of his knowledge and valuable contributions 
to medical literature, have made him one of 
the distinguished representatives of the med- 
ical fratei-nit.v in the middle west, was born 
in Detroit, .Michigan, October 26. 1858, a 
son of Otto and Caroline (Ilumburg) 
Leuschner. Ilis paternal grandfather. John 
(hristian Ijcuschner, was a schoolmaster of 
Leipsie, (iernum.y, and during the war of 
1812 he saved a regiment of soldiers by tak- 
ing them to a wood until the French army 
had passed. The maternal grandfather, a 
druggist and prominent in public affairs in 
Horken. (iermany, served as ma.vor and in 
other oftices in his town for forty years. lie 
died at the advanced age of eight.v-nine. Otto 
Leuschner was a pioneer chemist of Detroit 
and for many .years conducted the Inter- 
nalioiial Drug Store of that city. He died 
in 1868, at the age of forty-six years, lie 
had emigrated from (iernian.v to America in 
the TiOs and was mari'ied in the new woild. 
He and his wife were the only mendiers of 
their r<'s]iective families to emiie to the 
Fnited Slates. Seven children wei-e born 
until llieiii: ()lto ami K'oliert. who ai'i' i-esi- 
deiits (if Chicago : Kichard: (Jeorge \V.. of 
Detroit, .Michigan: Paul, a practicing physi- 
cian of Mount Clemens; Eugenia, wife of 
\V. E. Ilenze, of Detroit ; and .\rmin. a pi-o- 
fessor of nuithematics and astrnnoiii.x- in the 
Tniversity of California. 

Dv. Leuschner «as a studeni in the Ger- 
man-.\merican schools of Detroit between 
the ages of live and eleven years and later 
attended Bai'stow school at Detroit. In 1873 
his mother took him and his brother Paid to 
(iermany, where the.v contiinied theii' etluca- 
tioii in the schools of Kassel and Dresden, 
and Dr. Leuschner became a graduate phar- 




KKllAUl) hKrS( UNKi;. .M. D. 



I'AST AND IM;1;sKA-|' of MACOilB COUNTY 



iiiat-ist ill ISSil. Jlctlicii returned t(i Detniit. 
wliei-e he eiitere.1 the eMi|>l(iy iit' I'arke. Uavis 
iS; ( miipiUiy, as assistant i-hemist. lilliiipr 
tliat position for two years, after wiiich he 
eondueted the di'Ui;- store formint;- a i)art of 
his father's estate lie nianaized the busi- 
ness until 188(3, when he returned to Europe, 
where he i)rei)ared for the study u\' luedi- 
eine by fifteen months' preliminary study. 
He then i-eturued to Detroit and euteretl tiie 
.Miehiuan ('ollege of .Medieine and Suruery, 
from whi(di he was graduated in 1S!)2. lie 
praetieed for one year in Detroit an 1 tlien 
I'emoved to iNfoiuit ('lemens in .lannary. 1811:1. 
Here he aiiain lie^aii prai-tiee and was not 
lou^' in winning- a foremost position amoiiu' 
the rei)resentatives of the nu'dieal fraternity 
of this eit\-. lie is to-day a reeosiiiiy.ed au- 
thorit>' in America upon rheuniatie diseases, 
havint; made a (dose and thoroueh study 
of this line of practice, and throutjh his orig- 
inal investitration.s has gleaned many \alual)le 
truths which he has given to the medical 
woidd. through his contributions to the litera- 
ture of the lu'ofession. He now largidy con- 
tines his attention to bathing jiractice. made 
])ossibh' through the si)lendi!l mineral springs 
(d' this locality, lie has written a number of 
arlieh's concerning the value of the springs 
here ;nid has gone abroad to study the luiture 
id' till' s])rings of the old world and the 
methods of ti'catment of patients at the most 
famous health I'esorts of Eurojie. Writing 
of his trip in 1!H)(I to the "Medical News," 
of .\ew York, he said: "A considerable por- 
tion of my leisure time was spent in the more 
pi-omiiu^nt and renowned watering places of 
(ierinany and Austria, with a view of inves- 
tigating the merits and metlical virtues of 
their respective waters, laying special stress 
uixui their study from a chemical, j)hysiologi- 
cal and therapeutic standpoint, and devoting 
part of my time to obtaining .some compre- 
licnsion of the auxiliary methods in vogue 
])ertaining to diet, hygiene, etc., iu order to 
eomi>are them with the baths and the 
methods emjiloyed at Mount (demens, and, 
if pi'acticable, to apply such innovations and 
fori'ign measures to the best advantage in 
fostei'iug and strengthening the merits and 
reputation of our own salubrious sidpho-sa- 
lines. It is universally conceded by medical 
authorities that the minute and systematic 
attention accorded to these j)artieular 
branches of medicine, to physical cnltni'e, 
iiu'.l to tietail work in general, as e.xemplitied 
in the watering places of Europe, has con- 
tributed in no small measure to their fame 



as lieallh resoi'ts." Dr. l,eii-;eliiier therefore 
s[)ent considerable time in study and investi- 
gation of tlu'se points at the various resorts 
of prominence and also at many of the minor 
ones of Europe and in his article continued: 
"No matter how e.xaet the American physi- 
cian may be in the examination of his pa- 
tients and in explaining the im]iortance of 
dietary, hygienic and other precautions, pa- 
tients ;ire very apt to transgress and uncon- 
sciously bi'cak away from the rules and ad- 
vice given. The wlude envii-oinnent. includ- 
ing the attitude (d' the l;\'\\\. leads them to 
the iiiipressiiin that all tli,-il is neces.sary is 
to jiiiiip into a bathtiili or drink enough 
water air.l I'rovidence will watch over the 
rest. Shoukl anything unforeseen happen 
afterward, the blame is natui'ally and quick- 
ly atti'ibuted to the sn|)|)osed inefficiency of 
the waters. In all pi'obability. some of the 
sj)rings, ilotud t lemens included, would 
have risen to a higher plane of recognition 
and earned their s(dentific standing and suc- 
cess, with the attending prestige in the eyes 
of the medical workl. even in a much shorter 
space of time than they already have if. at 
the very ineejititni of the discovery of the 
therapeutic value, more attention had been 
accorded the investigation and study of the 
physiological action and effect and chemical 
composition of their waters. In late years 
Mount Clemens, taking cognizance of the 
advantages of medical research, has sti'adily 
been emerging from a chaos of empirical ap- 
plication, adapting itself to the more modern 
methods of balneotherapy, diet and hygiene, 
commensurate with the evolution of scientific 
and commercial progress." In a i)amphlet 
written by Dr. Leuschner he says: "These 
waters come under the classilication of the 
sulpho-bi-omo-iodo-salines. have a mean tem- 
Iierature of about tifty degrees, and are very 
ritdi in many minei'al salts, (diietly among 
them chloride of sodium anil idiloi-ide of mag- 
nesium, and give off the penetrating and 
pungent odor of suliihuretted hydi-ogen 
gas." He is medical direetiu- for the new 
Original Spring Hatlihoiise and Sanitiirium. 
whieli. with their splendid equipments, have 
every facility foi' promoting the work of the 
water, and under the guidance oi' Dr. Leusch- 
ner, after tliorough examination made by 
him, the diet, exercise aiul other auxiliaries 
ai'e prescribed by him and medicinal reme- 
dies given, when i'e(|nire(l. 

Dr. Leusidiuer was married, in 18S2. to 
.Miss Julia IM'eilTer. of liul'falo. .New York". 
He has one son. Edgar, eleven years of age. 



202 



•AST AND PRESENT OF .MACOilB COU-XTY 



He has close conned ion M'ith tlic medical 
fraternity, being- a niemhei- of the American 
]\Iedical Society. Eastci'ii District ^Medical 
Society, .Alichijian State Medical Sixdely, 
ilacoml) County ]\Iedical Society and ;iii 
honorary member of the Wayne County 
Medical Society. In the line of his specialty 
he has made ra[)id jn'oiiress and trained a 
position of jn-estiKi'. beint;' regarded through- 
out the country as an authority in this i)Mr- 
ticular department of practice. 



JOSEPH i;V.MAX. 



One of the most enertjetic and iiroji'ressive 
farmers of Chesterfield township is Joseph 
Kyman, who has sjjent his entire life in that 
locality, beiui;- born in the same township, 
ilarch 6, 18t)0, a son of Joseph and Teressa 
(Seifert) Ryman, who were natives of (ler- 
many. Ilis father was born on the 2r)th of pany. 
June, 1824, and spent his boyhood and youth 
in the fathei-land. Crossing the Atlantic, he 
came to ilichigan in 1855 and settled in Ches- 
terfield township, .Macomb county, buying 
three acres of land on the Komeo plank road, 
where he lived foi- twelve years while work- 
ing at the cooper's trade for ^Vv. llurlgreen, 
in New l^altimore. At the end of that time 
he liought thirty acres of land on section 11. 
the same township, from John l)e Shay, and 
built thereon a house, into which the family 
moved. lie sold his three-acre tract to 'Sir. 
Seifert and in 1875 purchased forty acres of 
James Harts, this being a part of the farm 
now owned by onr sub.ject. In 1885 he added 
to his property forty acres of the Andrew 
Ross farm, and after following the cooper's 
trade foi- twenty-five years he gave his entire 
time and attention to agi'icultural pui'suits 
throughout the remaindci' of his life. He died 
on till' 21st of September. 1900, honored and 
respected by all wlio knew him, being survived 
by his wife, who died ^lay 15, 1904, and two 
of their five children, oui' subject being the 
younger. His sister .Minnie is the wife of John 
Briggs, of .Merrill. Sagiiuiw county, Michigan. 

Joseph Ryman was educated in the disti-ict 
schools near his boyhood home and lemained 
on his father's farm inilil 1890. when he sailed 
on the (!l'eat Lakes on the freight steamer 
Toledo, of the Wai'd line, running between 
Tiuffalo and West Superioi'. In tlu' I'all of 
that yciii- he returned to the fai'm and contin- 
ued to assist in its opei-ation until his father's 
death, when he received a (le(>d to one hun- 
dred and ten acres. He has made manv im- 



provements upon the place, including the erec- 
tion of a handsome i-esidence in 1901, and in 
1904 he built two large liarns, one of which he 
uses for the sheltei' of stock. Both are eipiipped 
with the latest ap])aratus for unloading hay 
or grain and in evei'y way are modern and up- 
to-date. 

On the 18th of October. 189:5. Mr. Ryman 
was united in nuiri'iage to Jli.ss Bertha Ilohes- 
nee, a daughtei' of Frederick and Caroline 
(Seibert) Hohesiu>e. Her father was killed 
in the F'ranco-Prussian war of 1S70-71 while 
serving in the Prussian army. I'nto ;\lr. and 
ilrs. Ryman were born six children, but Rosa, 
the second in order of liirth, died in infancy. 
Those still living are .Mary Teressa, Clarence 
Joseph, Jennie, (ienevieve and Ruth. 

In business affairs ilr. Ryman is prompt, 
energetic and reliable and is meeting with 
excellent success. He is now one of the stock- 
holders of the New Baltimore Elevator Com- 
,_,..,,. Fraternally he is a member of Lake- 
side tent. No. 15S, K. (). T. .M.. in wliieh he has 
served as master at arms. 



ROBERT A. HEATH. 



RolH'rt .v. Heath, who is a leading business 
ni;in of New l^>altimore and has also been 
pi-o;ninent in connection with the affairs of 
pnl)lic office in the town. M'as hei-e born Jane 
27. 18()8, his pai'ents being Milo and Elizabeth 
(Uonahue) Heath. The father was born in 
Livingston county. Ni'w York, .\pril 22. 1844. 
and was a son of Andrew J. Heath, who came 
with his family to ;\Iicliigan. in 1850. settling 
at Alniont, Lai)eer county, ami becoming a 
resid;nt of New Baltimore, ^lacomb county, in 
185.S. D. ^lilo Heath learned the harness 
nudcer's ti'ade in his youth and was engaged in 
that business fi'om IStiM until the time of his 
death. He was married in 18(i(i. to .Miss Eliza- 
beth L. Donalnu'. who die(l in 187t). leaving 
three chihlren : Kohei't, Percy and Oakes, all 
of whom ai-e residents of Macondi county. 
In Aiii'il. 1880, the father again married, his 
second luiion being with Alice E. Smith, by 
whom he had one child. Eva. Mr. Heath was 
the lii'st recoriler in .New Baltimore, .serving 
in that position for several terms, and he was 
notary public foi' more than twenty yeai's. 
In 18(i9 he became deputy collector and in 
1870 iiostnuistci' and occuiiied both ]>ositions 
up to the time of his death. He was likewis(> 
a member of the school board iind was always 
faithful and true to his public duties, which 
he discharged in a prom|>t and able nnmner. 



I'AS'I' AND I'KKSF.XT OF MACOMl! CorXTV 



203 



Tie Wiis proiiiiiunit in puhlio ;ilV;urs jiiid tor 
many years lie was a U'ailint;' i-i'pi'esi'iitativi' 
of business intei'ests, eondnetinu a iiariicss 
shop anil stoir on tli(> same location wiiere his 
son Rot)ert is now to be I'ounil. I'lvery meas- 
nve contributiiiii' to public prom'ess and iin- 
provement received his endorsement and 
hearty co-opei-ation. lie died in 18!)") while 
liis first wife passed away at the very early 
aue of twenty-seven years. 

Robert A. lli'ath was ediicateil in the puiilic 
schools and in Delrnit lousiness University, 
from which institution he was t;:i'aduated in 
18Sf). He saiieil on the (ireat J.,akes until 
18!),3 and then succeeded his fathei' in business 
in New liallimore. lie has since been an ac- 
tive rejiresentative of the conunercial and in- 
dustrial interests of the city. He is a stock- 
holdei' anil or^'anizer of the (irain Klevator 
t'onipany of Xew Baltimore and also stock- 
holdei' in the ( 'lu'stertield Hotel of this i)lace. 
In 18i)S he was ap[)ointed postnuistei' under 
President ^IcKinley and still holds that oflice. 
His jxilitical alleiiiauce is s;iven to the rejjub- 
lican party. He has been presiilent of the vil- 
la.ue for tivo years and is now member of the 
council. Fi'aternally he is connected with the 
^Modern Woodmen of Amei'ica. Mi'. Heath is 
a man plain and unostentatious in manner but 
possesses g'ooil l)usiness ability and is helpful 
in citizenshij) ami these (lualitications have 
gained foi- him the respect and confidence of 
those with win mi he has been associated. 



i;iLKV WAKNKR. 



Kiley Warner owns and operates a farm of 
two hundred and seventy-seven acres and is 
accounted one of the substantial, active and 
proiiressive auriculturists of his eommunit.v. 
There are two sets of farm buildinjis upon 
liis ])lace and the work of cultivation that has 
been carrieil on there makes his farm a valua- 
ble and desirable propertx'. It was ujioii this 
place that he was born November 2!), ]8.")(l. 
a .son of Robert and Kois (Willey) Warner. 
The father was born in Ontario count.v. New 
Yoi'k, December '22. ISll. ;iiid when a yoiini;' 
mail came westward to .Michiiian, locatintr in 
.Macomb county in Ls:!(). He was thus but 
nineteen years of asic but he possessed a hope 
that the future held in store for him some- 
tliinji- woi'tli while, and he I'esolved to gain 
success if it could be won through persistent, 
earnest effort. The oiiportunity conies to 
those who have resolution and determination. 
He entered ciL'htv acres of land from the "ov- 



eiiiment and beuaii tlie arduous task of chop- 
\>\u'j: ilowii the trees, dearinii' aw.iy the liriisb 
and gettini;- the fields in readiness for culti- 
vation. Thus in cour.se of time he opened up a 
good farm. -Vs a companion and helpmate for 
life's .journey he chose Miss Lois Willey. who 
was born in .New York. March 24, 181.'{, and 
came to Michigan with her parents, ^Ir. and 
.Mrs. Isaac Willey. who were among the early 
settlers lici-c. .Mr. Warner eventually became 
the owner of over three hundred acres of land 
and put up a good residence, substantial barns 
and outbuildings and labored earnestly along 
]irogressive lines until his farm was in keep- 
ing with the best in the county. Here he 
reareil his family ami spent his last days, 
])assiiig away ^larch 22, 1888. He was promi- 
nent in public affairs, giving his influence in 
support of every movement that tended to 
promote the general good, and for one or 
more terms he served as justice of the peace 
although he was never an aspirant for office. 
His wife survived him and jiassed away Au- 
gust ;il. 188!l. In the family were six chil- 
dren, three sons and three daughters, all of 
whom reached mature year.s and our sub.iect 
and the daughters are yet living. The others 
are: <'larissa, the wife of Xathan Hinkley. 
a farmer of Maurice, Michigan: Hosetta. the 
vvife of Kli .Meyers, a farmer of Ray Town- 
ship. aii<l Loi'etta. the widow of William 
Ellis. She owns a farm ad.joining the old 
homestead. One brother, Robert II. was 
reared to manhood, was married .March 8, 
1868, to Almeda Houghton, and settled in 
Tuscola county where he followed fariiiing. 
He was a soldier of the war of the Re- 
bellion and he died August 15, ll)():i. Milo 
Warner was also a iiiember of the rnioii army 
at the time of the Civil war and after his 
return home he was married, l''ebrnarv 11). 
1SV)'4. to .Mary llaight. of ^lacomb county, and 
settled in Tuscola county, ^Michigan, where 
he followed farming until his death, which 
occurred December -i. 187ii. 

Riley Warner was reared and edneateil in 
the common schools. He remained with his 
father on the old homestead farm and fol- 
lowiiiu' the I'alliei-'s death he purchased the 
interests of the other heirs in the jdace, and 
th.us succeeded to the ownershii) of what has 
long been known as the Warner farm, lie 
built a good house iqion his place and he has 
fenced it and put out fruit and shade trees 
and has made many substantial imin-oveinents 
which add both to the value and attractive 
appearance. He is a member of the Creamery 
Association and is also a stockholder in the 



204 



PAST AXI) PRE8P:.\T OK .MACO.MB ('orXTY 



New llawn .Savings Bank at Xcu Haven. 
He is liicewise engaged in the dairy business 
and liis varied interests result in n^tiirnini;- 
him a e()nit'()rtal)le eonipetencr. 

On the lilst of r)eeenil)ei'. 1S74. .Mr. Warn.'r 
was united i!i inai'i'iage to .Miss Loviiia \'. 
Willey, a n;itivi' (tf l\ay townshii). who was 
reared and edueated here and in .Mount Ch-ni- 
ens. She also attended school in Romeo to 
some e.xtent and for four years jirior to her 
marriage snceessfully engaged in teaehing. 
Unto -Mr. and Mrs. Warnei' has l)een horn ,' 
son, ililo S., who was edueated at Romeo and 
is now teaehing for the fourtli term in the 
honu^ school in Ray. They also lost two 
children: Clarence .M.. who died in infancy. 
and Lottie O., who died .May 2:i, 11)04. 

.Mr. Warner i)elongs to the (i range at Davis 
and is its present ma-ter. He is also a mem- 
ber of the ^laccahees and the (deaners. fra- 
ternal insurance orders, while liis political 
su])i)ort has been given contiiuiously to the 
I'eiMiblican [lai'ty since age gave to liim the 
right of fi'anchise. lie was elected and served 
as ju.stice of the jieace and has also been a 
member of the school board for nine years. 
His entiiv life has lieen passed in ^lacomb 
county and when one examines into his recortl 
they find that persistency of puipose and 
sound .judgment have been the strongest ele- 
ments of his success, making him a man whose 
place in the business world is reditable. 



AUGUST BIEWER. 



Thei'e is no man in .Mount Clemens who 
has done more for the upbuilding and im- 
pro\(ineiil of the city than August Biewer. 
and his life history, thei'efore, forms an im- 
portant eliaptei' in its .-innals. so that it is 
imjierative that mention be made of him in 
this volume. He was boi-n in (iiu-many, De- 
cember 2(), lS-12, and is a son of .Xicholas 
Biewer, who was a brewer of (iernuuiy, 
which oeetipation had also been followed by 
his father and grandfathei'. His mother bore 
tile maiden luime of (iert I'udi' •( ianser, and 
l)oth parents died in Germany. 

.\ugust Biewer was the only one nf the 
family to come to .Vmerica. He spent the 
days of his boyhood and youth in his na- 
ti\i' land and then' acquii-ed bis elue;ition. 
lie serveil llirei' year's in the German army, 
and was in the war of 186(i against .Austria. 
Becoming interested in the tab's that he 
heard concerninii- the new world, lie deei^leil 
to try his fortune here, believing that he 



v.iiuld have better oppnrt liiiil ie.-; in the 
United States. Cros.sing the Atlantic he 
made his way to Chicago, in October, 1867, 
and soon afterward went to Detroit. In 1871 
he came to Mount Clemens, where he em- 
bai'ked in the brewing business and in 1873 
he estal)lishe,| a brewery on Clinton river 
and later at his present lueation, at No. 22 
I'iru^ street. His jilant has been gradually 
enlarged and improvetl and he now has an 
extensive patronage from this locality and 
the state. While conducting a successful 
business enterjirise 'Slv. Biewer has done 
much for the upbuilding of .Mount Clemens, 
ami has been identified with many of its nu)st 
properoiis industries. Xo movement for the 
genera] good seeks his aid and co-operation 
in vain and his ett'orts have been far-reach- 
ing and beneficial in the upbuilding and sul>- 
stantial growth here. 

In 1871 occuri'ed the mai'riage of ilr. Bie- 
Y'.-er and ^Miss Exol ^Yillitts. who was born 
i.'i ilacomb (•oiiiity. Michigan, and they have 
nvo children — Ella Isabella and .\ugust. ^Mrs. 
Hiewer departed this life February 18, 1905, 
and her remains Avei'e interred in the Catho- 
de cemetery. She was an estimable lady of 
man\' virtues and pi-oved a valuable help- 
mate to her husband on life's journex'. Mr. 
Hiewer has been a member of the Knights 
of ^laceabei's siuei' ISSli, and is also con- 
nected with the l-'raternal Or.ler of Eagles 
/ v.d Arbeiter Society. He has traveled ex- 
tensively, has been to Euro])e seven times and 
has visited all the leading countries on that 
continent. The hojie that led him to seek 
;i home in the new woi'lil has been nicn'e than 
realize:!. lb' possesses tlli' s|iii'it (d' deter- 
mimUion and I'liergy which has llirinigli cen- 
turies led the Teutonic race to become the 
founders of civili/alion in vai'ious jiarts of 
the world. With strong courage and unfal- 
tering diligence he began life in the United 
States and has stea.lily advanced until to-'day 
lu' is one of the pi'ospercuis and prominent 
resiilents of his adupleil city. 



REV. HKRM.VXX ( MXDKUT. 

l\ev. Hermann (lundert traci's his ancestry 
in direct line back to the year ir)42, being a 
representative of one of the old families of 
Stuttgart, (iermany. He is descended in 
direct line Iro.ii .loliii ( ieorge (Juiulert, 
whose son was dohann Christian (iundert, 
while the latter "s mui was .lohaun Chris- 
tian Ijudwiu Giindert, the last named be- 




A rcr ST IIIKWEK. 




MRS. AUGUST HIEWER 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF :\IA('( ).M1'. CorXTV 



209 



ing tlu' .•rraiidfatlier oi' llei-iiumu Gmi- 
dert, of Mount Clciiu'iis. and the well 
known secretary of the liible Society of 
Wurtenil)ei'fi'. The above nientioneil were all 
residents of Stutti;art. Dr. llennann Ciun- 
dert, horn in Stutti;ai't in 1S14, was a doetoi- 
of philosophy and was a missionary in East 
India, under sujiervision of the missionary 
society at Iiasl(\ In East Iiulia he spent his 
active life. Ur was thr founder of the ilahi- 
bar ilission. and upon his i-etirement from the 
missit)nary field he returned to (iei-many. He 
was also well known as an author, being the 
editor of thi'ce monthly maii'azines and other 
publications. ()iic of his notable works was 
the ilalayalim and Englisli dictionary, a copy 
of which is in possession of liis son, Hermann 
(iundert. IJr. (iundert married Miss Julia 
Dubois, a native of Switzerland and both 
passed away in 189:1 Siie traced her ancesti'y 
back to Francis Dul)ois, of Neufchatel, 
Switzerland, Isaac Dubois, of Xeufchatel, to 
Isaac Frank Dubois of Finance. All of the 
children of Dr. and ^Irs. Gundert, of whom 
Hermann Gundert is tlie eldest, were born 
in .Malabar. East India. Tiiose still livinir 
are: Hermann, Frederick and David, the 
last two beuii;' i-esidents of Stuttgart. Those 
who have passed away are: .Marie, who was 
the wife of Dr. John Hesse, a missionary in 
East India ; Paul, who studied in Tubinger, 
the university near Stuttgart; Samuel, who 
was a niissionai-y and died in East India ; and 
Christina, wiio died in infancy. 

HermaiHi Gundert acquired his early educa- 
tion in the iiublic schools of Germany, having 
been taken to that country from East India 
by his parents when only seven years of age. 
He afterward pursued a scientific and literary 
course in the Royal Gymnasium. Stuttgart, 
founded by the king of Wnrtemberg and 
eomi)leting his studies he pi'eparetl for the 
ministry. Connng to the Fnited States in 
ISIi-J he tir.st located near Saginaw, ^Michigan, 
where he presided over a Bavarian settlement 
for a few months. In September. 186'2, he 
took chai'gi' 111' a niissimuiry chapel in Detro't, 
where h<' remained foi' a year and a half and 
where he found his good wifi'. In April, lS(i4, 
he came to Mount ('Icmiumis, wher-c he founded 
the Gernuin Evangelical ehurch, being the 
first organization of its denomination hei'c. 
He continued as its ])astor in active service 
for nearly forty years, when sickness coin- 
pelled him to r-etire i'rdui active ministi'y 
there in .lime, ll)(Ki. In the meantime the 
little wooden church, foi'inrrly known as 
"Mount Clemens Academv, " which was 



bought tor three hundred and twenty-Hve 
dollars, was replaeed by a large brick edi- 
Hec\ while the membership of the church 
w:is im-reascd from thii'ty-five families to 
two hundi-ed anil fifty. The church pros- 
pei-ed under his guidance, and it was with 
regret on the pai-t of pastor and jieople that 
lie se\'ered his connection therewith. He is 
still engaged in church work, however, assist- 
ing iit different times in the absence of the 
regidai' pastor, and he gives considerable of 
his attention to literary work. He entered 
U])on his jiastoi-ate in Mount Clemens at a 
salai'y of two hundred and twenty-five dollai's 
|)er year, and he and his family at first lived 
in part of the little wooden chui'ch. He was 
willing to make any sacrifice that wo\Ud pro- 
mote the growth of his denomination here and 
I'xtend its influence, and the Gernuin Evan- 
gelical church of Mount Clemens is a monu- 
ment to his life of labor. He has always main- 
tained the deepest friendship with its mem- 
bers, standing high with the people through- 
out Mount Clemens, and not only the German 
citizenship here but many American families 
have been iiumliered among his close friends. 
In middle age he wrote considerable for Ger- 
man magazines and still continues to do .so. 

Wev. Gundert 's love for his motlu'i- country 
is great, but his love for his chosen home in 
Michigan, where he has fought the larger 
lunnber of life's baffles, is still grealei', and 
so he has announced his allegiance to the 
I'nited States, becoming an American citizen 
in June, l!t()4, that he might not only eti.joy 
all the I'ighfs and privileges of his chosen 
country, liuf also express his gratitude. He 
has a deep and sincere love for this land and 
for the .stai's and .stripes, and expects to spend 
his remaining days here. He still maintains 
ivlationship with the Gernuui Evangelical 
Synod of North Amei'ica, and he has been a 
fre(|uent delegate to its conventions, meeting 
ther<' with representatives of the ministry 
li-oin all parts of the country. 

On the 7th of April, 18ti8, Mr. Gundert 
was irnirri<'d to .Miss Christina IIu.ss, a dangh- 
tei' of .Matthias ;md Chi-istina (IIuss) lluss, 
of I)(>ti'oif, and they have four children: 
Julia, the wife of l\ev. Charles IMueller, jiasfor 
of a German Evangelical church of Chicago; 
Marii', the wife of Fred Krauseneck, of Mount 
Clemens: Enuna. the deceased wife of Paul 
I'llrich, of Mount Clemens; and Christina, the 
wife (d' Heiu'y Miller, of this city. 

That .Mr. Gundert is a man of scholarly at- 
taiiunents. public sympathy and broad charity 
has bei'u shadowed forth between the lines of 



PAST Axi) prp:se\t of maco.mb ennxTY 



this ri'view. IK- lias iriveii his life to tlie 
bt'tteriiieiit of his fellowuu'ii and wiiilc staiiil- 
ing firm in the iupport of the riiiht at ail 
times, he nevertiieiess pu:sse.-ses a Iciiidly spirit 
that brings him in sympathy with all iiis 
fellowmen and enables him to pnt foi-tli effec- 
tive etit'oi't to ait! them. He is to-day one of 
the honored i'e-;idents of ^loniit Clenieiis and 
respected by all who know him. 



AKTIirR TEATS. 



Artluir Teats, who is engaged iu the manu- 
factnre of Inmber and in the operation of a 
.steam thresher, is well known as one of the 
leading citizens of Harrison township, wh(>re 
lie has tilled the position of township clerk 
for seven or eight years. His birth occnrivd 
April 21, 1856, on the farm where he now 
resides, his parents being Edward and Har- 
riet (Rackham) Teats, the former a native 
of the state of Xew York and the latter of 
England. Edward Teats was born about 
18:iil and in his boyhood days came with his 
parents to .Michigan, the family home being 
established in JIacomb county. He afterward 
purchased land and engaged in farming on 
his own account, securing as a companion 
and heliniiatc for life's journey ^liss Ilari-iet 
Kackiiam. who. though a native of p]ngland. 
was i-eared in Michigan. They traveled life's 
journey hai)|)ily together for many years but 
were separated by the death of ^Irs. Teats 
in I881S. .Mr. Teats now makes his home in 
Mount Clemens where he is living retired. 
In their family were three sons and eight 
daughtei's. Two of the sons I'eached mature 
years, but John died at the age of twenty-one 
years and Koliert died in infancy. The sisters 
are all yet living. 

Ai'thur Teats was ivared iu Macomb county 
and his eai'ly education, acquired in the dis- 
trict schools, was supplemented l)y study in 
Mount Clemens. He remained with his fatlici' 
until he attainetl his majoi'ity after which he 
started out in life on his own account. Pur- 
chasing a steam thresher he has engaged in 
the threshing busine.ss for a number of years, 
being employed over a large territory, his 
services being in constant demand during the 
season. He also engages in the mannfacturi> 
of lumber, having a portalile sawmill which 
he moves from ])lace to jilaee whei'C the busi- 
ness ])rospect justifies. Both branches of his 
business are jiroviug protitaltle and he like- 
wise gives his attenticm to the management 
of his farm, which, though small, is well im- 
proved. 



On the (ith of February. 188:5. in .Mount 
Clemens, Mr. Teats was united in marriage to 
.Miss .Mary L. Campau, a native of this county 
and a daughter of Frank Campau, who was 
l.orn in Deti'oit, ^Michigan, of Fi-ench parent- 
age. She is also a sister of Fi-ank A. Cam])au. 
who is represented elsewhen- in this volume. 
Ml', and .Mrs. Teats have three children: 
Hi'-sie. who occupies a business position in 
.Mount Clemens; Lottii'. who is enuaged in 
clerking there: and Philij), a student in .Mount 
Clemens. They also lo.st a son, Frank E.. 
who died at the age of ten months. 

Politically ilr. Teats has bet-n a life-long 
democrat and has filled the office of justice 
of the peace and townshii) clerk, acting in the 
latter capacity for about eight years. His 
official service has ever been pei'foi'med in a 
capable, painstaking and conscientious man- 
ner, whei'cby he has fully ju.stitied the trust 
reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. He 
and his wife hold membership in the Catholic 
church of .Mount Clemens, and he 'belongs to 
the .\mei-ican Leagm'. ^Yllile there have been 
no exciting chai^fers in his career his coiii'se 
h.as been nnirked by fidelity to duty iu all 
life's relations and as the years have passed 
he has gained not only success but an honora- 
ble name as well. 



ELDOX WATERLOO. I). D. S. 

Ur. Eldon \Yatei-loo, succe:'>sfully engaged 
in the practice of dentistry in Richmond, was 
born in Cohnnbus, St. Clair county, February 
14. lS(i4, his pai'cnts being Alfred E. and 
Mary ((lilletf) AYaterloo, the former a native 
of England aiul the latter of Xew York. The 
grandfather, George Waterloo, also born in 
England, came to ^Michigan in l8;il, settling 
in Redford, near Detroit, while later he re- 
moved to St. Clair county, where he spent his 
remaining days, following the stonennison's 
trade during the early years of his residence 
thei-e and later engaging in farming. Alfred 
E. Waterloo was brought to Michigan in his 
boyhood days and was reai'ed amid the wild 
scenes of frontier life. He assisted in the 
arduous task of develojiing his father's farm 
and was connected with agricultural inter- 
ests in St. Claii' county until ISiK) when, 
having aeeuniulated a comfortable comi)etence 
Ihrouuh capable management and unremitting 
diligence, he retii'cd from business life and 
took up his abode in Richmond, where he is 
now living. In his f;nni!y were four children. 
three of whom siii-vive. 



PAST AND I'KKSKX'I' (»K MACd.MH ('(tlXTV 



1)1-. AVatcrldo. the tliird in order of bii-tli, 
lii-y:;!!! his education in the district schools ami 
was graduated from the liiyii school at liidi- 
iMond. Deteniiiiiin'; to eiipige in dentistry 
as a lite work lie became a student in the 
ilental liepartmeiit of tlie I'nivei'sity of Mich- 
igan, and on the completion of a thive years' 
conr.-e was graduated .June 2-i. ISill. with the 
tlegi'ce of I). D. S. lie then I'ettirned to Rich- 
mond and shortly afterwartl removed to 
Chicago, where he remained until the fall of 
1898. wiien he again came to HichiiKHid. Here 
he has a well eii;ii})ped ofiice sujiplied with all 
modei'ii appliance-; for the careful conduct of 
his husines.s and he now lias a large pi'actice 
drawn fro.n a wide extent of territory, lie 
keeps in touch with the most modern methods 
in tlentistry ar.tl his woi'k has given eminent 
satisfaction. 

In February. 1892. Dr. AVatei'loo was mar- 
ried to }ili--; Alta Stevens, a native of Genesee 
county, Michigan, and a daughter of E. K. 
Stevens. Their children are Helen. Eldon 
and Vera. Dr. Waterloo has taken the degrees 
of the lodge and council in Masonry and 
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and the Improved Order of Fores- 
ters. He is neglectful of no i)nblic dut.v or 
ol)ligalion of citizenship and at the same time 
he concentrates his elToi'ts upon his i)rofes- 
sional labors and ha-; gained the favorable 
regard not only of the general public but of 
the other mendier.s of the dental fraternity 
as well. 



.lOll.X F. nowLixc. 

John F. Dowling, engaged in the grocery 
business in ]\lount Clemens, wa.s born in Erin 
township. .Macomb county, September 1:1 
1847. his i)arents being Thomas and Catln'rine 
(Planning) Dowling. both natives of Ii'eland. 
The father liecame a resident of ^lacoml) 
count.v at an early day, assisted in the con- 
stiMiction of the old Clinton and Kaianuizoo 
canal antl was afterward engaged in boat- 
building, while his lai-t day.s were devoted to 
fai-ming in Erin township. Through a long 
lieriod he figured as one of the practical and 
l)i'ogressive citizens of that localit.v and he 
died in 1897. at tiie very venerable age of 
ninet.v-three .vears. lie wa-; instrumental in 
changing the name of ()range township to 
Erin townslii]i. the lii'st name being objec- 
tionable to a large number of residents there. 
His wife died in 1899. at tiie age of eighty- 
seven years. They wei'e the parents of nine 



children. .John F. being the third in order 
of liii'tii. Those living are: John, a farmer 
and lumberman of Chatham. Ontario: John 
!■'.. of this review; Thomas, a farmer at Evart, 
.Michigan: William, who is living on the 
homestead fai'ui in Erin township: James, a 
lanchmaii at Helena, Montana: .Michael, a 
hnuberman of Hay Cit.v, Michigan, and I'"id- 
wai'd. who is emplo.ved in the We.stinghouse 
MIectric Works at Dcti'oii. Those deceased 
are Jo^i'pli and .\inia J. 

John F. I )owliiig pursued his education in 
a log schoolhouse in Erin township, being 
i-eared here amid i)ioneer sui'roundings and 
environments. He learned the tr;ide of ;i 
carpenter and .joiner, whicii hi' followed for 
fourteen years and in 1881 he took u]) his 
aI)ode in .Mount Clemens, where he became a 
factor in mercantile circles as a deah'r in 
hardware and implements, lie followed this 
line of business for twelve years, when he 
sold out. He was then elected cit.v treasurer 
in 1890. and served in that ofiice for four 
.vears. He was afterwaid elected cit.v nuir- 
shal, acting in that capacit.v for two years, 
and in 1896 he opened a gi'ocei-y store at No. 
81 (Irand avenue where he now continues, 
having l)nilt up a good trade to which his 
creditable methods and untiring enei'g.v well 
entitle him. 

Mr. Dowling was married Jnl.v 3. 1879. to 
.Miss ilargaret O'llare. a daughter of Hugh 
and ]Mar.v O'llare. both natives of Ireland. 
Their children were : John F.. who died ^la.v 
22. 1904, at tli(> age of tweiit.v-three .vears: 
Thomas William, of the Fnited States ;irm.v. 
who sei-ved in Cuba and tiie Philippines and 
in 190.") i-e-enlisted ; and 11ul:Ii i'"rederiek. at 
home. 

}>[]-. Dowling is a stanch de:iiocrat. having 
voted foi' the ])art.v since he cast his first 
presidential ballot for ^leClelhmd. He is a 
reliable and trust worth.\' citizen, lirm in iiis 
convictions and unfaltering in ;in.v course 
which he believes to be right. He lias man.v 
gooil ((ualities which have gained him the 
trust and respect of his fellow townsmen, and 
is a son of Macomb count.v who^e course is 
creclitablc to the place of his nativit.x'. 



WIIJJ.\.M IJOTHAM. 

William Ilotham. a dair.xman and fai-mer 
of Sterling towiishi|). living on section 24, 
was born ^larch !). 1832, in Hloonitield, Oak- 
land count.v, Jlichigan. The famil.v is of 
KiiL'lish lineage. His iiarents were Kicard 



212 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .AIACO.MB COUNTY 



ami -Jaiif Iluthaiii. who came from J^iiL^and 
al)out 1829. TliL' foi'iiRT was Ijoiii Juiic 1, 
17it4. and the latter on the 10th of April. 
ISdl. Tliei-e were eleven ehildreu in their 
family, of whom William i.s the sixth in order 
of birth. ;Mary. the elde.st. born February 8, 
181>(), in England, died in U)()4. Elizabeth, 
born Auiiiist 6. 1828. is the wife of Truman 
Andrus, of Washington, .Michigan, and has 
four living children. Jane, born in England. 
June 14. 182."). died in ISG'). .Sarah, born in 
the same country. October I), 1827. died in 
litlio. Richard, born October 9. 1829. went 
to California and was shot and killed there 
during mining tlays. William lleniw is tlie 
next of the family. David, born January 9. 
1884, was also killed in California during 
the early mining excitement there. Katha- 
rine, born .March 27. 188G, is deceased. 
.Martha, born April :>, 1888. died in 1882. 
Harriet, born October 9, 1840. is now Mrs. 
Chapman of Holly, ^Michigan, and has four 
children: John, born January 24. 1844. is 
married and has seven living childivn. 

William Hotham spent the days of his boy- 
liood and youth in liis parents' home, being 
reared to the occupation of fai'miug. He. 
too, went 111 California, making the trij) in 
I8t)() by way of the isthmus route. There he 
engaged in mining for twelve years, making 
some money, and on the expiration of that 
period he returned to his old liome in Michi- 
gan. .Vfter again reaching this state he was 
mari'ied. in 1872. to Miss Sarah Ensley, who 
was born August ■">. 1844. and is a daughtei' 
of John and Ann (Ilolbrook) Ensley, both 
of whom were natives of England, whence 
they came to America in 1842, settling in 
Utiea. ^Michigan. Her father was an agricul- 
turist and i)ui-chased seventy-two acres of 
land lying in Shelby and Sterling townships. 
He woi'kecl by the day until he had money 
enougli to buy a farm and then invested in 
the property mentioned, continuing its fur'- 
ther cultivation and im|)r(ivement until liis 
death, which occurred .March 25, 188.'). while 
his wife passed away in ()ctol)ei-. 18il."). They 
were the parents of foui' children, of whom 
three are living, namely: Mrs. Ilotham: 
John, who died at the age of eiiihli-cn years: 
(ieorge. who makes his hoiiii' with oui' subject ; 
and Lucy, who became the wife of .\iii<is 
Putton and after his ileath mai-ried John 
Stackman. who is a carpet la\er of Detroit. 

.Mrs. Hotham pursued her education in the 
schools of ITtica and in early womanhood she 
eniraged in dressmaking. She was married 
when twenty-eight years of age and has l)e- 



come the mother of six children : Flora, who 
is now the wife of John llartline, a farmer 
residing in Sterling township, by whom she 
has two children ; Charlie, who died at the age 
of twelve years; George, who died in infancy: 
Belle, the wife of William llartline. an em- 
ploye in the Russell wheel factory at Detroit, 
by whom she has two childi-en : Nellie, the wife 
of (ieorge Bun-, a tiorist of ^Mount Clemens: 
and William, at home. All were educated in 
the district and siraded s(>hools of Sterling 
townslii}). 

William Hotham is a republican in liis 
political views but has held no ofKces save 
those in coiniection with the schools, pre- 
ferring to give his undivided attention to his 
business affairs. He is to-day the owner of 
one hundred and sixty acres of land on which" 
lie has placed excellent improvements and 
here he devotes his attention to general farm- 
ing and darying. His is one of the excellent 
farms of Sterling township, the fields being 
highly cultivated, while everything about the 
place is in excellent condition, indicating the 
cai'cful supervision of a progressive ownei-. 



SETII W. KNKiHT. 



Seth W. Kliight, a leading practitioner at 
the .Macomb county bar and ex-judge of the 
probate court, wa.s born in Utica, this county. 
July 17, 18H8, a son of Dr. Philli]) A. aiid 
Clarissa (Ewell) Knight. He is the fourth 
in a family of eleven children, the others yet 
living being: Edward E., a contractor in 
Guatemala, Central America; Phillip B., a 
practicing physician in Utica, Michigan; Lu- 
ther E.. of Utica ; and Agnes C, the wife of 
William Terry, of Utica. Several of the chil- 
dren died in youth, while Lois, an artist and 
illustrator, died in New Yoi-k city in 1902, 
and (irace died in her senior year, while pur- 
suing a litei'ary course in ilichigan Univer- 
sity, in 1900. 

Seth W. Knight, after comi)leting the wm-k 
of the high school at Utica, .Michigan, spent 
three years in the literary department of the 
.Michigan Fniversity at Ann Arbor, in prej)- 
ai-ation for the pursual of a course in the 
law departuu'iit. He was a law student for 
two years and was graduated in 1890, after 
whicli he came to ]Mount Clemens and opened 
his office. From the beginning ho has been 
successful and now has a lai'ge clientage, 
connecting him with much of the imjior- 
tant litigation tried in the courts of his dis- 
trict. He has given his undivided attention 




SH'I'II W. KNICllT. 



PAST AND PliEaEXT OF MACO.MB fOlNTY 



215 



to the law and liis tlevotion to liis clients' in- 
terests is proverbial. His careful prepara- 
tion of eases, his eonipi'ehensive and accurate 
knowledge of legal princijiles and his clear 
and forcible presentation of his cause liave 
been the salient elements in his professional 
career. He has held no jiolitieal otTice save 
in the line of his jjrofession. lie is a stanch 
democrat and a faithful worker for his party, 
and on its ticket he was elected to the offiee 
of probate .iud,t:e. in Xovendier, 18i)i). He en- 
tered upon the discharge of Ids duties Janu- 
ary 1, 1900. and served until .January 1, lilO.'). 
He was a candidate for re-election in the fall 
of 1004. but was defeated in llic iTpiiblican 
laiulslidr. 

.Ml'. Knight was mari'ied .June 2'2, lSi)8, 
to iliss Katharine L. Crocker, a daughter of 
George M. Crocker, of Mount Clemens, and 
their children are George C. and Katharine 
L. Knight. ]\Ir. Knight is a member of 
.Mount Clemens lodge. No. K, F. & A. M. ; 
:\Iount Clemens Chapter. No. tii). H. A. .M. ; 
^Mount Clemens Council. Xo. 8. R. & S. M. : 
and Blount Clemens lodge. No. 168, K. P., of 
which he was the first chancellor eonnuander. 
He is a man of great decision, high principles 
and upi'ight character, wliose personal worth 
as well as his i)rofessional ability makes him 
one of the representative citizens of Mount 
( 'li'incns. 



DAXTETv L. RAPEL.TE. 

The business life of Kiehniond has ;i repre- 
sentative in Daniel L. Hapelje. who is con- 
ducting a farm imple.nent and pi'oduce store 
there. He is a native of St. Thomas. Ontai'io. 
born April l.i, 18-19. His father. Barclay 
Rapelje, was the hr.st white chiitl born thei'c, 
his natal year being 1812. The grandfather, 
Daniel Rapelje. was born in France and was 
a Huguenot. He received a grant of land 
from the government on which a large j)ortion 
of the town of St. Thomas now stands. He 
took pai'l ill the Kevolut idiiary war. serving 
as a eoloni'l in command of a regiment witli 
the American troops. After locating in Can- 
ada he devoted his attention to Ilic develop- 
ment of his estate and there speni his iciniiiii- 
ing days. A portion of his laud grant is still 
in possession of his descendants. Tlie Ra])el.je 
fanuly was a ])rominent one in France and 
its meinbei's were driven from that count I'y 
on account of their )'eligious views. 

Barclay Rapel.je was reared on the family 
homestead in Canada and served as a captain 



in the Canadian rebellion in 18:37, being con- 
nected with the cavalry force. Throughout 
his business eai'cer he carried on farming but 
he died at the age of forty-eight. He married 
Anna Thayer, and of their seven children 
Daniel was the fourth in order of birth, 
(ieorge. the eldi'st son. enlisted in response to 
President Lincoln's call for ninety thousand 
ti-oops. Ijccame a membei- of an Ohio regiment 
iind on the e.xpii'ation of a three months' term 
he re-enlisted, bi'cominu' sergeant. In 1863, 
owing to disability, he relnrned home, but 
after thr<'e mouths lie again jiiined the army, 
with which lie served until the close of the 
war, being a very loyal advocate of the Union 
cause. He is now lixiiig in Bay City, Mich- 
igan. 

Daniel L. Kapelje spent tlu' first eleven 
years of his life in Canada and then came to 
the United States, securing a clerkship in a 
store at Port Huron. Michigan, when fifteen 
years of age. Thi-ee times he attempted to 
eidist in the Union army but was rejected on 
account of his youth. -\t the fourth attempt 
he became a member of Company F. Sixtli 
-Michigan Calvary, under Colonel Kidd. com- 
mander of the state militia. It was in ^larch, 
1864, that he joined tlii' army and was sent 
south with Custer's Brigade, serving in Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky. He took \rdrt in the 
battle of the Wilderness and in all of the 
skirmishes up to Petersburg. After the war 
was over the ilichigan Cavali'y Brigade was 
sent west, being joiuetl to General Conner's 
P>iigadi'. and went from Fort Laramie through 
the bad lands. They had no trouble until 
they reached the Powder rix'er. They built 
Fort Phil Kearney about twenty miles below 
Slieridan and this fort became historically 
]U"ominent, owing to the massacre of Lieu- 
tenant Fe.s.senden and his entire company 
there in 1866. While the fort was being built 
the comuuind to which Rajjclje belonged 
had more oi' less trouble with the Indians. 
They afterward went directly as far as Fort 
Bridger in Utah, the famous .Tim Bi'idger act- 
ing as scout, and tlii',\- spent the winter neai' 
Salt Lake City. In .^iay. ISCC, tliey were sent 
back to Michigan and lionoralily discharged, 
this being the last pari of a .Michigan regi- 
iiii'iit to receive its diseharize. 

.Mr. Piipelje then turned his attention to the 
lumber liiisiness in Alpena county, where he 
remaini'd until 187."). when he came to Macomli 
county, and after two years spent in Mount 
Clemens, hi' reiiio\eil to Leno.x, where he built 
the lii'st pinning mill in the town, the plant 
beiiiL: still ill (iperation. This he opei'ated 



2l6 



PAST AXI) rUKSEXT OF .AFACO.MH COIXTV 



iititil isy.^. wlu'ii lie ;iss()L-i;itt'd lliiusi-lf with 
James W. Coopei- in tiu> stave, headinir and 
hoop busiuess. They iiuilt a new mill which 
they operated for a number of years, when 
owing to a lack of tinil)er .Mr. Rapelje tui'ned 
his attention to mcrcliandisini; anti to that 
business he di'votes his (meriries at thr present 
time. 

In .\i)ril. 1S7!I. Mi-. Hnpel.je was married to 
-Miss iiihhie Bowman, of Macomb county, a 
daughter of Peter Bowman, who lived foui- 
and a half miles northeast of Mount Clemens. 
They have one daughter. Valrae. -Mr. Rajielje 
served as village clerk for a number of yeai-.-;, 
has been deput.v sheriff for some years and 
was niai'shal of Richmond. He belongs to 
Henry C. Beebe Post. No. ^'i:?, (!. A. R.. and 
in ^Masonry has attained the Royal Arch de- 
gree. By jiersevcrance, determination and 
honorable effort he has overcame the obstacles 
which hari'ed his path to success and is ac- 
counted one of the prosperous men of Rich- 
mond. The determination which he .showed in 
his attem])t to become a Union .soldier has 
been manifested in all his duties of citizen- 
ship and he is most loyal to the public welfare. 



.lA.MKS A. CAXFIELi:*. 

James A. C'aiitield. a retired farmer of 
Mount Clemens, was born in this cit.v Jan- 
uary 27. 1><'A2. his ])arents being William and 
Ann (('li^niensi Cantield. the former a na- 
tive of Sa.vbrocik. Conneeticnt. ;nid the lat- 
ter of Detroit. Michigan. His paternal 
graiulfathei-, Joel Cantield. was a native of 
Connecticut and there spent his entire life, 
following the occupation of farming. He 
served ;is a captain in the state militia and 
was an iiii[iortant figure in his localif.v. his 
influence extending even beyond the boiuid- 
aries of his comity. He died at the vener- 
able age of eighty-nine .vears. William Can- 
lielil. his son. was rearetl in the Charter Oak 
.state and in early life engaged in merchan- 
dising. He ennie t(i the west in 1829 and was 
the owner dl' m tiirni one mile noi'th of llw 
courtliiiuse on the (iratiot road, in Clintnn 
township. .\ i)ai't of this land is still in 
poi-^session di' his sun, James A. William 
Cantield si-rved as a Licneral in the state mil- 
itia and was vei'v pi'ominent in public af- 
fairs, bis ;ibilit\' Well fitting liini I'nr lead- 
ership, lie did much to mold public tlii)iii;ht 
and o])inion ;nid he was honored by his fel- 
low citizens by election to the senate on sev- 
eral dil'l'i-rent ()i-casi(ins. His early |)olitical 



alieuianee was given to the abolition party 
and later he joined the ranks of the republi- 
can parly when it was formed to prevent the 
fui-ther extension of slavery. He had the 
happy facult.v of living i)eaccably with all 
men. foi" while he held firm convictions he 
nevertheless disiilayed deference for the 
(ipinions of others and believed in according 
to his fellowmen the right which he reserved 
for himself — of fornung his own ideas on 
i|iiestions affecting the general welfare. For 
.■•evcral years he served as assessor. At an 
early da.v he was j)roininent in the Presby- 
terian clnu'ch. Later, because of dissension 
which arose in the menJjership, he was in- 
sti'innental in establishing the Congrega- 
tional ehureh. but subseijuentl.v used his in- 
fluence to reunite the churches. He was also 
a prime mover in the organization of the 
State Agricultural Socief.v and his activities 
to\ichi'd many lint's of advancement, while 
his efforts proved fai'-reaching and beneficial. 
He died in 1877, at the age of sixty-eight 
\ears, honored and respected by all who knew 
hbn. His wife was a daughter of Judge 
Clemens, the founder of the city of IMount 
Clenu'ns, and her death occurred in 1871). 
when she was seventy-five years of age. In 
theii- family were six children, five of whom 
reached mafui-e years, while Charles died in 
infancy. The others are: James A.; Wil- 
liMui J., who died in 1904 at the age of sev- 
enty .vears : Frank H.. a I'csidenf of Detroit, 
Michigan: Augustus, who died in 1S49 at the 
auc- of forty-nine years: and Arthur L.. who 
died in 19(1(1 at the age of fifty-six years. 

James A. Canfield received but limited 
school |irivileges. He woi'ked upon the home 
farm through the jieriod of his .vouth, or 
until nineteen yeai's of age, when he began 
I'armiii'.:' on his own aeeount, pui'chasing a 
trait of laud ad.joining .Mount Clemens on 
tile niirtii. There he lived for thirty-thret> 
years, when he sold part of that property and 
removed to Xo. 1J9 South (iratiot street, 
where he is now living retired. Upon a part 
of his original f;inn stands the St. Jose]>h 
sanitarium .■■nd bathhouse at .\'o. 215 North 
ax'enne. Other portions of the i)roperty were 
divided into city lots while the i-emainder 
is still in ])ossession of Mr. Canfield. The I'ise 
in land values enabled him to sell to splen- 
did advantage and thereby seeuri' an income 
sut'ticieul to su])|)ly him with all (d' the neces- 
sities and man\- of the comforts and luxuries 
of life. 

Mr. Canfield was mari-ied September 15. 
1S,")7. to .Miss Iv.iiily K. Roliinson. a daugh- 




MR. AND MRS. J. A. CANFIELD 



PAST AND PREi^EXT OF :\[ACOMB COUNTY 



2ig 



tcr of William S. ami Hinily E. (Pillsbiiry) 
J\ol)iiis»iii. till' I'oiiuri- ;i native of New Jersey 
and tlie latter of .Alassaehiisetts. They spent 
tlieif early married life in New ^'oi'k eity and 
in is;^(i .Mr. Ixohinsdii eame to .Mount Clem- 
ens. wlK'rr he was joined liy his wife a year 
later. He was a iriaehinist and largely en- 
gaged in making guns for the Indians. He 
died in 1872, at the age of sixty years, while 
his wife passed away January 2, 1858, at the 
age of forty-three years. .Mr. and ]Mrs. Can- 
field had two children, lull have lost both: 
Willis K., who died at the age of eighteen 
years: and Isabella B., who died at the age 
of nineteen years. ]\Irs. (_'anfield is a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian ehureh. He is a man 
of modest, unassuming niannei-. and is known 
as a kind and generous neighbor and good 
citizen. 



GEORGE R. .xniS. 



Through a half eeiitury Geori;e R. Nims 
was aetivel.v eiiuaged in farminu'. Init is now 
living retii'ed in Romeo, enjoying a rest that 
is certainly richly merited. He has lived in 
JMacomb county since the fall of 1855. arriv- 
ing here when ii young man of nineteen 
years. He was born in Chittenden county. 
Vermont, July 26, 1836, and is descended 
from English ancestry, the first representa- 
tives of the name in America living in Deer- 
field, ^Massachusetts, when this country was 
still numbei'ed among the coloiii;il ])ossessions 
of (ireat l^ritaiii. Jonathan .Xims. the gr<ind- 
father was born in Massachusetts and Dr. 
Reuben Xims, the father, was also a native of 
that state. Born in 17!)4. There hi' spent the 
days of his boyhood and youth and. deciding 
uj)on the pi'actice of medicine as a life work, 
he stiiilieil in that state and jjrepared for 
his choseti calling. He was married in Mas- 
sachusetts to Sophia Whitor. also lioi'n in that 
state, and they afterwai-d icmoved to Ver- 
mont, where Dr. Xims engaged in the prac- 
tice of medicine initil 1855. In the fall of 
that year he came with his family to ]\Iich- 
igan, settling in Washington township. .Ma- 
comb county, where he purchased a farm 
just south and east of Romeo. lie then gave 
ii]i medical practice in order to devote his 
uiiilivided attention to agricultural pursuits, 
and he continued his farm interests here with 
success until his life's laboi-s were ended in 
death in the winter of 18(111. His wife sur- 
vived him and jiassed away in 1890. They 
were the j)arents of seven sons and two 



daughters, all of whom reached mature years 
with the <'Xception of the eldest son. (ieorge 
\V.. who died at the age of nine yi'jirs. Hon. 
William R. Xims located at jjexington. .Mich- 
igan, where he became i)rominent in business 
life and ])iiblic al'fairs. He exerted a wide 
intiiu'iice there and was elected and served as 
a member of the .state senate, Hannibal 11. 
Xims also wi'ut to Lexington in early man- 
hood and tliei'e he enlisted, .joining ('ompanx' 
K of the Tenth .Michigan Infantry, of which 
he was elected captiiin, soon afterward I'c- 
ceiving his commission. He was killed in 
service at Jonesboro, (ieorgia. George R. is 
iie.xt in the family. Charles S., who was en- 
gagetl in the newspaper bnsiiiess at Harbor 
Beach, Michigan, was elected and served as 
supervisor, but aftei-wai'd removed to Cedar 
Falls, Iowa, where he resid("d niitil his death. 
March 23, l!t()5. His remains were then 
brought hack to Ilai'bm' Beach for interment. 
Jerome W. Xims j)iirchased the interest of the 
other heirs, and thus suciceeded to the old home 
property. He was an influential and valued 
citizen of his eomnumity and served for twen- 
ty-.seven consecutive years as supervisor, act- 
ing as president of the honorary count.v board 
for a number of years. He was also state 
senator. He died "February 24. 1902. Ed- 
ward L. Xims is a business man of Lexington, 
^Michigan, Sophia is the wife of Henry 
Knajip, a lumber manufacturer of Lexington. 
.Michigan. Frances is the wife of B. E. B. 
Kennedy, a lawyer of Omaha. Xebi'aska. 

George R. Nims spent the fir.st nineteen 
years of his life in his native state and i-e- 
ceived good educational jirivileges there. He 
afterward attended the Dickinson Institute at 
Romeo and he remained iij)on the home farm 
with his father until the latter 's death, when 
he and his brother Jerome pui'chased the in- 
terest of the other heirs in the home jirop- 
erty. They cari'ied mi the farm together for 
a number of years and were also engageil in 
the dair.v business, meeting with excellent suc- 
cess as cheese« manufacturers, their output 
reaching eight thousand jiounds amiually. M 
a later date, however, Mr. Nims of this re- 
view sold his interest to his brother and 
bought a fai'iu in the town of Ray, comprising 
eighty acres upon which some improvements 
had been made. He continued the work of 
cultivation and develojiment there until 1901, 
when he i-cnted his farm and took up his 
abode in Romeo, ])urcliasiug a residence here 
that he has since occui)ied. 

^Ir. Xims was mai'ried in Farminglon, Mii-h- 
igan, .Xovemlier 18, 1885, to Mi.ss Sai'ah Hope 



220 



PAST AND PRKSEXT OF .AFACOMB ("OUXTY 



(ireeii, whose liirtli oi-ciiiTt'd in Clinton coun- 
ty, iliclii-ian. n dn\\<xhU'v of Forest .S. (ireen. 
Hei" fatlier whs ;i native of New York, and 
when nine years of age was hrons'ht to this 
state, where he was reared. In Clinton coun- 
ty he wedded Mary Ann Aferrihew. who was 
also born in New York. .Mr. Green's fatlicr 
followed farnnnt;' in Clinton county until 
ISfil. when lie joined the Third Michigan Cav- 
alry, of which he became lirst orderly and bu- 
ylei-. but he tlied in St. i^onis in the same 
yeai- liciorc the comniand had been ordered 
to the south. .Mrs. Xiius was one of cit;lit 
children who reached manhood and woman- 
hood, tile tirst bcin^- ^leri'ihcw. wlio was a 
soldier of Company I, Twent.v-seventli ^lieh- 
igan Infantry, and died in service in 1865; 
Naomi, who I'esides with her si.ster, Mrs. Nims: 
James M., of Farmington ; Horace, of Xortli- 
ville, ilicliigan; ;\Irs. .Mary A. Bowen, of Car- 
roll. Iowa; Mi's. Jleiu'ietta A. Cuei', of Rome: 
ilrs. Betsy C. Osborn, of Maple Rapids. 
Michigan; Luther, who died at the age of 
three years. 

Mr. Xinis votes with the I'cpublicau party, 
having advocated its principles since casting 
his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lin- 
coln in lS(i(). He has never sought or de- 
sired office, but has always given his time and 
attention to his fanning interests until his 
retirement from l)nsiness. For fifty years he 
was engaged in general agricultural pursuits 
in this county and well deserves to l)e classed 
with the repi-cs<Mitativc farmers, so dii-ecting 
his laboi's that they brought him a good finan- 
cial I'cturn. .Mr. Xims has worked pei'sistently 
and eai'Ucstly, realizing that labor is the source 
of all success. His business atfairs have al- 
wa.vs been honorably conducted and now lie is 
enjoying the fruits of his former toil, occu- 
pying a pleasant home in Romeo, where he is 
surrounded with the comforts that go to make 
lifi' worth liviiiiT. 



WHJJ.\:\r S. DdXALDSON. 

\Villiam S. I )iMialdsoii. one of the heading 
i'e|ireseiitati vcs of industrial iutei-ests in 
Mount ( lemeiis, was born in the north of 
Ireland. October 10. 1841. and is a son of 
James and Lsabella (True) Donaldson, who 
were also natives of the Emerald isle. Fol- 
lowing their iiiari'lage they came to the 
I'nited States. iiiakiiiL:' their way at once to 
.Mount ('leineiis, .Macomb connty. where the 
father purchased land near Cady's Corner. 
His attention, however, was given to black- 



smithing, which trade he learned in early 
life. He died at the i-omi)arati\'ely early age 
of thirty-eight years and his wife, long sur- 
viving him. passed away at the age of sev- 
enty-two years. 

AVilliam S. Doiuildsiui iiursued his educa- 
tion in what was tlu'ii the district schools 
of .Mount Clemens and he l)egan earning his 
own living l)\- working at odtl jobs after his 
father's death. He learned the blacksmith- 
ing ti-aiie in eai'ly life and in 18ti2 he estab- 
lished a blacksmith shop on F'ront sti'cct. 
on the lot adjoining his ])resent manufactur- 
ing estalilishmeiit. and thus laid the founda- 
tion for a business of large dimensions. His 
brother, .\ndrew T. Donaldson, was admitted 
to a partnerhi]! about 1865, and they have 
since continued together. Theii- first shop 
v.as a small wooden building and they did 
hoi'seshoeing. refjairiiig and carriage build- 
ing. Theii' trade constantly increased from 
the beginning, for their skill was manifest 
and their business methods wei'e fouiul to 
lie reliable. As their financial resources in- 
creased, and as their trade coustantl.v grew 
they f<irmed plans for extending the scope 
of their business and soon erected a large 
blacksmith shoj). They then began the man- 
ufacture of wagons, buggies and sleighs, and 
their business developed so i-ijiidly that in 
1871 they erected a foundi'v in whi(di they 
could make their own castings. When this 
was placed in operation they began the man- 
ufacture of agricultural implements and 
they also (piiiddy ntilized the opportunities 
for manufactui-e along other lines. A new 
foumlry was erected in 1875 and in 18.8:5 an 
e.xtensive addition was made to the ])lant by 
the erection of a three-story building, front- 
ing on Front and East streets. In 1890 a 
new wood-working and maehiuery shop was 
added and since that year the firm has lieen 
constantly adding storerooms and enlarging 
its different deiiartmeiits. .Vlthoiigh addi- 
tional ground was ])urcliased. adjoining the 
little lot on which their first blacksmith shop 
was erected, they had not space enough on 
this triangle for their Lirowiiig business and 
tlie.\- have s<'('uriMl in'operty elsewhere for 
storage pui'poses. The com|)any now manu- 
factures twenty-seven dift'erent |iatteriis of 
jilows. twelve ditil'ei-ent kinds of ciiltivatoi-s. 
five harrows, also corn-iiianters, sugar beet 
weeders and i-oad scrapers. In fact, they 
manufacture various kinds of agricultural ini- 
lilemeuts in addition to wagons, buggies, 
sleighs, drays and bob-sleds. The firm annu- 
ally uses many thousands of feet of lumber 




WII.LIA.M S, noXALDSoX. 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF .AFACOMP. COrXTV 



223 



and iiiofc than twenty-live hundreil tons of 
l)i,L;-ii-on. Hniploynient is t'ui'nislied to one 
Inindretl and twenty-five men tlironi;liotit the 
yeai'. As theii' produets aiv many llie plant 
is always in operation and the output is seat 
not only to all parts of America, Init to for- 
eign eonntries as well. The plant is to-day 
equipped with the latest imj)roved niaeliinery 
and the works of the firm of Donaldson 
Hrotliers eonstitute the leading' prodnetive in- 
dustry of Mount Clemens. 

William S,. Donaldson has been the pro- 
moter or a eo-operant factor in many other 
business enterprises of the city. He is the 
president and a stockholder of the ]\Iount 
Clemens p]lectric Liyht Company, of which 
he assisted in organizing'. lie is likewise a 
stockholder and director in the Citizens Sav- 
ings Bank, with which he has thus been iden- 
tified from its organization. In connection 
with (i(M)rge W. Robertson and Robert 
Shook he built the first water works of 
Jlount Clemens and he is also a trustee and 
the treasurer of the Clinton Grove Cenietei'y 
Association. 

;\Ir. Donaldson has been twice married. In 
1865 he wedded Sarah Leonard, a daughter 
of Sylvanus Leonard, of Mount Clemens, 
who died four years later, leaving a son — 
Arthur L. In 1876 he wedded Eliza Har- 
rington, a daughter of Henry Harrington, 
of ]\Iount Clemens, who was one of the eaily 
settlers of the village of Frederick. The 
children of the second marriage are: James 
S., who is pursuing a course in the ^Michigan 
L^niversity ; Kalph; Phillip: Lloyd: aii<l 
Irene. 

Mr. Donaldson is a member of ^lonnt 
Clemens lodge. No. 6, A. F. & A. M.. also of 
Damascus conimandery. No. •42, K. T., of De- 
troit, and is a member of the Jlystic Shrine. 
lie is to-day one of the oldest representatives 
ol' the liliie lodge of Jlount Clemens, and 
has always been in harmony with the teach- 
ings and tenets of the craft. He has served 
as councilman of Blount ('lemens, filling that 
jiosition at the lime the town was changed 
into a eify. lie is a trustee and chairman 
of llii' liiiiird of the First Presbyterian 
church in .Mount Clemens, and is inlei'csted 
in every jirogressive measure that tends to 
advance the nuiterial, intellectual, social and 
moral jii-ogi'css of his connnunity. Possessing 
a ele;ii' head, always busy, always careful 
and conservative in financial measures, mov- 
ing slowly but surely in every ti-ansaction, 
he has had few superioi's in the steady prog- 
ress which invari;d)ly reaches its ob.jei'tive 



point. The story of his achievenjent. in the 
face of difficulties, must inspire all young 
men who read it with a truer estimation of 
the value anil sure i-ewards of character. 



HOMER T. RECTOR. 



llomei- T. Rectoi-, who has woi-ked his way 
upward fi'oiii an humble hegiiuiing until now, 
possessed of a comfoi'table competence as the 
result of years of eai-nest toil, lie is living a 
retii'cd life in .Mount Clemens, was born in 
the town of N'olney, <Jswego county, New 
^'ork, Sejitember 1, 1880. his parents being 
•lolin and Sally (Howard) Rector, the for- 
mer a native of New York and the latter of 
New Hampshire. The Rectors are of (ierimin 
lineage, the name being originall.v spelled 
Rechter, but it was changed to the anglicized 
foi'ui about one hundred years ago, the ances- 
tors of our siil).jeet having settled in New 
Amsterdam, now New York city, at a very 
eai-ly day. The Howard family traces its an- 
ce-^try back to Nathaniel Ilowai-d. Mrs. Rec- 
tor's fathei' was thrown fi'om a horse and 
killed on the night that she was born, and 
hei- mother aftei'ward married Benjamin 
Beels. John Rector had fi\'e children, of 
whom three are living. 

Homer T. Rector came to iMichigan in 1839, 
settling at Algouac. and when a youn.g man 
he attended school, for he had no chance to 
acijuire an education in his younger years. 
He arrived in this state seven years after his 
father, who bought a forty-acre tract of land, 
extending from the road to the river. Later, 
however, the father returned to New York, 
where his death occurred. Homer T. Rector 
purchased a farm at Port Huron, Iml after- 
ward learned the boat business and was en- 
gaged as a cook on a vessel for ten years, and 
was captain of the vessel Uphena in 1852. 
Following his marriage he took nj) his abode 
on a farm in Clyde township, St. Clair eoun- 
t.\', Michigan, where he ivmained for fiftecTi 
.\'ears, when he sold onl ami pni'chased a 
faiMu of seventy acres from .losepli Cole at 
Cady's Corners, ]\Iacomb coiuity, Mr. Cole 
havinu' purchased this land from the gov- 
erinnent. .Mr. Rector di'voted his time and 
energies to agricultui-al pui'suits IVom 1865 
until lltOL develo])ing an excellent farm 
wiiu^c pi'iiducl ive lichls yielded him a good 
financial I'cturn. lie then sohl the propert.y, 
and in 11)02 he came to Mount Clemens, where 
he is spending his decliinng y(>ars in (juiet 
and retirement from furlln-r labor, the sue- 



224 



'AST AM) I'lv'KSlvVr OK .MACO.Ml! COINTY 



cess of his earlier days eiiabliiii; liiiii imw 1o 
enjoy a well eariiecl rest. 

When he hoiiirht the farm it was all wild. 
This he cleai'i'd and built the house and barns 
and made irood farm pioperty. He was also 
engaged in the lilc business for three j'ears 
after eomiiiy hei'e. 

On the 1st of January, 1850, :Mr. Rector 
was married to ]\riss Eliza, daughter of James 
and .Mary Ann (Stanton) Thompson of De- 
troit, in which city the i)ai-ents spent their 
last days. They had four daughters and a 
son, and thi-ee daughters are living. ]\Ir. and 
Mrs. Kector have lieeome the parents of four 
children: •bibii II.. who is living in llickey, 
Michigan; Ella, tlu' wife of Thomas Berry, of 
Mount Clemens: Lola, who died at the age of 
nine years: and (ieorge, who died in infancy. 

yiv. Kector is a democrat in ])olitics, but 
has never sought or desired oftiee. although 
he has served as school director and road 
commissioner. His years for a long pei'iod 
were filled with unremitting toil and it is 
through his own efforts that he has worked 
his way upward. He began life in an humble 
capacity, but he made the most of his 
o])|)i)i't unities and has so utilized his advan- 
tau:i's that he is now a pi'osperous citizen of 
^biunt Clemens. 



FKANK J. IIIKT. 



Frank J. Ilirt, whose business career has 
been marked l\v con.secutive advancement 
along progi'cssive lines until he is now cashier 
of tlu' Viacom!) County Savings Bank and 
a leading representative of financial interests 
at Kichmond, was born in Caseo, St. Clair 
county, ^Michigan, Decendjer 8, 1870. His 
father, John A. flirt, a native of (iermany. 
crossed the Atlantic to America in 1S4S, uml 
after si)ending flaw or four years in Detroit, 
removed to St. Clair county, being one of the 
original locators of the township of Casco. lie 
cast in his lot with its pioneer settlers and 
his efforts proved beneficial in reclaiming it 
for the jiui'poses of civilization. There he 
cai'ried on farming until 1871, and while liv- 
ing in that county he served as supervisor, 
as treasurer and conniii.ssioner of Casco town- 
ship. He is a shoeworker by trade and has 
to a greater or less extent followed that busi- 
ness throughout his entire life in connection 
with other interests. He married Elizabeth 
Schwartz, a native of (Iermany, and they be- 
came the |)ai'en1s of nine children, but seven 
of the numi)ei' died in infancv. 



l-'rank J. lliil. the Nnunge.st of the family, 
is indebted to the public schools of ilichigan 
foi- the educational privileges that equipped 
him for life's practical and resi)onsible du- 
ties. In his youth he learned the ])rinter"s 
trade, which he followed for a number of 
years, and in IS!).") he ])urchased the Richmond 
Review, which lie conducted until 1899, when 
he sold that papei- and accei)ted a position 
in the .Maciimb County Savings Bank at 
Leno.x. After three months h<- was nuide 
cashier and has since acted in that capacity. 
Dui'ing the six years in which he has thus 
served, the business of the bank has been 
steadily growing and now has assets amount- 
ing to three hundred thousand dollars. The 
report of the bank shows a very satisfactory 
growth in the business and there is a paid-in 
capital stock of twenty-five thousaiul dollars, 
a sui'|)lus fund of five thousand dollars and 
undivided jirofits of more than ten thousand 
dollars. The bank has many di-positoi's and 
a general banking business is carried on, while 
connnercial and real estate loans are also made. 
The success of the institution is due in no 
snuill degree to the efforts of Mr. Hirt, who 
is a ])leasant and jxipular official, and while 
neglecting no duty to the bank is at the same 
time considerate and accoiiiiiHulalinu' to its 
patrons. 

On the 6th of l)ecend)ei-. 1899. occurred the 
niarriay-e of Mr. Hirt to .Miss Bessie Sinnnons, 
(if Kichmon<l. a daughter of Andre Sinnnons, 
one of the successful i-esident ; ni' Richmond. 
They have one son, Paul Staidey. In com- 
munity afi'airs Mi-. Hirt is active anil intluen- 

tial and is now serving for the s nd term 

as village treasurer, tn which pdsition he was 
elected in 1905. He is a .Masnn. an Odd Fel- 
h)w and a Forester, and in his life exem- 
plifies the spii-it of these (>ri;anizal ions, whicli 
are based ui)on mutual helpfulness and broth- 
erly kindness, lie is I'ccognized as a >oung 
man of much |)ronuse, ])o-;se-ising laudable 
amiiitiiin and a firm determination which will 
brook no nbstacles that may be overcome by 
persistent and h(innrablc elVnrt. 



FREDKK'ICK C. K K\ I )lil( 'l\. 

This gentleman is entitled to distinction as 
one of the most jirogressive and enterprising 
business men of Jlount Clemens. T'pon the 
connnercial activity of a community depends 
its pi'()s])ei'ity and the iih'Ii \\h(i are now rec- 
(it:niz<'d as leading citizens are those who are 
at the head of extensive i)usincss enterprises. 



PAST A\T> IMtKSKXT OV MACO.MI; ('Ol'XTV 



225 



.Ml'. Kciuli'ick is a man of l)road capatjilitii's. 
who t-arrii's forward to siu'pi^s.sful completion 
whatever he uiitlertakes. 

A native of liermaiiy. he was l)orn in 
Sclihitlieim. SehwarzhurL;-. (Hi the 14tli of .Ma.\ . 
IS'Mi. and eame to this eountry witli liis par- 
ents in 1S44, the family loeatini;- in Helvidere, 
Jlaeoml) eounty, .Miehiiian. Latei- they re- 
moved to Monnt Clemens anil from there to 
Marine City. St. Clair eounty, this state. In 
the meantime onr sTibject attended seiiool 
some, but he acquired his siood ])i'aetii'al cilii- 
cation ehieHy in the hard school of e.\i)erienee. 
From .Marine Cit.v lie eame to Ei'in township, 
this count.v, and here carried on business as 
a stock dealer for some years. Karly in life 
he became interested in politics and was 
called n|ion to till .sevei'al offices of trust in 
his townshii). In 1868 he was elected to the 
.state lei;islature and was nuule sheritt' of Ma- 
comb county in 1870. sei'vin<r in that ea])aeity 
for two terms to the entire satisfaction of 
his constituents. ' He was ajjpointed postmas- 
ter of Mount Cleiuens in April, 1885, being; 
the tirst appointee of President Cleveland in 
the postal dejiartment in Jliehigan, ami cdn- 
tinued to serve the public in that capacity 
for four years, lie has also served in the 
city council, and has always disjihiycd an 
active and wholesome interest in municipal af- 
fairs. Mr. Kendrick has always 1 11 a con- 
sistent sup])ortei' of the d(>m<icratii' party. 

llaviui;' removed to Mount Clemens at the 
time of his election as sheriff, 'Slv. Kendrick 
has been ever since identified with the busi- 
ness ])roi;ress of the cit.v. Soon aftei- the ex- 
piration of his term of office as sheriff, he 
engrafred in the hai'dware business in the city, 
and somewhat later in the iinuinfacture of 
sash, doors and blinds, for many years oper- 
ating,' a mill on Ihibbard avenue near tbe 
(irand Trunk crossing. In 187") he began 
takiu'j bnildinjr contracts, which business was 
cari-ied on very successfully for sevei-al years, 
lie has also been (juite extensively engaged in 
the 111,-iuufactnre of lumber, owning a sawmill 
ill 'rayiiKiiitli. Saginaw comity. .M'tei- the 
burning of the Original Bathhouse in 188'J it 
was largely due to ^Ii'. Keiid rick's personal 
woi'k ami infiueuce that its proprietoi's were 
pei'suaded to rebuild, and he is entitled to 
the credit for thus avoiding a vei-y serious 
setback to the progress of the city, which 
would have followed the abandonment of that 
bathiuL' establishment. From that time until 
the sale of the Xiii'tll & .lollllsoii interests to 
the Original Hathing and Ibitel Company, a 
cor])oration in which Mr. Kendrick was xitv 



largely interested, .Mr. Keudi-ick was practi- 
eall\' the iiianaecr nj' th<' intere-its of North 
(.^ -lohnsdii in iln- {)riL;inMl Springs and hotel 
pripjierty coiiiiected therewith. Il<' was <ine of 
the organizers and is the ])i'esent general man- 
ager of tile .Mount Clemens Hitter Water 
('Diiiliany and was for many years the vice- 
president III' the .Mdiirit Clemens Savings 
l'>ank. Hesides these enterprises he has also 
been interested in real estate, and is regarded 
as <ine of the must energetic. ])rogi'essive, re- 
liable business men of tl ity. .Mthoiigh ^Ir. 

Kendrick has lor the past few years been 
graduall.v resti-icting his (Migagemeiit in new 
enterprises, he is still largely interested in the 
Brick & Tile Company, a stockholdei' in three 
state banks and is i)i'esident of the J. M. Bour 
Com])any of Toledo, (^hio. 

On the r)th day of .May, 18(12, :\Ii-. Kendrick 
was uJiited in mai'riage to .Miss Henrietta 
Else.v, a daughter of Henry Elsey, who was 
from Leipsic, (lermany. and to them were 
lioni ten childi-en, of whom one s(jn and seven 
daughters are living, namely: Caroline, wife 
of John l\l. Bour, of Toledo, Ohio : TIattie, 
wife of Williard (!. Beattie, also of Toledo: 
Hmma, wife of l<'ied (iiieiither. <d' Detroit. 
.Michigan: Julia, w i IV of Calvin Davis, of 
.Mount Clemens; Ki'ank J., of .Macoiiib town- 
ship, this county; and Bertha, h^lsie May and 
Margaret, still living at home. The family 
are membei's of the (li'i'ijinii l'l\angelical 
liUthi'ran elinreli and are pniiiiinent socitdly. 
.Mr. Kt'iitlrick has always taken an active and 
|)rominent [lart in the social, iiolitical and in- 
dustrial affairs of the county and is a i-(>cog- 
nized leader in the connnunitv. 



JOHN C, ]MILLER. 

One of the i-epresentatixc antl prominent 
farmers of Chesterfield township is John C. 
.Miller, whose home is on section IS. He is a 
native of this county, his birth lia\iiig oc- 
<'ni'red in .Macomb township .Vpril 4. 18(i.'). 
and is a son of the lati' John I), and Fred- 
ei'ika (Fredei'ick) .Miller, who ai'c represented 
on another page of this volume. He was iirin- 
eipiilly educated in pi'ivate (ierman schools. 
thoiiLih for two wint(M's he was a student in 
the (listi'ict schools of the county. 

.Mr. .Miller eai-|y bi'came familiar with agri- 
cultural pnisnits and for four years after 
reaching manhood continued to work iijion his 
father's farm. He then acce])ted a position 
in the Plank Koad sawmill, wliei-e he remained 
one year, anil was next employed on the farm 



226 



PAST AND I'KESEXT UF .MAt'U.MB COL'XTY 



of AVilliaiii Yates, near KDcliester. for nine 
months, after which he resumed work in the 
sawmill (liirinL,"- the winter. Tlu' following- 
spring he went to Mount Clemens and worked 
in Donaldson Brothers" factory for one year. 
At the end of that time he purchased his 
present farm in Chesterfield township from 
his father and has since devoted liis attention 
principally to aijrieultural i)ursuits. lie has 
made many i:nprovements upon the place, 
tiliuii- ahout si.xty acres of it, and in 1900 
he remodeled his residence and three years 
later liuilt a tine larjre barn. lie has also 
addetl to ilir oi-isinal homestead a tract of 
thirty acres of the Max Fni'ton farm, also 
nine acres ad.joininy his farm which belonu'ed 
to the Baptist church, and sixty-two and a 
half acres on Cotton road in claim 144. ownetl 
by T. ('. Ci'ittenden. Although engaged in 
general farming, he has made a specialty of 
the raising of cows for tlairy purposes and 
was one of the organizers of the Chesterfield 
Creamei-y. being elected a director of the 
same in 1S!I;^. The following year he was 
made jircsidcnt. which position he held for 
two yeai-s at that time, and after a lapse of 
two yeai's was again elected to that office, 
which he now holds. For nine years he was 
also a director of the old (ierman IMutiud 
Fire Insurance Companies of ^lacomb and 
"Wayne counties. In business affairs he is 
[)nimpt. riici'getic and notalily i-eliable, and 
has met with excellent success in his undei'- 
takines. 

On the loth of March. 1888, Mr. :\liller 
was united in marriage to ^liss Albertine 
Corbo. a daughter of Isaac and Louisa (Otto) 
Corbo. of (iiuton townshij), tliis county. Her 
father was l)orn in (iei'many. in 181H. and oti 
coming to .Michigan in IS.")! located in Clinton 
townshi]). where he was emj)loyed on dilTerent 
farms, living on l)i-. Knight's place for ten 
years. He subse(|ueiitly bought thirty-five 
acres of the Siiook and Palms farms, where 
he lived the (|uiet and industrious life of the 
agriculturist until called to his liual i-est duly 
'■]{). ISit."). His widow jiow makes her home 
with her daughtei-. .Mi-s. John C. .Miller. Two 
of their daughters married two Miller broth- 
ers. Mr. Coi-bo helpeil liuilii the first (ler- 
mau cinireli in .Mount ('leinens. I'nto oni' 
sub.ject and his wife have been lioru six chil- 
dren, namely: Arthui-. John, Walter, Harry. 
• Hoy and Kdna. all at liiDne. 

.Mr. -Miller was the hist drainage conniiis- 
siouer of his township, as at the exi)iration 
of his four years in ol'liee thai work was turned 
fiver to a i'ount\' drainaLii' eoinmis^ion. lb- 



also served as asses.sor of school district 
No. 4 for six years and has taken quite 
an active and influential i)art in public 
affairs. Fi'atei-naliy, he is a mendier of Mount 
Clemens lodge .\o. '.). W. O. W., the Arbeiter 
Fraternal Society of Blount Clemens, the 
Chesterfield Grange, and the Chesterfield and 
Kay Townships Farmers" Clul). His wife 
also belongs to the last name(l oi'ganization, 
and the Chesterfield Orange, the Ladies' Aid 
Society, (irove No. 10, Sui)reme Forest of 
Woodmen circle of ^Mineral City. They stand 
high socially and are people of prominence 
in the eomnmnitv where thev reside. 



AUGUST W. MILLEK. 

The fai'ming interests of ]Macomb county 
are well represented by the .Miller family, 
who have taken a very active and prominent 
part in the development of this section of the 
state. August AV. ^lillei-, whose home is on 
section 19, Chesterfield township, was boi'u 
on the 11th of INlay, 18()7, in ^lacomb town- 
shi]), his parents being John I), and Frederika 
(Frederick) ]\liller. who are rejji-e.sented else- 
where in this volume. In boyhood he at- 
tended private (ierman schools and after 
obtaining a good, pi'actical education he 
turned his attention to farming. 

On leaving the parental roof in ISSS 'Slv. 
.Miller ])ui-ehasetl his present farm fi'om his 
father, which at that time was but slightly 
improved, and to its fui'ther development and 
cultivation he has devoted his energies ever 
since, having tiled about sixty acre.s. In 
1SS9 he built a good residence and barn upon 
the ]ilace and on the latter is a lai'ge four- 
horscjiowei- windmill, with which he grinds 
all the feed for his stock. He has an excc])- 
tionally fine hog pen. which M'as con.structed 
in 1904 and is entirely of cement excejit the 
roof. This ])cu is the first of its kind con- 
structed in this county and is a success. 
In atUlition to g(>neral fai'uuug he is also in- 
terested in the dairy nusiness and was one 
of the organizers of the Chesterfield Cream- 
ery, .-■■erving as one of its board of directoi's 
for th(> past six years. The railroad running 
.■ici'oss one coiMier of his farm cut otT two 
aci'es. which he sold to William Fairchild. 
and he then bought sixteen aci'es of (leoi'ge 
Fuller that ad.joitu'd his farm. 

.Mr. .Miller was married Xovember iMI. 1888. 
to .Miss Knnua Corbo. a dnniiliter of Isaac 
and Louise (Otto I Corbo. Iler one sister 
iii;iri-ied a brother of onr subject. T<i .\ugust 



^ 

g 



> 

c 




PAST AND PKKSKXT OF .MACO.MIi COrXTV 



22(^ 



^\'. Milli'i' niid wife luni- hceii hin-n four uliil- 
dri'ii. iiaiiu'ly ; Vci'Diiii. Lula. Fivd and Au- 
gust. Till' paivnts are both aetivc iiu'iiiliers 
of tilt' I'lit'stcrficUl (ii-aiii;v and the Cliester- 
fielil and Hay Townships Fanners' Cliih. 
wliilr Mr. Milli'i- is a member of the "Wood- 
men (if the World. .\'o. 9, of ^fouiit Clemens, 
and his wife beIoiii;s to (4rove Xo. li\ Su- 
preme Forest AVoodmen ("irile of .Mineral 
City and the Ladies" Aid Soeiet.v. They aii' 
widely and favoi'ably known and their eii-eie 
of friends seems only limited by their eirele 
of aci|uaintanees. 



OLINKI; CIIAPOTOX. 



Oliver Chapoton, a leading citizen of Ma- 
comb county for three-quarters of a eentur.w 
traces his descent to Jean Baptiste Chapoton 
of Cazolle, France, who went to Detroit. 
^Michigan, in 171S as surgeon in the FreiK-h 
army with the rank of iiia.jor. In 17'Jn he 
married Alary .Madeleine Estene and his 
death, in ITlin. was followed by that of his 
wife in ]7ti:5. 

Jean H. Chapoton. his son. was born in 
1721. was married in 1755 to Felicite Ceeyre. 
A fur trader and iiiteriireter he took part in 
the negotiations with Chief Pontiac during 
the Pontiac war. His son. Jean B. Chapoton, 
was boi'ii in 175S and died in 1836. He 
was mentioned by the British commandant 
as "being in aetive commnnication with the 
Americans at N'incennes." In 1780 he mar- 
ried Therese Pelli'tier. His son. Ilenrv Cha 
poton. was married in 1S17 to Aladeleine 
l)rouillard. who dieil in lS2(i. He took part 
in the war of 1812 as a iiiember of Captain 
Audrain's company of scouts and was in the 
skirmi.sh of Long Woods. 

Oliver Chapoton was born January 18, 
182(3. and remained in Detroit until 1830. 
He remembei's seeing in that year the execu- 
tion of Sinnnons, who was the last man 
hanged in .Michigan. In 1830 the family re- 
moved to Alount Clemens and he was appren- 
ticed, July 16. 1841. to his brother-in-law. C. 
(ienereux, who was a cor)pei-. with whom 
he remained for two yeai's. He afterward 
worked at his ti'ade in the village of Freder- 
ick until 1845, when he entered the general 
.store of •!. i.^ M. Stephens. I'emaining there for 
foui' years. He then became a partnei- in the 
liim II. W. Babcoek & Company and after two 
years .Moore Stejihens became associated with 
him in business undi'r the tiriii style of Steph 



ens (Si Chapoton. They conducted a general 
sloi-e until isiid. In that year, with Louis 
Charbonnean. Sr.. be built the scow Union 
which the.N' used in the cor<l wood trade for 
some years, .\fter selling the I'nion he built 
the Finances, also a scow, and later the steam 
barge Florence, which was used in this ti'ade 
for inany years. In the winter of 18711-80 
with Captain Cilbeit La Croix he built the 
tirst '"City ol' .Mount Clenieiis." which they 
ran in the lumber and co.d trade between 
Lake Huron and Lake Erie ports until she was 
.sold in 1883. The next winter they bnilt the 
second "City of .Mount Clemens." which they 
ran until Mr. Chapoton disposed of his inter- 
est to Captain La Croix. 

In 18G8 Air. Cliai)oton was elected county 
treasurer, holding the office until 1878, and 
afterward served as deput.v until 1890. Since 
then he has devoted his time to the interests 
of the Mount Clemens Savings Bank, having 
been its president since its organization. June 
1. 1877. in whose att'aii's and conduct he 
takes a most active interest. In 1860 he was 
elected reeordei' of the village of Alount Clem- 
ens, which position he held until 1862. He 
was treasure)- in lS(i4 and president from 
1865 until 18(i9. He was also a trustee on 
the school board fivuii 1867 until 1875 and 
acted as assessoi- fi-om 1870 until 1875. He 
was likewise a membi'r of the committee in 
charge of the ei'ection of St. Peter's Catholic 
church. 

In 1852 Air. Chapoton was married to Ali.ss 
A'ienna AN'eston. ;i daughtei' of Leonard and 
.\lmira AVeston. who died three .vears later. 
In Ala.v 1857, he inarrietl Katherine Kearne.v. 
whose parents. Daniel and Kathci'ine (Dono- 
van t Kearney, wei-e married at Bandon, Ire- 
land, in 1825, and on coming to this country 
settled at Black K'ock, in Xew A'ork. The 
family cami' to AlicliiL;an in lS4(i. locating in 
that part of Wari'en known as the Red Run 
countr.v. All's, ('hai)oton was one of the pio- 
neer teachers of Alacomb count.v, beginning 
hei' work in that i)rofession in 1851. Two of 
the children of this family ai'c living, both 
residing at home — Fh'.rence and Henry Oli- 
ver. The latter was graduated at the Uni- 
versit.\' of Alichigan in 1894 and has since 
been in the Alount Clemens Savings J-5aiik. 
Air. Chapoton has long figured as one of the 
iuHuential and leading citizens of Alacomb 
ciinnt.v. lie is a methodical man. exact, care- 
I'nl and painstaking, and bis business career 
has been cliai'acteiazcd by consecutive and 
comiiiend;d)le ])i'ogress. He can relate dates 
of t I'ansact ions that occurred manv vears 



230 



I'AST A.XD PKE8EXT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



ajio witli a woiiilerful degree of accuracy and 
his knowledge of the county and its liistory 
if given in detail would jirove a most inter- 
esting storv. 



IIOX. WILLIAM F. XANK. 

11(111. William F. Xaiik, who is now repre- 
senting his district in the state legislature 
and who figures prominently in the business 
circles of ]\Iount Clemens, being one of tiu" 
])roprietors of the leading livery barns at 
this i)lace, was born in Schoenhausen. (icr- 
niany. July 21, 18()7, his pai-ents being John 
and Augusta (Haeker) Xaiik. who were also 
natives of the same village, where their mar- 
riage was celebrated in 1H&). In November. 
1873, they came with their family to ^Michi- 
gan, locating at Fraser, Macomb county. 
The father, who was employed in a stave mill 
owned by Stetfens & Knori', was born IMarch 
6, 1825, and died in 1894, but his widow is 
still living. In their family were five chil- 
dren, namely: William F. : Minnie, the wife 
of August ililler, a resident of Detroit, 
Michigan ; Annie, the wife <if Albert Koth. 
who is engaged in a saw'inill and threshing 
business at I'tiea, Michigan : Henry F., who 
is proprietor of a dray line at Utica ; anc 
Chai'les, who is a coachman at Detroit. 

"William F. Nank received but limited cilii- 
cational privileges for his assistance was 
needed in the clearing and improving of a 
forty-acre tract of timber land on section 
34, Sterling township, lu^ar Fraser, which 
his father was converting into a farm. Later 
he assisted in the improvement of another 
tract on section 33, Sterling township, Ma- 
comb county, and upon that place he re- 
mained until the fall of 1899. when he sold 
this farm and lueateil mi section 9. in the 
same tow-nship. 

On the 21st of IMarch, 1880, William F. 
Xank left home and was variously employed 
until March. 1890. when he returned to the 
old homestead and the following year he 
Iiurchased the fiirm, continuing its cultiva- 
tion and further impi'ovement until 1894. It 
was in that year that he was elected sheriff 
of Macomb county and in order to perform 
the duties of his otticc he removed to Mount 
Clemens. He was re-elected for a second 
tcT'm on llie republican ticket with an in- 
creased ma.jorit.v and he made a most 
et'ficieiit officei'. I'ccciving the highest coni- 
mendati(ui of all law-abiding citizens, while 
lie aroused the Tear and dre;i(l of those who 



do not hold themselves amenable to law. 
At the conclusion of his second term he re- 
tired from the office as he had entered it — 
with the confidence and good will of all 
concerned — and then returned to his farm, 
but after two months he sold his property 
and again canu^ to ^Mount Clemens. Here he 
juirchased Robert Posner's interest in the 
Palace Livery, conducting the same in ])art- 
nership with Julius Pingel, the firm name 
being Xaidv tS: Pingel, and on the 20th of 
Ai)ril, 1893, they admitted Frank Heichrath 
to a partnershi]). Theirs is the largest and 
best livery in .Mount Clemens and they are 
C(uiducting a very successful business. He 
was also president of the Brick & Tile Com- 
])any of Mount Clemens for two years and he 
is the ownei- of a business block and other 
pi'operty here. 

.Mr. Xank in the office of shei-itV diil not 
complete his ot'fice holding, for he has been 
called to other ])o.«itions of trust and respon- 
sibility. He served as clerk of Sterling towu- 
shi]) m 1893-4 and in 1894 he was elected 
chairman of the rciiublican county central 
committee, serving in that capaeit.v foi' four 
years. He has been a memlier of the board 
of public works, having been appointed by 
ex-Mayor R. C. Ullrich. In 1904 he was 
elected to represent his district in the state 
legislature, proving a iiopular candidate, and 
receiving a sti-ong supjiort, being elected by 
a ma.jority of eight hundred and eighteen. 
Althouiih a new member of the house he has 
alread\' been jilaced on the ways and means 
committee, committee on revision of statutes 
and the laboi' connnittee, and has been in- 
strumental in introducing and securin.Er the 
passage of several imi)ortant lulls. He is 
lai'gel.v engaged in the work' of constructive 
legislation rather than attempting to sway 
the house by brilliant flights of oratoi'v and 
his efforts have been far-reaching and bene- 
ficial. In April. 1911."). he strongly ojiposed 
the bill introduced into the house, prohibit- 
ing flic s;ile of li(|iioi- ill any store or shoji 
where groceries or dry goods are sold, know- 
ing this would be detrimental to many small 
dealers in Macomb coiuit.\'. 

On the 3d of December. 1S91. Mr. Xank 
was united in inarriaui' to Miss .\niiie 
Oelimke. a daiii;liter of l''red and ;\Iarie 
Oehnike. of Warri'ii township. Their chil- 
dren are: Holaiid K., Hilda H. and Theodore 
A. The pai'cuts are meiiibers of the (ierman 
Lutheran church of Mount Clemens. Mr. 
X.iiik is a man of sti'ong ])hysiquc with good 
intellectual powers and is a natural leader of 




IIOX. Wll MAM F. XANK. 



AST AM) 1'I;KSK\T OK .MACO.MH COUNTY 



233 



iiii'ii. In liis juloptiHl ciiuiity lir has dniu' iiiiu-li 
to iiKild i)ul)lit' thiiiii;hl ami (ii)iiiion and his 
business and political cari'iT are likewise 
ereditalile. 



I'AY.XE K. LEKCIl. 



Payne K. Leech was one of ilie honored 
pioneer settlers of Maconih eoiinty. and hv. 
lived to the very venerable a^e of ninety-two 
years. He was born .January 31, 18(li), in 
Bloomfield, Ontario county. New York, a sou 
of Payne K. and Joanna (Clarke) l.eeeli. He 
came to ^lacomb county, Michigan, in 1829, 
being- at that time a youno- man of twenty 
years, and with hi-; brother he |inreliased a 
grist and sawmill, both of which wei'e in di- 
lapidated condition. They i)ut them in good 
running order, and iu the spring of lS'-i'2 
Payne K. Leech purchased his brother's in- 
terest and continued the (>])eration of the 
mills until 1836. He then purchased one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of partialis- im|)roved 
land, upon which he resided throughout hi-; 
remaining days, and at the time of his death 
he owned two hundred and foi-ty acre-; of 
rich and ara'ole lan<l which returned iiim 
excellent crops. 

Ml". Leech was luai-ried. .\pi-il 2."), lS3l2. 
to :\liss :\Ielinda Fuller, a daughter of Albert 
Fnllei-. who was one of the eai-ly settlers of 
IMaeomb county. Her birth occuri-ed April 31), 
1811, iu New York. ]\Ir. and :\Irs. Leech be- 
came the parents of ten children, of whom 
four are now living: Curdon C, born Feb- 
ruary 9, 18-15, was married, but lost his wife. 
He lives in Port Huron, where he is man- 
ager for a cold storage house for the Jlich- 
igan (Jrocers Company. Frances J., born 
December 4, 1847, \i the wife of F. D. Alex- 
ander, a merchant of Xenia, Ohio, and they 
have three sons. Albert F., born September 
19, 1851, attended the district schools and the 
Utiea. high school and worked on the home 
farm between the ages of seventeen and twen- 
ty-one years. He then attended a comnierci-d 
college in Detroit and was afterward em- 
ployed for two years in a drug store in Vir- 
ginia City, ^lontana. He later returned to 
Michigan and in 1889 began working for liir 
Detroit Tjinseefl Oil Company. He afterward 
Went to St. I'aul. ^linnesota, where he i-e- 
mained for twelve years and for seven years 
he was superintendent of a linseed oil mill, 
while the remainder of his time was given to 
grain buying and bookkeeping. Iti 1892 he 



i-fturiied to .Mai-iiiiih cdunly. whci-e for four 
years he acceptably and capai)ly serveil as jus- 
tice of the ]ieace. and in 1900 he was census 
enumerator. Ih' is now a registered phai-ma- 
cist. having in Ai)ril, 1893, successfully passed 
the examination that gave him his eertilicate. 
His political views are in accord with republi- 
can pi-incii)l('s where national questions are 
involvi'd and in addition to the oifices men- 
tioned he has served as village clerk for three 
terms, and notary i)u])lic. He is a member of 
rtica lodge No. 75, A. F. & A. ^L, having 
been made a i\Iason in St. Paul, ^linnesota, 
and for several years he served as woi-shipful 
master. He was married, January 19, 1876. 
to ;\Iiss Caroline V. Lewis, a daughter of 
Daniel and Esther ((lali)in) Lewis, the for- 
mer a native of New Yoru and the latter of 
^lichigan. The parents are now deceased, the 
mother having died in 1887 and her father 
about 1900. .Air. and Mrs. Albert F. Leech 
are the parents of four children : William 
Pa.vne, who was born October 11, 1878. and 
was educated in the public schools of St. Paul, 
Minnesota, and Utica, Michigan, has been em- 
ployed in a store for six years; Louisa, born 
February 21, 1881, is a graduate of the high 
sx'hool of Utica, taught school for three years, 
afterward pursued a course in a business col- 
lege in Detroit and for more than two years 
has been employed as a stenographei- in that 
city: ^label E., liorn in Farmington, ilinne- 
sota. May 3, 1889, is now attending the T^tica 
high school: Alar.jorie. born in Randolph, 
^linne.-iota. July 19, 189U, is also a high school 
student in Utiea. I\Iartha T. Tjeeeh. the 
youngest member of the family of ]\Ir. and 
Airs. Payne K. Leech, was boi-n November 3, 
1853, and is the wife of Chnrle-; 1\. Iliggins 
of New York city. 

In 1860 Payne K. Leech was called ujion 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who died ilay 
10th of that year, and he was again married 
December 29, 1869, his second union being 
with Sarah Uillette, who was born December 
9, 1829, in Lynne, Connecticut, and was a 
teacher in her native state and Michigan for 
several years. 

Mr. Leech was ver.\- closely idenliiietl with 
events that form the pioneer history of Ma- 
comb county^ Tie laid the first track for the 
Deti-oit & Utica Railroad at Utica about 1835. 
Ill early life he gave his support to the whig 
party. and on the organization of the rejiub- 
lican party became one of its advocates. He 
held the oflice of su])ervisor for four tt>rins. 
and was a member of the state legislatni-e in 
1845-6 when the capitol was at Detroit. Mr. 



234 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COl'XTY 



Leech owned the first top biig'ry in tliis ki- 
eality, bringing it from New York in 1850, 
and it is still in use. During his active life 
he was engaged in various mercantile pursuits, 
and he was also a noted breeder of live stock, 
making a specialty of Devonshire cattle and 
fine merino sheep, lie was always deeply in- 
terested in everything pertaining to the wel- 
fare of the agriculturist. He brought his first 
cattle here from Black Kock, New York, hav- 
ing purchased them of Lewis F. Allen and 
Walter Cook of Batavia. and B. F. Peek of 
East Bethany. New York. For many years 
he continued to raise and feed cattle, which 
he would drive to the Buffalo mafkrt. lie 
was also interested in fine horses and it was 
from his flock of Mei-ino shee|) that the com- 
mittee selected fleeces which were sent to 
Washington to prove to congress that Mich- 
igan could produce as fine w((ol as Australia, 
and this was the means of causing the low 
fai-iff l)ill on wool to be lost. ^Ir. Ijcech was 
a juenibei' of the conunittee who located the 
State Agi-icultui-al College at Lansing. Mich- 
igan, in L'^49. and his efforts along agricultu- 
ral lines proved not only of benefit to himself, 
but also pi'omoted the prospei'ify of the entire 
couununity. lie was a nuui of high iirinciples. 
honesty and fair dealing being munbered 
among his salient characteristics. He was also 
a true type of the pioiu^er. self-reliant, iionest. 
ju.st in all his dealings, liberal and liosiiitalile 
to an uiuisual degree. He died in JIarcli. 
1!)()1, when iiuu-e than ninety-two ye;iis of 
age. and is yet survived by his widow. His 
name is on the roll of IMacondi county's hon- 
ored dead and he is also numbered among 
those who laid broad and deep the founda- 
tion for the development and progress of the 
great .state of Michigan. 



H)ll.\ I). MILLER. 



.Idliii I). .Miller, deceased, was lor iiuiiiy 
yeai's an honored citi/.eu of Macomb county. 
lie was burn in Uossa, (ieniinny. in ISlili. and 
was ri'.-ii'ed HMil educated in his n:iti\c land, 
leai-ning the carpentei's trade dui'ing his 
youth. For four years he served in the I'rus- 
sian aiMiiy. during which time he was |)ro- 
moted to the i-iink of lirst cor|)oral, and no 
.sooner had he returned home on receiving his 
dischai'ge th.an he was drafted for sei-vice in 
the war betwein I'russia and Denmark, where 
he encountered many hardships and engaged 
in .some severe fighting. During that service 



he received two medals of honor f(U- bravei'v 
on the battlefield, one of which was while 
the two iirmies were drawn nj) on each side 
of a rivei-. when in oi-dei' to make a tlank 
movement on the enemy a division was de- 
taili'd to face the fire of the cMcmy and make 
[U'eparation as though to cross tln' river, thus 
diverting the enemy's atti'Ul ion from a si'cond 
division which had gone farthei- down the 
I'ivei' and built a pontoon bridge, thus Liclting 
aci'oss and attacking the eneuiy in tlu' rear. 

Contrary to the advice of his linitluT otfi- 
cers. Mr. .Miller retired from the army at the 
close of the war and c:iiiie to America, thus 
forfeiting pi-omotion in the afiuy and a life 
pension to w hich he was entitled if he had re- 
mained in his native land. It was in 1S.')4 that 
he became a resident of ]\lacond) county, ^lich- 
igan. and for about six months he lived in 
Mount ('lemens, while in search of a farm 
which he wished to buy. lie linally purchased 
forty acres of tindier land in Clinton fown- 
shiji. ail.joining his uncli''s place, and lived 
with that gentleman for thr<'e years while 
clearing his own laud. 

In \X'u Mr. Millei- mariied .Miss Fivderika 
Frederick, a daughter of C'ai'l Fi'cderick and 
a native of (iermany. After his marriage he 
located upon his own farm, but after residing 
there for eleven years he sold the i)lace to his 
uncle and lionght one hinulred acri's from 
Jci-oiiie Foote. in .Macomb township. \vher<' he 
made his home until called to his liiial ri'st on 
the 14th of Fi-ln-nary. ]>U:t. lie added to 
the orii;inal farm a tract of forty acres ad- 
joining it piirchasctl id' Christ Cading: latei' 
ln)iu;ht foi'ty acres of the Fi'ank ^Manford 
farm in Slu-lby townshi|), and then one hun- 
dred and fifty acres in Chesterfield township, 
seventy of which is now the honu'stead of 
his son John ('.. while eighty aci-es belongs to 
his son ,\ugnst W. The maiiinal homestead 
in Macomb township is now the home of his 
son Jewell and the forty aci'cs adjoining this 
|ilaee is owned by his son Carl. It will thus 
be sei'U that Mr. .Miller left his family in com- 
fortable circumstances. While helping Charles 
Darr of I'tiea to survey his land foi' staking 
out his line of fences, he had to jump from 
log to log on account of the water, and thought 
at that time he had made a very ]io<u- bargain, 
but as time ])assed he converted the fi'act into 
a very di'sirable farm. In coniu-ction with 
agriculttn-al pursuits, he followed his tradi' of 
carpentei'ing and assisted in building the 
(irand Trunk railroad bridge o\<m' the Clinton 
river, lie also hclp<'d to get out all the tind)er 
u.sed ill the const ructitin of this bridge at 



PAST AND I'HKSEXT OF MACO.MB CorXTV 



235 



J()hns(_)ii Wrlls' sMwiiiill. (Ill till' iKirtli hrniioli 
of tlie river, and helped to eoiistriiet tlie liiry;e 
pile driver used to drive the pilint;- on w liieli 
the hridfie rests. 

Ml'. ;\Iiller made ;i tii[) to ( iiiinany in the 
fall of 1S89 to visit his old home, spendini; 
three months with his bi'others and sisters. 
He was a supjiorter of the I'epuhliean part.v 
at national elections. Init was alwa.vs read.y 
to viite f(ir the liest man on the local ticket 
when HI) issue was involved. He took a very 
active and |)roiiiiiient ()art in ehiireh woi'k and 
assisteil in huildiiiir the first (lerinan church 
on the old Romeo phink road, which was built 
of hi'ick made at the (lladvs lii'ickyard. one 
of the first in the county, [n early days he 
attended church services in a log barn, with 
its log- seats, on the Schult/. farm, and later 
meetings were held in Mr. Kent's cooper shop, 
which is still standiiiL;' on the Kent farm in 
]\Iacomb township. I'pright and honorable in 
all the relations of life. ilr. ililler com- 
manded the respect and esteem of all with 
whom he came in contact, and to-day his sons 
are among the prospenuis and i'es]iected farm- 
ers of this countv. 



EDWARD PAYA. 



KdwMi'd Paya. who is now living retired in 
^Iiiiint Clemens, was horn in Detroit, ]Mich- 
igan. November 124. 1847. his parents being 
John and Jane (^loore) Paya. the former a 
native of (.Quebec. Ontario, and the latter of 
Harrison township. Macomb county. Michi- 
gan. The father settled at Detroit at an early 
day and in 1844 came to Blount Clemens. 
He was a shoemaker by trade and he fol- 
lowed that pursuit here. After his mai-riage 
he again spent a year in Detroit, and in 1S4S 
he returned to this city. He entered the em- 
I)loy of John and (ieorge Van Eps and at the 
same time made all the women's shoes sold 
ill Macdiiili ciiiiiity. Ten years prior to his 
demise he attain tcmk- up his abode in Detroit, 
where hi- (lied in ISDI, at the age of sixty- 
five yeai-s. His widow is still living at the 
age of seventy-eight years and makes her 
home in Mount Clemens. They were the i)ar- 
ents of the following children : Edward; .Ma- 
tilda, the wife of William Tucker of this city; 
Joseph, a steamliiiat engineer of Buffalo, New 
"^'ork: Caroline, the wife of ^Moses Martel ; Jo- 
sephine, the wife (if John Van Deinter of i\ri- 
lan. -Missouri: Mary, the wif(> of Joseph Daicli 
of I)eti-oit. ;\lichi^an: Emma, the wH'e ol' 
Albert Pelkey of Detroit: Charles, a railroad 



engineer of C'hicago; and Jennie, the wife of 
John .Meyer of Detroit. One sister, Amelia, 
becaiiie the wife of Joseph Cotton and is now 
deceaseil ; and one died in infanc.v. 

P^dward Paya ivceived but limited educa- 
tional privileges. In early life he learned the 
butcher's trade and afterward worked for va- 
rious butchers of .Mount Clemens, being en- 
gaged in this line of business until 1891. with 
the exception of the period of the Civil war. 
In the yeai- mentioned he embarked in busi- 
ness on his own account and conducted a 
meat market on Front street until 11102. at 
which time he sold out. having in the mean- 
time acijuired a comfortable competence. He 
is now engaged in .stock buying to some ex- 
tent, but is largely retired. 

At the time of the Civil war .Mr. Paya en- 
listed, ]\Iay 27, 18()r). in Cdiiipany (!, One 
Hundi'ed and Twenty-ninth .Michigan Infau- 
ti'y. He served as orderly at (ieneral Van 
Cleave's head(|uarters and was discharged 
September 6. 1865, at Mvirfreesboro, Tennes- 
see. He has filled several public offices, having 
for two term been cit.v treasurer of Jlount 
Clemens, to which position he was elected in 
the spring of 1902 and was re-elected in 1903. 
He was candidate on the democratic ticket 
and at the second election was endor.sed by 
the republicans, for so capably had he filled 
the office that his service thrdiigli a second 
term was desired by all citi/ens, lie is a 
member of St. P(^ter's Catholic cliiirch, the 
Knights of ('oliimbus and the Catholic .Mutual 
Benevolent .\ssoci;ition. He is also connected 
with several sucial organizations (if .Mniint 
Clemens, inclmling the "Old Crowd." Hay- 
seeds and the Twentieth Century Club. 

l\Tr. Paya was married, January 31. 1871, 
to .Miss Jane ilcCaff'eiy, a daughter of Den- 
nis and Ellen (Sweeny) IMcCaffery, who were 
natives of Ireland and for many years were 
residents of Quebec. Her father afterward 
became a business man nf .Mdiiiit Cl(>mens and 
also served as county treasurer of .Macomb 
county for eight years. He died in 1SS."). at 
the age of seventy-six years, while his wife 
passed away in 1S79. at the age of sixty-live 
years. ^Ir. and Mrs. Paya are the parents of 
nine children: Xellie. the wife of Captain 
Bert Dii Lac: ;\Iaud, of .Mount Clemens; John, 
who died December Hi, 1900, at the age of 
twenty-four; .\nnie. the wife of Frank Bab- 
cock, of Mount ( 'leiiieiis ; I'liiward. deceased: 
Edward, who was named after the death of 
his older brother, and who has also jiassed 
away; .Minnie, at Ikiiiic: Tillie. nf St. Louis. 
.MissiHiri : and Albeil. at home. 



236 



PAST AND PRESENT UF .MACU.MB COUNTY 



.Mr. J'tiya may well he called a self-made 
mail and as the areliitect of his own fortunes 
lie has huilded wisely and well. He had no 
capital when he started out. hut he possessed 
what is still iietter — enerfi:y, diligence and 
strong determination — and these qualities 
have given liiin not only a good liviim. hut 
have also enid)led hiiii to secure a eoiiifortahlr 
competence for the evening of life. 



GEORGE AV. PHILLIPS. 

George W. Phillips is one of the iiiHuential 
and leading citizens of Macoiiih count.v. who 
is engaged in real estate ojierations in Romeo 
and who for sixteen years has capably 
served as justice of the peace here. His 
birth oceurred in Armada townshiii. .Ma- 
comb county, in istjl. His father, the Hon. 
George W. Phillips, was born in Lima, New- 
York, July 17, 1829. His grandfather, Ira 
Phillips, was also a native of the Empire 
state and was of English lineage, the family 
having been estaldished in New York at an 
early jjeriod in its tlevelopmeut. George 
W. Phillips was only two years of age when 
brought to .Michigan by his parents. The 
])arty was accompanied liy Tra Phillips. an<l 
a settlement was niadi' in .Macomb count.v. 
The father entered land, taking up a (daiiii 
of one hundred and sixty acres, from which 
he cut awiiy the trees and cleared the lirusli 
until the soil was prepared for the i)low. 
He then carried on the work of planting and 
harvesting until the farm was developed into 
a rich and productive territory. It is still 
in possession of the family and the old di>ed 
was signed by Andrew Jackson. 

Hon (i. W. Phillips was reared uprtn the 
home farm and was m.irried in ]sr)(i to Miss 
ijv.lia Sterling, a native of Macomb eount.x- 
and a daughter of A. W. Sterling, cine of the 
lii-st settlers ill this ]iorti<in of \\\r state and 
a man whose activit.v in public and business 
affairs ranked him with the valued eiti/ens 
here. He served as .justice of the ])eace in 
Washington township for more than fort.\' 
yeai's. .Mr. Phillips also devoti'd his atten- 
tion to farming. He likrwise ligiire.l i)roiii- 
inently in [lolitieal circles mikI was active in 
man.v liiu's <il' lilV that |)roved of benefit to 
his community, lb' w:is for two terms |)resi- 
deiit and was one of tile (U'gani/ers of the 
.\rmadii .Vgricultural Societ.v. and long 
served as diii' nf its dii'ei-tnrs. \\r was also 
one of the prcimotcrs ol' the .Macomli Count.v 
.\grieultural Soeictv and for si'Vcral terms 



was its chief executive officer. For twelve 
years he was president of the Union Farmers 
Club of Romeo and for ten years president 
of the ^lacomb County Sheep Breeders and 
\Yool Growers Association. For two years 
he was a member of the board of directors 
of the Romeo Driving Park Association and 
was likewise a member of the State Board of 
.\griculture for two terms of si.\ years each, 
having been apiiointed in 1871 by Governor 
Baldwin and in 1877 by Governor Crowell. 
For forty years he was connected Avitli the 
executive board of the State Agricultural 
Society and in 1880 and again in 1881 he 
was elected its president. He heljx'tl to or- 
ganize the ^Macomb County Farmers Insti- 
tute and held several institutes. Thus along 
man.v lines his activity was exercised and 
jiroved of the utmost value to his fellow 
townsmen in advancing agricultural inter- 
ests. He was often called upon to preside 
at meetings, and his thorough knowledge of 
men and his large exjierience combined with 
a ipiiek intellect enabled him to conduct all 
conventions in a most interesting manner. 
He lived upon the old home farm until his 
death, and there reared his famil.v of four 
sons and four daughters, all of whom 
reached mature .vears. He died .Ma.v :l 1902. 

• ieorge AV. Phillips of this ri'view was 
reared upon the home farm and continued 
his education after leaving the district 
schools in the high school of Romeo, while 
later he spent one year in Oberlin College, 
at Oberlin, Ohio. In 1881 he went n\nm a 
government survey, having studied survey- 
ing early in life. He proceeded to Dakota, 
where he held surve.v contracts under Gen- 
eral Cortez Fessenden. and was thus en- 
gaged for four .vears. On the expiration of 
that period he returned to Romeo, .Macomb 
eount,\-. where he has engaged in real estate 
and insurance business. He was elected .jus- 
tice of the peace and liy re-election has con- 
tinued ill till' office until his incumbency 
now covers more than sixteen eonsi'cutive 
.Ni'ars. During this ])eriod he has studied 
law and is well infornu'd concerning legal 
princijiles. His decisions in litigated cases 
are fair and iiii|iai'tial and his official career 
has won him high eommendatioii. He has 
likewise married maii.\' couples and in addi- 
tion to discharging thi' duties of his office 
he is conducting (|iiite an extensive real 
estat<' business, dealing largely in propert.v 
in Romeo, and .Macomb count.w 

Mr. Phillips was married in iiomeo, .\u- 
-iist 24. 1,^:12. to Miss Linda I'.e.lell, a iia- 




GK()K(iE W,. I'llll.LlI'S. 



PAST AM) 1M;KSF,XT OF MACOMl'. COUNTY 



239 



tive (if New V(irk iind a (lanulitcr nf Levant 
Bedell, a jewi'ler autl well-known i)u.siiu'ss 
mail of l\oineo. She was reared antl edu- 
catetl here, and by their inari-iai;e they have 
two chikiren. .Marjorie L. and Annie. ^Mr. 
Phillips has never faltered in his alle^iaiiee 
to repuhlican prineiples and in lSi):i he 
served as i)resident of the village Imard and 
has also been towiishij) coniiintteeiiian. His 
wife is a member of the (^'onureuat imial 
C'hureh. and fratei-nally he is eonneeteil with 
the ^lasonic l(idL;e and chapter, in which he 
has tilled most of the offices, lie is also a 
member of tlu' .Maccabees, in which he has 
filled all of the chairs. He is one of the 
])i'omineiit men of Romeo, well known 
thronghont the county and is a worthy suc- 
cessor of his father, whose value to his 
county in pioneer days was well proved. 
IMr. Phillips has been loyal in the support 
of every progressive measure, has been found 
reliable in his business transactions and 
possesses the personal traits of character 
whicli insure him friendship and good will. 



FRANK A. CAMPAU. 

Frank A. Campau is the proprietor of the 
St. Clair Hotel at Lakeside, a summer i-esort 
that has become popular because of the ca- 
pable management of the owner, who puts 
forth every effort in his power to pi'omote 
the comfoi't of his guests, and has therefore 
secured a liberal patronage. lie is among the 
number of citizens whose life record indi- 
cates the attractiveness of Macomb county as 
a place of residence. A large number of her 
native sons have maintained their abode 
through life in this county — a fact which in- 
dicates the many natural advantages given to 
her people as well as those which have been 
provided by man, Mr. Caiupau was born on 
the farm where he now resides, Octoi)er V-i. 
1865, and his father. Francis Campau, was 
also a native of ^Michigan, his birtli having 
occurred in Detroit. As the name indicates, 
the faniil.v comes of French ancestry, the 
gi'andfiither, .lohn Campau, having been a na- 
tive of France and one of the pioneer residents 
of Detroit. In 1S:12 he removed to the farm 
in Jlaconili mi which l''rank A. Campau was 
boi-n. The land al the time of its ])ui'chase 
was still, in its pi'imitive condition, but he 
soon turned the first fiu'i'ows and in course 
of time opened up a good fai'm. Francis 
Campau was reared upon this place and after 
arriving at vears of maturity he was married 



til .Miss Laiii'i.-i .M,-iyhew. who was born in 
.Montreal, Canada, and is likewise of French 
lineage. When a young man of twenty years 
Francis Cami)au went upon the lakes, and for 
(>ight years was captain of a sailing vessel, 
lie Ihi-n .settled upon the old homestead farm, 
where he reared his family, carrying on agri- 
enltui'al iiui'siiils throughout his remaining 
ilays. His <leatli occurred December 14. 1899, 
and he is still survived bv his wife, who re- 
sides with theii' son, Frank Campau. There 
were nine childi'cn in the famils', two boys 
and si^xi'U twirls, namely: Mary, KnuMa, .\d.-i, 
•lulia. Delia, Lena, llettie, Frank and our 
sub.ject. Frank A. Campau sjient tli<' days 
of his boyhiinil and youth in the usual man- 
ner ol' farmer lads of the period, mastering 
the bi-anches of English learning in the dis- 
trict schools, while in the sinnmer months 
lie worked in the lields. I''(ir a number of 
ye.irs he engag<'d in fiirming and in 1S96 he 
Imilt a hotel ujion his farm at Lakeside, which 
he called the St. Clair House. He also put 
in a neat bar and fitted up this place for a 
summer i-esort, after which he opened it to the 
public and has since been doing a thriving 
business. He is one of the public-spirited cit- 
izens of ]\Iacomb county and takes quite an 
active interest in local politics as a supporter 
of rei)ublican principles. He served as town- 
ship clerk for one .vear and has been chairman 
of the republican township central committee 
for three or four years and has been sent as a 
delegate to numerous county, congressioiud 
and state conventions. Pie was appointed 
jiostmaster at Lakeside and filled that position 
until the office was discontinued. He holds 
membei'ship in Mount Clemens ('atholic 
church. His entire life has been passed in 
Harrison township, IMacomb county, and he is 
well known in iMount Clemens, Detroit and 
this section of the state. Pie is a successful 
business man, having the confidence and 
esteem of the community, and his well direct- 
ed efl'cn-ts are liringing the result that is de- 
sired by all men who enter business life. 



JOSEPH RICKERT. 



Joseph Kickert, manager of the Park Hold 
at .Mount Clemens, was born in Rutfalo. New 
York. June 29. 1850. and his parents, Fred- 
ei-ick and Emma (Kiefer) Hickei't, were na- 
tives of (lermany. They came to the United 
States in ISod and the fathei" engaged in m(>r- 
cantile pursuits in the city of HulValo. His 
wife died in 1S52, and he, long surviving her. 



240 



PAST AND I'KESE.XT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



passed away in Buffalo in 1890, at the ape of 
seventy-two years. Their eldest son. Fred- 
erielv, is also deceased. 

Joseph Rickert is indebted to tlu' public 
schools of his native city for the educational 
privileges he en.joyed. In ISTl) he hecaine a 
clerk for the ButTalo Courier Show l'aintin<^ 
Coiii|)any. the largest establishinent of the 
kind in the Fnitetl States, and was thus con- 
nected with that business for twenty-five 
years, his ailaptabilit.v and enteriirise, liow- 
evci'.. winning' recognition in promotions from 
one position to another. Becoming <itfected 
with rheumatism, he i-e-dlved to lest the cfti- 
cac.v of the Mount Clemens baths and. coming 
to this city, eventually eiigageil in the hotel 
business lierc, succeeding Hen.ianiin K. McAr- 
thur, at liis death, as manager of the Pai'k 
Hotel. This is one of the two largest hotels in 
Jlount CU'Hiens and has always maintained a 
[ilace in the front ranks of the leading hotels 
of this pai't of the country. Perhaps no one 
business enterj)rise or industry indicates more 
cleai'l.v the coiinnercial and social status of 
ii town than its hotels. The wide-awake, enter- 
prising villages and cities must have pleas- 
ant acconuno(hitions for visitors and traveling 
men, and the foreign jiublic judges of a eom- 
munit.v by the entertainment affoi'ded to the 
sti'angers. In this regard the Park Hotel, of 
which Ml-. Rickei't is manager, is an index of 
the chai'acter and advantages of Mount Clem- 
ens, for the hostelry will rank favorabl.v with 
those of nian.y a larger place, and its genial 
manager neglects nothing that i-an add to 
the comfort of its guests. 

In 1875 Mr. Rickert was married to Miss 
Louisa Smith of Buffalo, New York, and their 
children are Louis F., ^Villiam J. and ^labcl 
L. .Mr. Rickert belongs to the lodge, chapter 
and council in the ^Masonic fraternity. He is 
a progressive man, ranking with the repre- 
sentative i-esidents of ilount Clemens, and 
though his duties confine him elosel.y to the 
hotel he is always ijiterested in everything; 
per-taining to the welfare of his conniiunit>' 
and his influence ma.v always be counleil upon 
to furthei' progressive public measures. 



MRS. KATK S. STE\YART. 

Mrs. Kale S. Stewai-t is now successfidly 
cai-rying on the Sherman Ihtusc, which is one 
of the important hotels of Mount Clemens. 
It was erected in tlu' sunnner of ISd.") by 
Henry Conner and opened to the juiblic in 
August, ]8t)(). A three-storv biiek struct\ire. 



it is one hundred by fifty-four feet in dimen- 
sion.s, contains forty-three rooms, together 
with parlors, etc., and is conducted strictly 
as a first class house, not only for the accom- 
modation of commercial trade, but also for 
the occasional sojourner who visits Jlount 
Clemens for the baths. This hotel is known 
to the traveling public as being the "old re- 
liable" between Detroit and Port Huron, as 
is demonstrated by the large patronage it re- 
ceives. 

.Mrs. Stewart later .succeeded to tlie owner- 
ship of the Sherman House and in its man- 
agement she has displayed excellent business 
and executive ability. Her early training 
well fitted her for the position she now fills 
and she is meeting with i-emai'kable success, 
having demonstrated her ability to carry on 
tliis well known hostelry in a most approved 
manner. She is a lady of good judgment and 
refinement and has a host of warm friends. 



FRANK ^V. ANDREWS. 

Frank W. Andrews, editor and proprietor 
of the New Baltimore P]ra, was born in Ber- 
gen, New York, December 2"), 1870, and is 
a son of Ceorge J. and ^larian (Wright! An- 
drews, both of whom were natives of the Em- 
pire state. Renuiving to Michigan, they set- 
tled at Battle Creek and afterward went to 
Leroy, Osceola county, condng thence to Ma- 
comb county in PIOO. Here the father pur- 
chased a farm near New Baltimore, where 
he now resides. Dr. Robert Andrews, the 
])aternal gi'andfather. was a practicing physi- 
cian of BergeTi. Niw ^'ork, where he spent 
his entii'e life. an<l the AYright family was 
established in the Eni])ire state at an early 
day. Frank AY. Aiulrews was one of four chil- 
dren, namel.v: George K., a practicing physi- 
cian of Detroit: Floyd E.. wlio is engaged 
in the pi-actice of law in .New Baltimore: 
Fiank \Y. : and Julius J., wht) died at Leroy, 
.Michigan, when twenty-one years of age. 

Frank \Y. .\ndrews completed his liteiviiy 
education in the high school at Battle Creek 
and aftei'ward studied medicine umli r the di- 
rection of his brother. He then turned his 
attention to newsiiaper work at Tustin, ilieh- 
igan. and in 18!ll juirchased the Tustin Echo, 
which he conducted foi' two years. He then 
sold to Ren Barker of Reed City. [Michigan, 
and engaged as business manag(>r of a pajx'r 
for a shoi-t time, lie afterward became i)i-o- 
prietor of the iMorley Tribiuie. which he con- 
ducted for two years. aTuI on the 1st of Mav. 



I'AST A\I) I'lJKSKXT OF MACd.Mi; CorXTV 



241 



If^HT. lu' caiiic to New Hjilt iiiimc, wluTr In' 
fstahlislicd the New lialtiiiKiif Kra. lli'fc lu' 
lias Imilt up a larire patmnaL;!' and lias a fine 
country newspaper devoted to loeal interests 
and to the dissemination of the general news. 
The paper is neat in appearance and has a 
large circulation, wihch makes it a good advei'- 
tising medium. .Mr. Andrews is also employed 
by the .Marine Sugar Company as agent for 
the territoi-y from Fair Haven to Detroit. 
.Miehigan. 

On tile 14tli of September. ISIIl.*, occurred 
the marriage of Frank W. Andrews and .\iiiia 
B. Bradle.v, a daughter of James and Lauia 
(Fuller) Bradley, the former a native of 
Indiana and the latter of New York. Mr. and 
Mrs. Andrews have one daugliter. (ieorgiana 
Huth. Jlr. Andrews lielongs to the ^lodern 
Woodmen camj^. He is a man of tine personal 
appearance, excellent physiciue, of good intel- 
lectual force, and in business and social 
circles has commanded the esteem and confi- 
dence of those with whom he lias been asso- 
ciated. 



J. ALEXANDER HEATH. 

Among the salient characteristics of J. 
Alexander Heath are strong resolution and 
keen insight into and mastery of business con- 
ditions, and these qualities have gained him 
prominence in the trade circles of the state. 
He makes his home in Richmond, but is .justl.v 
regarded as a factor in the commercial life of 
Miehigan. He was born October 20, 1867, 
in the town where he yet resides, and having 
pas.sed through successive grades in tlii' public 
schools was graduated from the high school 
in 1888. at the age of eighteen years. Later 
he pursued a course in the Detroit Business 
College, completing his studies there in 1885. 
He next went to California and, locating in 
Chico, became a dealer in fruit, continuing 
his efforts in that line until 18!)'J, when he 
returned to Michigan, having in the meant iiiic 
met with fair success during his residence on 
the I'actic coast. Following his retiii-ii hi' ac- 
cepted a position as bu.ver with the lirm of 
MeXaughton & Walker, commission merchants 
of Detroit. They were extensive wholesale 
dealers in beans. After a year their ])lant 
was destroyed liv fire ami while awaiting its 
rebuilding .Mr. Heath pui-chased an interest in 
the firm of .Johnston. Fairfield & Company, 
doing business at Lenox. Two years after- 
ward the business of W. H. Acker was con- 
solidated with that of .Johnston. Fairfield & 



Coiiipaiiy, and llic new company was known 
as the Richmond l^levator Company and has 
so continued to the ])resent time. When .Mr. 
Heath entered the linn it operated but one 
elevator and the business amounted to si.xty 
carloads anniiall.v. Since that time the busi- 
ness has constantly and rapidly increased, be- 
ing enlarged un1il the firm now owns and op- 
erates nine iilants. situated in some of the best 
nuirket towns of eastern .Michigan. They have 
eight elevators and sixteen warehouses with a 
capacity of three hundred and lifly carloads 
of hay and one liiiiidrc(| ilious.-md bushels of 
grain, while ciiiploymcnt is furnished to one 
hundred jieoplc Tlic-ir ch'vators and ware- 
houses are at Lenox. Xew Haven. Emmet 
Iliekey, Avoca, Smith Creek. \'alle\' Center, 
Mount Clemens, Romeo and .Mi'mphis. They 
annually handle from two thousand to two 
thousand five hundred carloads of hay and 
grain, all of which is purchased direct from 
the farmers, to whom they pay between six 
and seven hundred thousand dollars a year, 
thus directly promoting the commercial pros- 
perity of the .state, ilr. Heath lias iieen man- 
ager of the business from the beginning and 
its splendid success is hirgely attributable to 
his efforts. He has faith in the future of 
the hay ti'ade and liaving made a close stud.v 
of conditions relative to the business, he feels 
that the trade would be greatl.v iienefited by 
a concerted action of the dealers. To this end 
he has lieeome idlied with the ^lichigan Hay 
Dealers Association and the Xational Ha.v 
Dealers Association. Ih' was president of the 
former in 1902 and vice-president of the lat- 
ter in 1903. and in connection with these asso- 
ciations he has brought the same characteris- 
tics that have produced his individual success. 
During the first six months after his election 
to the presidency of the state organization its 
membership was doubled. 

On the 3d of PVbruary, 1897, .Mi-. Heath 
was married to Miss Sadie Allenton. a native 
of Armada. ^Michigan, and a tlaughter of Rev. 
William Alh'iifoii, wlio was a leading minister 
of bis day and took an active ])art in the Civil 
war. serving as chaplain. .Mr. and !\lrs. 
Heath have one daughter. Sadie J'^lizalieth. 
Hi.s fraternal i-elations are with the Masonic 
lodge at Richmond, the Mount Clemens chap- 
ter and Council. tli(> Odd Fellows, the Fores- 
t<'rs and the Woodmen of the World, and he 
is |)o|)ular ill these v;irioiis (U'ganizations. In 
])olitics a stanch re])iiblicaii. he has .served as 
treasurer of the IMaeomb county central com- 
mittee for .six .vears. He is yet a .voung man, 
but has alreadv attained success that maiiv 



242 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACU.MB rolXTV 



a man of twice his ycai-s iiii^lit well envy. 
lie is now connected with a line of business 
that contributes in hirge nieasuie bi the wfl- 
fare and prosperity of the state, lie is a man 
of distinct and forceful individuality and 
broad mentality, who has left and is h^avinu' 
his impress upon the connnercial world. Al- 
thoufrh yet a younir man, he has for a n(unl)i'r 
of years been an important factor in the de- 
velopment of natural resources of the state 
and in the jn'omotion of those enterprises 
whieli add luit alone to his individual pros- 
perity, but also promotes the o:eneral good of 
the county and state in which he makes his 
home. 



FORI) LEE :\riLTOX, 

Ford Lee ^lilton, whose well directed liusi- 
uess affairs have made him mie of the siili- 
stantial farmers of Chesterfield township, is 
now livini;' on section 21, where he has a val- 
uable tract of land, lie was born A]n-il 11. 
1836, upon M'luit was the old Milton home- 
stead, his parents l)ein<;- Joseph and Spiddy 
Jane (Ilerriman) ^lilton, the former a na- 
tive of Enjiland and the latter of New York. 
The father was boi'u in Pawlett township, 
Somersetshire, P^njiland, his parents l)ein<,' 
Edward and Tamar (Lee) .Milton, also na- 
tives of England. He was a farmer by oc- 
cupation and in 1832 he crossed the Atlantic 
to America, settling in Chesterfield town- 
ship, Macomb county, ^Michigan. Here he 
secured a homestead in coiniection with his 
br-other, Robert .Milton, and he afterward 
biiuoht a fifteen acre tract of land fi'om 
•Josej)!! Ilerriman, on which he built his 
home. He cleared his land by cutting away 
the timber and making it into staves, which 
he hauled to Mount Clemens with oxen, 
there selling to Humphrey Shaw. He 
worked at his trade in Moiuit Chmiens as a 
ship carpenter and Ihus the early years of 
his life were ]iasseil. He received a good 
eilucation in England and i-ecognizing its 
value, desiretl that all children might enjoy 
the same opportunity. Therefore he helped 
to establish school district No. 2, near the 
(iraliot road on section It. and was ai)pointed 
a mend)er of the sidiool boai'd and at differ- 
ent times held all of the offices of the board. 
He was also commissioner nf hiuhways in 
the TjOs and he was a stanch democrat, tak- 
\]\'j: an active part in polities. By his sin- 
i-crit>' and untiriTig efforts for the welfare of 
his comnnniitv he won I'nr himself a name 



that was honored by all and his death left 
vacant a place that was hard to fill. He 
passed away October 14, 1879, and his last 
words to his family were "it is all satisfac- 
tory," showing that he was ready and will- 
ing to go. His funeral was one of the largest 
ever held in the neighborhood, a fact which 
testified to the sincere regard in which he 
was uniforndy held by neighbors and 
friends. The services were conducted by 
Rev. John Armstrong of the ]\lethodist Epis- 
copal church. His wife, a daughter of 
Joseph Herriman and a native of the state 
of New York, died on the old homestead 
( )ctol)er 17. 1903. There were five children 
of that family : Ford L., Obed Arnold, Char- 
lotte Ann, (Ijiylord Donaldson and ^lirthy 
Treasure. 

Ford L. Milton attended the public schools 
and was such an apt scholar that in 1854:, 
when eighteen years of age, he was granted 
a teacher's certificate and began teaching 
in distinct No. 4, Macomb township, where 
he remained for one term. He then accepted 
a school in the next district west, where he 
taught for two terms and afterward was 
teacher in di.striet No. 4 — the Salt River 
district in Chesterfield township — remaining 
there for five terms. He then abandoned 
teaching in order to give his attention to the 
trade of carpentering and joining which he 
had learned pi'cvious to entering upon his 
educational work. He also began farming on 
his own account on land which he had jiur- 
chased when seventeen years of age, located 
on the Telegraph road just a half mile east 
of his jiresent home. There he remained 
until 1903 when he sold out, retiring from 
all active business. For many years he has 
been an active agriculturist and his labors 
have brought him a very desirable caiiital. 
In all his business transactions he was ener- 
getic and thoroughly reliable. 

^Ir. ^filton has ever taken an active in- 
terest in the welfare of his township and 
his labors have ])roved of benefit in promot- 
ing the general welfai'e. He served as 
deputy clerk luider Ei'astus Q. Clnunberlain 
in 18(i5 : was supervisor in 1865-(): and as 
treasurer filled out the unex])ired term of 
Moses K. Portree, ^vh(l resigned in ISIi."). 
In 1877 he was justice of the jteace and in 
these various offices he discharged his duties 
with a ])i'oinptness ;ind fidelity that won him 
high commendation. 

In 1858-9, 'Sir. Milton assisted in building 
the (irand Trnnlc i-ailroad through Chester- 
iield townshi|), tlu' lii'st railroad for steam 




MR. AND MRS. FORD L. MILTON 



PAST AND 1M;1:sIv\T of MACOMB COUNTY 



245 



I'jirs in thr ciiiintx'. Wliilr on his l':inii ln' 
li('l|ic(l ti> make a large county diteli riiiiniiiL;- 
along tile east side of his plaee. and all of 
these iniproveinents have been of marked 
benefit to the general piiblie. Fraternally 
he is eonneeted with New Baltimore lodge. 
No. 1963, Knights of Honor, in which he 
served as reporter for several years. He is 
also a member of Lake St. Claii' lodge. I. O. 
O. P.. in which he has tilled all of the chairs 
ami is now a past grantl. 

In 1857 ;\lr. iMilton was married to .Miss 
Mary Shattnck. a daughter of Sanniel 
Dwight and .Mercie (Briggs) Shattuck. Her 
father was born in Hampshire county. 
.MMssachnsetts, Fel)ruary 15. 1811. and came 
to .Macomb county, ^lichigan. in 1832, set- 
tling in Chesterfield township where he en- 
tered goverinnent land on the Komeo and 
Jlount Clemens road. There he improved a 
good farm and took an active inti'r(>st in 
evei'vthing pertaining to the benefit of the 
conimunity. He served as .iustice of the 
jx-ace about 1843 and was active in politics, 
giving his support to the whig i>arty and be- 
coming a stanch chamiiion of llenr\' Clay 
for the presidency. He was also an eaiMiest 
workei' in the church and Sunday-school. 
.\t the time of the Mexican war he i-esponded 
to the call for troops but was never sent to 
the front. He died on the old homestead 
June "23. 1851. His wife was born in Mid- 
dlesex township. Ontario county. New York. 
a daughter of Abel and ^lartha Briggs, who 
wei'e nativt's of the Empire state. She came 
to .Macomb county in 1834 with her sister, 
with whom she remained until 18311, when 
she gave hei' hand in marriage to .Mr. Shat- 
tuck. After her husband's death she sold 
the farm and came to live with her daughter. 
.Mrs. .Milton, dying here Septendier !), 1903, 
at the ripe old age of ninety years. 

.Ml', and .Mrs. Jlilton had six cliildnMi: 
Flo\d Jjce, the eldest, born February 2, 1858. 
mai'i'ied Chi'istine Scherrebeck, a highly cnl- 
tui-ed lady. He was educated in the public 
schools, was graduated from the New Balti- 
more high school in 1879 and after receiving 
a teacher's eei'tificate, began at once to teach. 
He has taught in districts Nos. 1, 2. 4 and ti. 
Chesterfield township, and No. 4 fractional, 
Macomb township, which was his father's 
first scho(d. In 1884 he went to Iowa where 
he taught for a number of years and then 
turned his attention to contracting and 
building in the village of Stanwood. whei-e 
he has since established a large fuinitnre 
store and in connection with this cimducts 



an undertaking establishment. .Mi-rtie S.. 
born December 29. I8(il, is the wife of C. J. 
Taylor of .\ew Baltimore, who was engaged 
in the boot and shoe business until 1890, 
wlicn he removed to his mother's farm, of 
which he is now the ownei', having prospered 
in his agricultural pursuits. Melva S., born 
April 20, 18(i4, du-d .May 13. 1870. Fred L.. 
born Ai)ril 14, 18(i(), died August 1, 186H, and 
both chiklren were intci'i'cil in the Chester- 
field Union burying gi'ound. Fi-ank L., born 
August 24, 1871, marrie<l Miss .Jennie ^lars- 
rick, a daughter of Phillij) and Gertrude 
JIarsrick, of ChestiM'field township, and is 
a prosperous farmer of Lenox townshij). 
.Mettie S.. born Februar\' 22. 1874. was mar- 
I'ied in 1891 to Frank Dundl who, a few 
months after, while making his first trij) up 
the lakes, was drowned during a heavy 
storm, the boat being wrecked near White 
Fish point in Lake Superior, On the 29th 
of June, 1892, his widow became the wife 
of E. J,. Y<ivillia, a i)ros|)erous farmer of 
Hay township, who also follows lilacksmith- 
nig. ^Ir. jMilton has every reason to be 
proud of his family, for his children have 
made creditable records and they in turn 
nave reason to re.ioice in what iNFr. ^lilton 
has accomplished. He has indei'd been an 
honored and worthy citizen to his conimu- 
nity, because of his activity in business. In 
]iolitics and in public affairs he has contribu- 
teil in no small degree to the substantial im- 
provement to this ])art of the state. 



EAKL W. \V.\LKS. 



Earl AY. Wales, a pi-omineiit representative 
of agricultural and horticultural interests in 
ilaeoiub county, living on section 17, Shelby 
township, was born Decembei' L3, 1857, in an 
old house near where the gi-a\el ])it of North 
I'tica is now found. His parents were Wil- 
lard Amos and Amy Ann (Cluipman) Wales, 
the latter a daughter of John C. Cli;i]iman, 
who was one of the lirst settlers of Shi4by 
township. .Ml'. Wales itursued his education 
in the Ewell school and Disco Acad<>my, and 
after putting aside his text-books he engaged 
in driving li-otting hoi'scs on the track for 
some time. He is now carrying on general 
fai-ming and fruit r.iising. being deeply inter- 
ested in horticulture. He has three acres 
plant(Ml in strawberries, and his opinions rc- 
gai'ding the cidtivation of this fruit are re- 
ceived as authcirit\' in the cdnniiunity. He 
also raises oilier fi-iiits and everylhiiiir about 



246 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



his place is kept iu exeelk-ut condition. lie 
lives upon the farm which his father pur- 
chased from the government, having here six- 
ty acres of land, while his brother also owns 
sixty acres of the old estate. 

On the 2d of December. 1883, .Mr. Wales 
was married to Miss Racliel Oddy, a daughter 
of "William and Sarah (Dudley) Oddy. who 
were both natives of New York and came to 
^Michigan iu 1856. 'Sir. Oddy was a farmer 
by occupation and owned property iu Disco, 
where he died in 1900, while his wife passed 
away iu 1886. ;\Irs. Wales was born Decem- 
ber 12, 1866. and pursued her education in 
Disco. Unto our snl)ject and his wife have 
beeu born five childi-eu : p]nnuett, born De- 
cember 14. 1885, died when ten years of age. 
Ward Amos, born May 13. 1887, was edu- 
cated in the district schools and is at home; 
Irvin S., born November 13, 1888, is attend- 
ing school. Herl)ert. born Jiine 25, 1897, died 
at the age of sixteen months. Gertie May, 
born January 3, 1893, completes the family. 

Sir. AValcs is a republican, l)Tit has never 
aspired to office, preferring to concentrate his 
energies iipou his business afl:"airs, and he now 
has a splendidly improved property while 
his well directed efforts are bringing him very 
desirable success. 

AUGUST V. REINECKE. 

August F. Reinecke, who is president of the 
village of New Baltimore, where he is engaged 
in general merchandising, was born in Ger- 
many, January 4, 1856. his parents being 
Frederick (!. and P^lizabrlh i llcineman) Rei- 
necke, who were also born iu (lermany. They 
came to America in 1869, settling in New Bal- 
timore, where the father worked as a laborer. 
He died at the age of seventy-five years and 
his widow is yet living in New Baltimore. 
In their family were eight children, namely: 
Frederick, of Bay City, Jlichigan; ;\Iinnie, 
now d<'ccased: Ileui'y, who is living in Sagi- 
naw, .Michigan: August F. : Gustave. who died 
in Germany; Chi'istophcr. also a I'csident of 
Saginaw: Charles, who also makes his home 
in New Baltimore: and William, deceased. 

August F. ReiiU'cke pursued his education 
in the i)ublic schools of Gei'iiiauy until thir- 
teen j'ears of age, when he came with his 
parents to the United States. Here he at once 
began woi-k in a sawmill at New Baltimore, 
in which he was employed for four years. At 
the age of eighteen he secured a position in 
the grocery store of Charles Wanke, iu New 
Baltimore, where he continued for two years, 



and later he was in a general store owned 
by C. L. Bradish for a year, or until the death 
of his employei-. He afterward worked for 
William Baker in the same line for a year, 
and in 1878 he went to Marine City, ^lichigan, 
where he secured a clerkship in a general 
store. After a few months, however, he re- 
turned to New Baltimore, and the following 
spring he went to Richmond, ^lichigau, where 
for four years he acted as salesman in the 
general store of Cooper & Son. He was next 
in Capae. Michigan, where he purchased the 
general store of Coho & Son and. forming a 
partnership with George C. Patch under the 
firm style of Patch & Reinecke, conducted the 
business for a year. At the end of that time 
he pui'chased his partner's interest and con- 
ducted the store on his own account until .just 
prior to his return to New Baltimore, when 
he sold out. Again coming to this place, he 
purchased the general store of George C. 
AYalker and entered into pai'tnership with 
Herman Heineman as the senior member of 
Reinecke & Heineman for two years. By pur- 
chasing his partner's interest ^Ir. Reinecke 
became sole proprietor and has since conduct- 
I'd his store with constantly growing success. 
He carries a large and well .selected stock of 
general merchandise, which because of its 
tasteful ai-i-angenient proves attractive to the 
public, and his himorable dealings and earnest 
desire to please his patrons insure him a eon- 
tiiuiance of their business support. 

^Ir. Reinecke is a man of excellent business 
and executive ability, resourceful and enter- 
prising, and he carries forward to successful 
completion whatever he undertakes. He has 
not limited his etl'orts to one line, but has been 
the promoter of a number of leading business 
concerns iu this town. He was instrumental 
in establishing the New Baltimore Ci'camery 
Company in 1898 and is now one of its direc- 
tors. He was promoter of the New Baltimore 
Elevator Company, in 1901). and has beeu vice- 
l)rt'sident since its organization. In commu- 
nity atl'airs he is also active and enterprising 
and the town has been benefitted l)y his etforts 
in its behalf. He has several times served as 
a member of the council, has been treasurer. 
also assessor of the village and ti'casurer of 
his township. He was (>lected i>resident of the 
village in 1899 and has since served in that 
capacity, giving to New Baltimore a progress- 
ive administration and one which has proved 
of practical value in the advancement of its 
interests along many lines. 

On the 16th of August. 1878. :\rr. Rei- 
necke was married to Miss ;\rarv Gross, a 



PAST AND I'liKSKNT OF MACOMB CorXTV 



247 



daughter of August Gross of New Baltimore. 
Their children are : Louise, the wife of Gus- 
tav Ihittuer of Detroit : Clara, the wife of 
Charles Yearn of Marine City. Miehiiian : Her- 
man, who is a traveling salesman: Alma. .Mar- 
guerite and IMahel. all at home. ilr. Keiiieeke 
is a member of the German Lutheran eluireh 
and he also belongs to the Knights of Maeca- 
bees and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, lie has been eonnnander and finance 
and record keeper in the .Maccabees lodge 
and has been noble grand in the Odd Fellows 
lodge, which he has also i-epresented in the 
grand lodge. He was instrumental in organ- 
izing both of these lodges in .Xcw Baltimore 
and has taken a very active part in their work. 
He is truly a self-made man who has gained 
his success unaided, placing his dependence 
entirely upon his own efforts. He is recog- 
nized as a good citizen, kiml neighbor and a 
devoted husliand and father and is popular in 
Xew Baltimore and wherever known. 



ROBEKT KLAGGE. 



Robert Klagge, one of the leading Horists in 
this part of the country, was born in Germany 
in lcS()-lr and is a son of John and p]va Klagge, 
who were also natives of the fatherland and 
became residents of ilount Clemens in 1885. 
Hei-e the father died in 1903, at the age of 
eighty-three years, but the mother is still liv- 
ing and has reached the age of eighty-four 
years. 

During his boyhood Robert Klagge attend- 
ed the public schools of his native land and 
remained in that country until 1881, when 
he crossed the ocean and located in Detroit, 
Michigan, where he found employment in the 
Breitmeyer greenhouses. He worked for that 
firm, both in Detroit and ]\Iount Clemens, 
until 18;)3, when he began business for him- 
self in a small way at his present location, 154 
Gutschow street, at first growing only vege- 
tables, but he soon merged the enterprise into 
general floriculture. His early training had 
thoi'oughly skilled him in the b\isiness. and it 
was not long before his efforts were crowned 
with success. By constant study, close atten- 
tion to detail and a natural aptitude for the 
art of growing beautiful plants, Mr. Klagge 
was soon at the head of an important industry. 
Besides his local trade he has built up a good 
wholesale trade in Chicago and Detroit, his 
flowers being handled l)y the best dealers of 
those cities, and he now ranks second among 
the florists of the state in the amount of busi- 



ness done annually. During the la.st few 
years Michigan has become one of the impor- 
tant states in the growing of flowers to be cut 
for the market and few of the large growers 
have made moi-e progress than Mr. Klagge. He 
began business in Mount Clemens with only 
two greenhouses, twenty by one hundred feet 
in dimensions, but now has one hundred thou- 
sand feet of flower beds under glass, in which 
he grows violets, roses, carnations and other 
popular flowers to be cut for the trade. For- 
merly he nuule a si)ecialty of violet culture 
and led the market in those flowers, being 
known as the "N'iolet King."" He has won 
many important prizes in fl(u-al shows in 
both Chicago and Detroit, where he had 
for rival competitors growers from all over 
the country, and his carnations have also 
won prizes in several e.\hil)its. Naturally 
his output, being of the best, finds a ready 
sale everywhere at high prices. Besides 
his extensive greenhouses, Mr. Klagge has 
also ten acres of ground devoted to the 
growth of outdoor plants for cut flower 
purposes. His entire establishment is not only 
one of the largest in this )iart of the United 
States but is one of the most modern and well 
equipped that money and experience can pro- 
cure. The plant, for which a five-horse power 
engine was once sufficient, now requires one 
hundred and fifty-horse power. Mr. Klagge 
is alily assisted by eight skilled workmen and 
is now at the head of a model floral estal)lish- 
ment which is an honor both to its owner and 
to Mount Clemens. 

In 1887 he was married to ^frs. Wilhclmina 
Walz, daughter of John Breitmeyer. of De- 
troit. She died in 1903, at the age of forty- 
two years, leaving six children, namely: 
Riekie, Ilattie, Rosa, Ainia. Herman and 
(ieorge. His political supptut is given to the 
men and measures of the republican party, 
and he is a member of the Gernuui Evangelical 
church. He is a worthy representative of that 
class of citizens who lead quiet, industrious, 
honest and useful lives and <'onstitute the liest 
portion of a coiinnunity. 



GEORGE F. :\IILLER. 

George F. iMiller, who follows farming on 
section 10, Chesterfield township, is a worthy 
representative of one of the honored pioneer 
families of this county. He was boi-n January 
7. 1S5!). on flic farm wiiere he now resides, 
his parents being James and Hannah (Card) 
Miller, the foi'm(>r also a native of Macomb 



248 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF ilACO.MB COrXTV 



county and tlie latter of New York state. 
His initernal grandfather. James Miller, was 
horn in Mimtreal. Canada, and in the early 
part of the nineteenth century came to Ma- 
comb county, settling near ilouut Clemens 
in Harrison township. At that time the only 
road cut throuijh the county was the (iratiot 
road and he had to clear away the trees in 
ordei- to make a i-oad to his own i)lace. He 
expei-ieneetl the usual hardships and priva- 
tions which fall to the lot of the early settler 
and bore his part in the early developnieiit 
and upbuildino- of this region. 

His son. James Miller, the father of oui' sub- 
ject, was born in Hari'ison township, in IS'J.0. 
and was educated in the disti'iet schools. He 
remained with his father, aiding in the culti- 
vation of the home farm, until twenty-one 
years of age, when he began farming on his 
own account, buying the Frank Avery place 
in Chesterfield townshii). He sul)se(piently 
purchased twenty acres adjoining, and still 
later bought ten acres on the west side of the 
road. Thi'oughout the yeai's of his active bus- 
iness life he followed farming, but in 190.'} 
he turned ovci' the heavier burdens of the 
farm to his son (leorge and is now ]iractii'ally 
liviim- retii-e<l upon the ten-acre tract pre- 
viously mentioned. Although now eighty-tive 
years of age be i:; still quite sti'ong niul active 
and can do a man's work in carrying on the 
farm. Of thi' eleven children boi-n to himself 
and wife only Iwn are now living: Henry, 
who is a eMi'penler by trade and lives with 
his father, and (Jeorge F., whose naiin' intro- 
duces this sketch. 

The district schools of the county alTni'di'il 
(ieoi'ge F. Millei- the educational advantages 
he enjoyed in youth, and under his father's 
able dii-ection he early became familiar with 
the work of the farm. He also lennieil the 
eai-penler's ti'ade. which be l'oll(i\\((l i'l-oiii 
1SS4 until ^'.H):], when he to.ik diar-r of llic 
hoiee fai'm for his father and is now suc- 
cessliilly engaged in its opei'ation. 

On the -I'Ah of .March. 1SS:5. was eeleln'ated 
the niari-iage of .Air. Miller and .Miss .\aney 
J. Hill, dauzhtei' of David and .Icniiie 
( I'rown ) Hill, o! Cbe.stei'field township. Her 
parents wen' natives of Canada, their early 
home being at Hillsdale near Toronto, anil in 
1S7() they came to .Macomb connt\'. .Michigan, 
locating (irst in Cbe>tei'fiel(l township, where 
they sj)eiit Iwii years. They then I'i'iiioved to 
Lenox to\vn-bip. near .\ew Haven, wb.erc tlwy 
still reside. There were six children bdrn to 
them, all ol' whom are still liviii'_;. 1 wo sons 
I'csiding in Diirojl, while two Min> and Iwd 



(lanuhters still live in .Macomb county. ]\Ir. 
and .Mrs. .Miller had four children but .Mildred 
C. died December 9, 1886. and Don C. died 
.Mai'ch 9. LS9U, those still living being Harry 
W. and Jessie R. 

Fraternally Mr. ilillei- is a member of New 
Haven tent. No. 174, K. (). T. :\I., in which he 
has filled the chair of fii-st master of guards. 
He is a hard-woi-king, industiious and re- 
spected farmer, having the confidence and 
good will of all with whom he had been 
brought in contact either in business oi- social 

life. 



J(^HX H. C. (i.\RVIX. 

John H. I', (larvin, who was born in Gene- 
see county, .\ew York, December 13, 1826, 
died at .Mount Clemens, i\Iichigan, October 
■2-A. 1899. His parents, John and Olive (Ba- 
con) (iarvin, were natives of the (freen Aloun- 
tain state and at an early day removed to 
New York, whence, in IS'A'l. the father came 
to .Alichigan, settling in Kay township, .Ma- 
comb county. In the spring of 1835 they re- 
moved to .Macomb township, settling upon a 
tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres 
of the southwest ((uai'tei- of section '2. This 
land was purchased fr'oni the government and 
in conse(iuence was wild and unimproved. 
The fathei' was a cai'iienter and joiner and 
built a house for Colonel .Xorman I'erry. 
which was among the first frame buildings 
I'iccted in this |iart of tin- state. He followed 
carpentering for a number of yeai-s. nud<ing 
if his main business, and he also worked at 
shipbuilding in Mount Clemens, in the winter 
of ls;U-."). His wife died August 3t). 1865. 
in the seventy-fourth year of her age, her 
hirib having occurred .Viu'il iL*. 179:2. Po- 
litically .Mr. (iarvin was a wbie in cnrly life 
and lati'r liecanic a stanch republican. Poth 
he and his wife held membership in the 
<'hristian church, taking an active |);irt in its 
work, and theii- two daughtei's also becanu' 
members. The fathei' was exceptiomdiy well 
vrr ed in the Bible. He ]iossesse(l a stront' 
niind and retentive niemnry and was accus- 
tomed I0 give nnich of his time to reading. 
so that he kept well infoi-med on all general 
matters of intei'est. and in debate be was 
able to pr<'>ent a strong ai'gument. Hi' took 
••in aeti\e and belpfnl pai't in the m.-iterial 
i;iiproveiiient and pi'o'^ress ol' ejistern .Michi- 
gan and aided in cnttine 1 h,. i-oad from Kay 
towr.sliip to his fai'.ii in .Macomb township 
and o\ci- this road he moved Ids iici'sonal 




MRS. ROSANNAH GARVIN 




JOHN PI. C. GARVIN. 



I'AST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



253 



lil'o|irl't_\- to his new luilllC. Whrn lie (.Mine til 
.Mictiiu;m 111' \\:is accoinpiiiiicil nv his wife, 
two daufihti'i-s and a son, and liis daughters 
were ainonir the first teaehers in this part of 
the eoiuiti-y. Two chihli-eii of the faiiiil\- 
ilied ill early youtli. 

Joliii II. V. (I'arviu was reared nixiii the ohl 
lioiiie farm, amid tlie hardships, diflieulties 
and eiivii'onnients of pioneer life, and he eon- 
tinued to remain there until liis father sold 
the property and removed to Washington 
townshi]). lie then went to woi-k with his 
fatliei-. liaving- i)reviously learned the ear- 
lienter's traile undi'i- liis dii-eetion. and he 
followetl that pursuit eontiniiously lor fifteen 
yeai's, while later he worked at odd jobs to 
some extent, lu ISoO he bought his liome- 
stead farm in Macomb township and there 
resided until November 12. 1885, when he 
removed to .Mount Clemens, taking up his 
abode in liis newly erected residence at No. 
104 (irand avenue. when> he sjient his re- 
maining days. 

On the ITith of Deeeiiiber. 18.")1, Mr. (iar- 
viii wa". :iiaiTii'(l to .Miss Kosannah Harris, 
a daiightiT oi .Jaeoii and Elizabeth (Oziah) 
Harris, who eaiiie from New York to the state 
of Miehiiian in 1830, .settling in the neighbor- 
hood where lived the (iarvin family. ^Fr. 
and ilrs. Harris were natives of Ulster coun- 
ty. New York, the grandfather living at New 
Paltz, that state. Jacob Harris was born 
April 10. 1791, and died June 13, 1864, while 
liis wife, who was born January 1, 1792, in 
Moni'()e eount.v, Pennsylvania, died Novem- 
ber 27, 1872. They came to ^lichigan from 
Genesee county. Xt'W York, liy way of De- 
troit, arriving at that village — for sueli it 
was then — on the steamer Ilenrv' Clav, Mav 
14, 1S30. .Mr. Harris h.ft his family" at De- 
troit and went after lielji to move them and 
his goods to a temporary abode. He secured 
two hundred and forty acres of wild timber 
land on section 3."). Washington township, 
having purchased this tract from the gov- 
ernment the year before, his deed being 
signeil by Aiiilrew Jackson, tlieii president of 
the Unitetl States. He obtained the services 
of "Wilkes L. Stuart and two others, each hav- 
ing a pony team, and returned to Detroit for 
his family and liousehold effects. He then 
started on his journey to his new lionie, go- 
ing by \\My of Hocliester, and arrived in 
Wasliington townshii) after two days' weari- 
some travel. Tlieir log cabin was soon built 
and hell- amid pioneer surronndings the fam- 
ily biinic was established. .Many hardships 
and dit'ticultics incident to frontier life canie 



til them, but in <lue time tlle.\' were enabled 
to seeiiri' the comforts of the older civiliza- 
tion of the east ;ind wlien some years 
had passed .Mr. Harris built a commodious 
dwelling near the site of the old log cabin. 
Ill 1831. in company with Hrainard Rowley 
and Henchard Troop, he made a trii) to De- 
troit with o.x teams for tloiir and salt. It 
reipiired one week to accomplish the journe.v 
and he hatl to jia.v si.xteen dollars a barrel 
in gold for the flour. Upon the old home- 
stead farm which lie developed and improved. 
^Ir. and Mrs. Harris spent their remaining 
da.vs. They were the parents of eiulit chil- 
dren: Jonathan W.. Milton. Darius. Cyrus, 
C.vnthia, Rosannah, Sarah A. and Amanda. 

The ancestry of the Harris famil.v can be 
traced still farther back. Jacob Harris wa.s 
one of a family of eleven children — seven 
sous and four daughters — who were born 
unto Henry and Polly Harris. Henry Har- 
ris was born in Xew Paltz, Ulster county. 
New York, in 17(il. and when only fourteen 
.vears of age he joined the American army 
at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war 
and served in AYashington's division until 
the close of hostilities and the establishment 
of independence. Soon after the war, in rec- 
ognition of his faithful service, he was given 
eight Imiidred acres of land in eastern New 
York. One of his seven sons was Joseph 
Harris, who moved westward, settling at 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvauiii, when that town was 
a militarv .station. 

Henry Harris" father was born in West- 
chester county. New York, and his grand- 
father was a native of England, whence he 
came to the new world, settling on Manhat- 
tan island when it was in possession of the 
Dutch. He purchased ninety acres of land 
bordering on Bi'oadway, now the most im- 
portant fhoroughfan' of the city of New 
York. This he leased for village lots, while 
he moved to White Plains. This, over a 
(piarter of a centiu'y ago, came into posses- 
sion of his descendants, who still reside at 
White Plains, the lease having I'un out. 

John II. ('. (iiir\iii was a I'epublican in his 
political views and was a warm snpixirter of 
the party. He also belonged to the Masonic 
fraternity and he took great interest in va- 
rious games and sports, being a member of 
the "Old Crowd." He was also ever read.v 
to do ;iny good work and he enjo.ved life to 
the fullest extent, lie posses.sed a character 
that commanded I'l-sjiect and confidence 
everywhere, and while joy and liap|)ine.ss 
wen' his lot it was because of a genial, kind- 



254 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COT'XTY 



ly n;itui-c and never secured at the expense 
of the pleasure, the happiness or the success 
of others. He passed away in Mount Clem- 
ens, October 23, 1S!I9, and his death was the 
occasion of deep and widespread regret. 



ALBERT JillLLER. 



AUiert ]\Iiller, one of the well known citi- 
zens of ilaeomh county, now living retired in 
Riclnuond, was born in (Orleans county. New 
Yoi-k, August 12, 1846, and is a son of Caleb 
Miller, whose birth occurred in the same 
county. The mother bore the maiden name 
of Elmira Whitcomb and was born in Ver- 
mont. In 1.S46 the paivnts I'cmoving to Mich- 
igan, settled in Richmond township, Macomb 
county, three miles west of the town of Rich- 
mond, where ]\Ir. Miller carried on farming 
for several years. He then removed to an- 
other farm two miles from his first location, 
and in addition to the cultivation of this tract 
of land he owned a foundry which he con- 
ducted for twenty-four years. He was like- 
wise owner of a grist and saw mill and 
through his varied investments he conducted 
an extensive business. He was regarded as 
one of the leading and representative citizens 
of his community, his trade relations proving 
of benefit to the locality as well as a source 
of profit to himself. In all matters relating to 
the general welfare he took a helpful and 
beneficial interest. In his family were seven 
children, of whom three are now living: Al- 
bert: Isadora, the wife of Henry Whitcomb, 
who is living three miles west of Richmond; 
and Tlieo(U)re, who is now engaged in the ex- 
celsior business in Detroit. 

Albert Miller spent his boyhood dflys on the 
home farm and worked in the fields through 
the summer months, while in the winter sea- 
sons he attended the district schools. He be- 
came interested in the foundry and milling 
business with his father and this business re- 
lation was ciiiitiniied until a few years prior 
to the fatliei-'s death. They built a foundry in 
Richmond and upon the fathei-'s death the 
property was divided, Tiieodore ]\Iiller taking 
charge of the foundry, while Albert Miller re- 
mained at home. After a few years he sold 
his farming interests and in 1888 settled in 
Richmond, whei'c he embarked in the foundry 
business, bis bi-otlier removing 1o Detroit. Al- 
liert ^lilii'i- tlnis I'cpresented the iron industry 
at this point for three or four years, after 
which he sold out. His brother also owned 



a hardwai'e business in which he became a 
partner and this store was sold upon the broth- 
er's i-emoval to Detroit. At length 'Slv. Miller 
traded his foundry for a farm located two 
miles northwest of Richmond and there en- 
gaged in the cultiviition of the soil for two 
years. At the end of that time he disjjosed of 
his land and again took up his abode in Rich- 
mond, where he has since practically lived 
retii'ed. He was for many years an active, en- 
terprising business man, widely and favorably 
known thi'ougliout his conununity liecause he 
was found trustworthy in all business trans- 
actions, while his diligence and perseverance 
pi-oved the foundation of a very desirable 
success. 

Albert Jliller was mai'i-ied. July 2. 1870, to 
Miss Eliza Smith, of IMaeomI) county, a daugh- 
ter of AVilliam S. Smith, one of the pioneer 
residents of this part of the state. Their 
children are: Caleb S., (iilbcrt E., who was 
educated in the public schools and is now in 
St. Louis, ^Missouri, and I\Iabel ]\laud, who is 
attending school in Adrian, Michigan. 

Caleb S. ililler, who is classed with the 
representative young business men of Rich- 
mond, ^lacomb county, was born on the old 
family homestead November 4, 1871, and 
mastered the branches of English learning 
taught in the district schools. He joined his 
father in a partnershi]) in the fimndry busi- 
ness in 1888 and was thus connected with the 
industi-ial intei'ests of Riclnuond until 1896, 
when he traded his fouiuli'y for <i farm. The 
foundry was a ])rick building, fifty by one 
hundred feet and four stories in height. The 
machine shop was fifty by one hundred and 
twenty feet and the assembling room sixty by 
ninety feet. At one time em])loyment was 
furnished to one hundred and fifty men. The 
foundry was estalilished for the manufacture 
of agi'icultural implements but later was 
largely used for the manufacture of stoves, 
and a large export trade was enjoyed by the 
fii'm. When his uncle ivmoved to Detroit the 
Art Stove Company was organized and has 
since become a portion of the large combine. 
P\)ll()wing the uncle's removal to Detroit, 
Caleb ^Miller and his fathci- contiinied tlie nuui- 
ufacture of agi'icultui-al implements until they 
dis])osed of their foundry. This was one of the 
most important productive industries of Rich- 
mond and proved a source of profit to the 
owners. After living for a time on the farm 
Caleb ^filler returned to Richmond and was 
with the PiMiinsula Cement ('omi)any of Jack- 
son, .Michigan, which he represented until 
1002. when he purchased an interest in the 





MR. AND MRS. JOHN GARVIN 





MR. AND MRS. JACOB HARRIS 



PAST AND rKKSHN'l' »»K MACOMI', (orXTY 



257 



wholesale eji!,' business of this villayi' ;iii(l h;is 
since been identified therewith. 

On the 7th of Auiiust. ISDT. oeeiii-red Ihr 
niarriatre of Caleb Miller :ind Margaret \V. 
Freeman, a daughter of Thomas Free- 
man, who was the originator of the present 
egg business now eonduetetl undrr the firm 
name of Weter. Fanning tic ('oiupany, of Kieh- 
mond. .Miehigan. .Mr. and .Mrs. .Miller have 
one son. Thomas llarop. In liis fraternal re- 
lations Mr. Miller is a JIason. He has a wide 
and favorable aecpiaintanee in the county 
where his entire life has been passed and to- 
day he is associated with one of the most im- 
portant industries of this section of the state, 
the business having reached a very extensive 
figure. 



EDWARD A. IIEIXE. 

Edward A. Heine, a well known and popu- 
lar citizen of ilount Clemens, who for many 
years has been connected with the Mount 
Clemens Savings Bank, was born in that city 
on the 18th of August, 1865, and is a son of 
William and Theresa (Okie) Heine, both na- 
tives of (iermauy. The Heine family were 
representative citizens of the north of Ger- 
many and in that countr.y the father was 
reared and educated t)ut came to America 
when a young man. He fir.st located in New 
Baltimoi'e, ^Michigan, but afterward removed 
to Blount Clemens, where he was engaged in 
merchandising for thirty-eight years, though 
l)y trade he was a cooper, liaving followed that 
occupation in his native land. In 1905 he dis- 
posed of his store and is now living retired, 
enjoying a well earned rest and the fruits of 
former toil. 

Edward A. Heine is the fourth in onler of 
birth in a family of six chiJdrm. At the usual 
age he entered the public schools of Mount 
Clemens, where he was a student until he at- 
tained tlie age of fourteen yeai-s. and after- 
ward spent one year at the Detroit Business 
College. On leaving that institution in 1881, 
he entered thi' Mount C]em<'ns Savings Bank, 
which at that tiiiir was only four years old, 
and served as bookkei'])er foi- ten years, after 
which he was promoted to t(>ller, a position 
he now holds. He has always taken a keen 
interest in the biisiness of the bank, which has 
become one of the oldest and strongest finan- 
cial concerns in this part of the state, and not 
a little of its success is dur to his untiring 
labor. The hank has had a gradual, healthy 



growth, dur to the sale conservative Imsiness 
policy fiillowi'd by those in control. 

On the L'L'd of .June, 1887. .Mr. lliMn<' was 
miitcMl ill marriage to i\liss Augusta Behnke. 
a daughter of Chi'istian Behnke. of .Mount 
Clemens, and tlirv now have three children: 
Felicitas H.. Au.stin \V, H.. and Bernhai'dt E. 
C. The family hold iiieiiihership in the (Jer- 
man Evangelical eliui'ch and Mr. Heine is 
identified with a niniiber of secret societies, 
including the Knights of the .Maccabees, the 
Modern Woodmen of .\iiiei-ica. and the Wood- 
men of the World, lie is also a [irominent 
^lason. belonging to iiount Clrmcns lotlge. 
No. 6. F. & A. M., of which lir was steward 
for six years; secretary of iMount Clemens 
chapter, No. 69, R. A. M., for twelve years, 
and was for five vears treasui-er of ]\Ionnt 
Clemens Council. No. 8, R. & S. M. His 
political support is given the republican party 
and he takes (|uite an active and prominent 
part in public affairs, his infiuence carrying 
weight in the councils of his party. In 1900 
he was elected alderman from the second 
ward for a term of two j'ears, has been super- 
intendent of the poor for the past two years, 
served two years as assistant chief of the fire 
department, and is now serving as treasurer of 
the Mount Clemens fire department, with 
which he has been connected since fourteen 
years of age. He is a man of strong character, 
firm, considerate, careful and painstaking, and 
he commands the respect and confidence of all 
with whom he comes in contact, either in bus- 
iness, social or political life. 



FKA.XK E. LATH KOI'. 

Frank E. Jjatlirop, who is eondueting a 
general store in Armada and in his life ex- 
emplifies the typical spirit of the west, where 
energy and enterprise have been the dominant 
qualities of the people, leading to the i'a])id 
and substantial develoinuent of this jiortion 
of the country, was born Febiniary 7, 1865, 
in the village where he yet resides. He comes 
of an old New England family, his great- 
grandfather having been the Rev. Joseph La- 
throp, a noted minister who for sixty-five 
years was pastor of the Congi-egational church 
in West Springfield. .Massachusetts. His son, 
Edward Eathro]), was boi'n in Connecticut 
and came to the west from Springfield, IMassa- 
ehiisetts. flaking his way to Michigan he took 
up land from the government and began farm- 
ing, assisting materially in the early agricul- 
tural development of this part of the state. 



258 



PAST AND FKKSKXT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



His son, Elisha 1). Lathrop. was born in the 
village of Armada. Deeeiiiber 25. 1839. and 
was reared to the oeeupation of farniinj; but 
afterward turned hi.s attention to merehandis- 
ing and for a number of years was associated 
in commercial pursuits with liis brother. ('. A. 
Lathrop. Their jiartnership was dissolved in 
1S76 and Elisha D. Lathrop then carried on 
business alone. lie nuirried ^liss ^lary J. 
Kellogg, a native of Kay. Michigan, and ii 
daughter of George and Eliza J. (.Prenti.ss) 
Kellogg. Her father was born in the state 
of New York and became one of the pioneer 
residents of Ray township. Mr. Lathrop de- 
parted this life March o. 1905. and is still 
survived by his wife, who was born December 
23, 1839, and is therefore in her sixt.v-sixth 
year. 

Frank E. Lathrop is the only living repre- 
sentative of his branch of the family in Ma- 
comb county. He pursued liis education in 
the schools of Armada and in Detroit Busi- 
ness University, being a graduate of both. 
He has always been identified witli mercantile 
interests and is to-day the proprietor of a 
general store in his native town. He carries a 
large line of goods, carefully selected, and his 
earnest desire to please his patrons combined 
with his unremitting diligence and hone.st.v 
at)ove (piestioii have iiiade him a leading repre- 
sentative of ti'ade circles here. He carries dry 
goods and slioes and is now sole owner of the 
store which was established by his father, 
who not only owned this projierty but liad a 
valuable farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres. 

In 1888 ;\Ir. Lathro]) was iniited in marriage 
to Miss Kutli BaiTows, a daughter of Hiram 
and Agnes (Little) Barrows, the former a 
farmer. They had one cliild. Lawrence Bar- 
rows, who was born ila.v 27, 1891. and is now 
a student in the high school of Armada. The 
wife and mother died June 4. 1891. and 'Sir. 
Lathrop has since married .le;in Hamilton, a 
(laughter of Dr. William B. and Sarah 
(Stone) Hamilton, the former for many years 
a pi-acticing ])liysicinn of C'olumbiaville. La- 
peer county, ^Michigan. Mrs. Lathrop belongs 
to the Congregational church and is well 
known in social circles, while over their own 
home she presides with gracious and charming 
hospitality. She belongs to the Order of the 
Eastern Star and .Mi-. Lathrop has various 
fraternal relations. l)eing identified witii the 
Odd Fellows lodge, the Supivme Maccabees 
and the Modern Woodmen of America. His 
political allegiance is given to the 7-eiMibliean 
])arty and his fellow townsmen, recognizing 



his wortli and ability, have called him to office. 
He served as cit.v alderman and city treasurer 
and has always been found loyal to the trust 
reposed in him, whether in office, in business 
life, or as a private citizen. He has always 
lived in Armada and bv his carefullj- man- 
aged business affairs and active co-operation 
in movements for the general good he has 
contributed in no snmll degree toward the im- 
provement and upbuilding of his home 
locality. 



AUGUST VON BOESELAGER. 

August von Boeselager, although yet a 
young man has gained for himself a place in 
the first rank of the leading representatives 
of the business interests of ]\Iount Clemens. 
He is a native of Hanover, Germany, born 
JMay 16, 1875, and is a son of ilaximilian and 
Clara (Von Oer) von Boeselager, both of 
whom were also natives of Germany, where 
they spent tlieir entire lives. The ancestry of 
the family can be traced back through thi'ee 
centuries, the representatives of the name 
being worthy and respected citizens of the 
fatherland. 

August von Boeselager pursued his edu- 
cation in Germany, attending the high and 
military schools, and at the age of eighteen 
years he bade adieu to friends and native land 
and sailed for America, hoping that he might 
win success through the business opportunities 
afforded in the new world. Owing to the 
fact that a favorite uncle had come to these 
shores and had settled near Portland. Oregon, 
]\Ir. von Boeselager resolved to go to that 
city, but upon reaching Detroit he communi- 
cated with his uncle and found that he intend- 
ed to return to Germany. ]\Ir. von Boeselager 
therefore resolved to remain in Michigan and 
in consequence has become a successful busi- 
ness man of this state. He was at fii'st em- 
l)loyed at the city i)ark for one year, after 
which he removed to Battle Creek, ^Michigan, 
where he continued for two years, being in 
the employ of the firm of .McCray & Cole, 
florists. He afterward went to Port Hui'on, 
Michigan, where he remained for three years 
in the employ of Matt Ullenbruch, a florist. 
He next went to Buffalo, New York, where he 
entered the flower store conducted by Will 
Zinnnerman, and in 1901 he came to Blount 
Clemens, where he was employed in Robert 
Klagge's greenhouse in the spring of 1903. 
On the 15th of l\Lirch of that .vear he pur- 
chased seven acres of land from William Can- 



PAST AND PRKSEXT OF .MACO.MH CorXTY 



259 



field, adjoiiiiiitr -Mount Clemens near the 
nortlieru border, and erected a greenhouse, 
having twenty-one thousand feet under glass. 
lie makes a speeialty of the production of 
carnations, violets, sweet peas and roses. lie 
gives particular attention to cut Howei's and 
bedding plants ami beside the work au.xiliary 
to the hothouse he grows nursery stock, in- 
eluding fruit and ornamental trees, shrul)s, 
bearing plants and in fact all kinds of hardy 
plants that can be grown outside the green- 
house. He is to-day the proprietor of one of 
the finest and most modern tloral establish- 
ments in the state, so far as its equipment 
and management are concerned. In the brief 
time that he has been established in Blount 
Clemens he has conducted a very successful 
business and has found it necessary to add to 
his original three greenhouses four more, and 
has greatly inci-eased their capacity in order 
to meet the demands of the Blount Clemens 
trade and to sni)ply his wholesale customers 
in outside cities. Altogether he now has 
twenty-one thousand square feet under glass. 
The plant is etiuipped with a boiler of sixty 
horse-power and the chimney is sixty-five feet 
high. In the spring of li)04 Mr. von Boese- 
lager erected a handsome new residence which 
is equipped with the German style of finishing 
inside. It is entirely modern and in fact is 
one of the fine homes of the city. He is a 
member of the Knights of Columbus and is 
interested in all that pertains to public prog- 
ress. 

On the 20tli of September, 190-t, .Mr. von 
Boeselager was married to ^liss Galirielle, a 
daughter of J, J. Xoeker, of Detroit. ^lichi- 
gan. They have a pleasant home in Mount 
Clemens, where they have made many friends. 
Although a resident of the city for but a 
brief i)eriod, ]\Ir. von Boeselager has gained 
a place among its leading business men and 
has developed an enterprise of extensive pro- 
portions. His success is being continually 
augmented as the result of his thorough under- 
standing of the busines.s, his capable manage- 
ment and untiring energy and he may well 
be classed with the representative residents of 
this citv. 



RUSSELL T. HAZELTON. 

Russell T. Ilazelton, who follows fai-ining 
and dairying on .sections 14 and '2.i. Hay town- 
.ship, was born where he now resides March 
17, 1849. He is a son of Thaddeus Ilazelton, 
whose birth occurred in New Voi'k in 1812 



and who, when a young man, i-emoved to Can- 
ada, whence he afterward came to Michigan, 
casting in his lot among the early settlei's of 
Macomb county. He mai-ried Miss Louisa 
Holierts, a native of (,'onnecticut, where she 
was reared. In oi'der to make a home for his 
wife .Ml', lla/eltou bi'gan clearing a tract of 
land updii which he erected good buildings 
iind ill cdui-sr (if time he developed a produc- 
tive faiin wliich returned him good crops 
annually. He lost his first wife and later 
married again. s])ending his last years in St. 
Clair county where his death occurred. In 
his family were eight children, seven of whom 
reached adult age but only three are now 
living. The eldest is Hiram Ilazelton of De- 
troit, who was a pronunent business man and 
manufacturer of ilacomli county, being thus 
identified with its development for years. He 
owned sawmills, also stave and heading mills 
and m;niufactui-ed lumber, staves and head- 
ing on an extensive scale. He also conducted 
a sash, door and blind factory in Macomb 
county for a nundjer of years and was a 
prominent rejiresentative of its lumber in- 
terests. -Xellie Ha/.elton resides with her 
brother Hussell. 

Ill taking up the personal liistory of Russell 
T. Ilazelton we present to our readers the life 
record of one who is widely and favorably 
known in Macomb county. The days of his 
boyhood and youth were passed under the 
jia rental roof. He removed with his father 
to a place in Lenox township and it was there 
that his mother dietl. He continued to assist 
in the operation of his father's land until 
sixteen years of age, when he started out to 
earn his own living by working liy the month 
for his brother Hiram in the sash and door 
factory at New Baltimore. There he remained 
for two years, at the end of which time his 
brother purchased and operated a sawmill at 
New Haven and Russell T. Ilazelton i-emained 
with him in the conduct of the enterprise for 
twenty years. He was then sent to Washing- 
ton, ]\Iacomb count.y, where he built a sawmill 
and engaged in the manufacture of lumber, 
.staves and heading. He ojierated a plant 
at that jioint for about thirteen years and in 
the meantime he purchased the old home- 
stead which his father had opened up and 
improved. Locating thereon he began farm- 
ing about 1894, and has since devoted his 
tiiiie and energies to agricultural pursuits. 
He is a stockholder in the New Haven Elgin 
creamery, to which he furnishes milk, and is 
well known as a substantial fai'mer, stock- 
raiser and dairvman and the dilferent 



26o 



J'AST AXI) PRESENT OF .MACOMB L'OLXTY 



branches of his business are proviiiu' jn-ofita- 
ble, returning him a f;i'atifyinii' ineouic 

In October, 1870, Mv. llazclton was married 
in the town of Lenox, Macomb county, to ^liss 
Harriet Dusett, who was born and i-eared in 
this county and is a daughter of Alanson and 
Betsy (Chase) Dusett. Mrs. Hazelton died 
about 1877. There were two chiklren by that 
marriage but one died in infancy. Tlie other 
is Jessie, the wife of Colon Brownlee, who is 
engaged in the manufacture of lumber at 
Cleveland, Tennessee. On the 1st of January. 
1879, in New Haven, 'Sir. Hazelton was again 
married, his .second union being with Ida 8. 
Jones, a daughter of James Jones and a sister 
of Charles IL, Rol)ert and David F. Jones. 
There are two childr(>n by this marriage : 
Frank and ^lartlia Elizalicth. The son is a 
teacher in ^lacomh county and will no doubt 
make for himself a good place in the business 
world. 

Mr. and ]Mrs. Hazelton were formerly mem- 
bers of the ^lethodist Episcopal church at 
Washington, but are not at this time affilia- 
ted with any religious organization. Politi- 
cally ^Ir. Hazelton is a republican and is a 
strong temperance man who believes in prohi- 
bition principles. He has been elected and 
re-elected as justice of the peace. He is a be- 
liever in good schools and while serving on the 
school board has done effective work in be- 
half of public education here. He is a suc- 
cussful business man and farmer, who owns 
and operates the farm upon which he was 
born, and in the community is recognized as 
a man of upright chai'acter. widely known for 
his sterling worth. 



illLO W. DAVIS. 



]\Iilo AY. Davis, avcH known in financial 
circles in ]\Ioinit Clemens, was the real i)ro- 
moter and founder of the Citizens Savings 
Hank, and since its organization has been its 
cashier and executive head. Among the 
earnest men whose depth of character and 
strict adherence to jirinciple excite the ad- 
miration of his contemjioi'ai'ies, he is promi- 
nent. Banking institutions are the head of 
the commercial body indicating the health- 
fulness of trade and a bank that follows a 
safe, conservative policy does more to es- 
tablish {lublic confidence in times of wide- 
spread financial dei)ression than anything 
else. Such a course has the Citizens Savings 
Bank followed under the able management of 
Mr,. Davis. 



A native son of JIacomb county, he was 
Ihu'm in the \illage of Davis, on the 24th of 
April. 18.')7, his grandjiareuts residing there 
at a very early epoch in the development of 
this i)art of the state, owning a farm upon 
which eventually was founded the town that 
now bears the family name. His father, Bela 
R. Davis, is numbered among the pioneer 
residents of Alacomb county, removing to the 
west from his native state of New York, in 
1840, and has since engaged in general agri- 
cultural i)ursuits. He married Harriet Gass 
and they still reside upon the old homestead 
farm, 

ililo W. Davis was a student in the district 
schools of his native town and afterward 
])ursned his education in the Goldsmith. 
Bryant & Stratton Business College, at De- 
troit, now the Detroit Business University. 
In 1880 he became a factor in mercantile 
circles of Davis as the senior member of the 
firm of Davis & ]\Ic(Tregor. This store has 
had a contiinious existence and ^Ir. Davis 
has maintained his connection therewith 
throughout the intervening years, his name 
remaining in the firm name until about two 
yeai's ago. when he became the silent partner 
luuler the fii-m style of Giddings, Wright & 
Company. He continued his residence in 
Davis until the fall of 1894, when he was 
elected on the rei)ublican ticket to the office 
of county clerk. Two years later he was re- 
elected, receiving the largest majority given 
to any candidate on the ticket in his county. 
Four years he filled the position in a most 
creditable manner, receiving the commenda- 
tion of all faii'-iuinded citizens, and thus with 
an honorable I'ecord he retired to private life. 
In the fall of 1898 he was a foinider of the 
-Maeomli County Savings Bank, at Lenox, 
and on tlie 1st of September, of that year, 
lie was made its cashier, acting in that capac- 
ity nnlil .laimary 1, 1899, when he resigned 
to again taki' up his abode in ]\Iount Clem- 
ens. Here he established a drug store, which 
he conducted until he formed the idea of 
(U'gauizing a ni'w bank, when he sold his 
stoi'c and devoted his energies to the execvi- 
tion of this plan. The result is known to all 
citizens of IMount Clemens and although this 
is the youngest of the banking institutions 
of the city, it has nuide such ra])id and satis- 
factory pi'ogress in the five years of its ex- 
islenee that it is now regarded as one of the 
most substantial banking concerns of eastern 
Michigan. .Mr. Davis secured the co-opera- 
tion of a number of the leading business men 
of .Mount Clemens and the Citizens Savings 




MILO \V. DAVIS. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



263 



Bank was capitalized for fifty thousand dol- 
lars. The stock of the bank is not upon the 
market, for the orig'iual stockholders have 
retained their interests, nor would they sell 
at double the price which they i)aid for the 
shares. At the first meeting of the stock- 
holders the folloxving directoi-s were chosen : 
A. T. Donaldson, George H. Nichols, T. W. 
Newton, M. W. Davis, W. F. Nauk, W,. S. 
Donaldson, Joseph ^latthews. J. S. Paganetti 
and A. P. Grim. The doors of the baidv were 
opened for business 'Slny 31. I'JOO. The insti- 
tution has made a splendid record. 

The bank building was leased for a period 
of ten years with the right to purchase with- 
in a year if the stockholders should so de- 
sire. This was done, and to-day the bank 
is one of the best equipped institutions of the 
kind in this section of the state. A splendid 
burglar-proof vault was built and it also 
contains safety deposit boxes, which are an 
innovation in banking circles in Mount 
Clemens' banking institutions. The annual 
statement of the bank has shown good in- 
crease in its business in various departments 
each year and there is to-day a paid-up cap- 
ital stock of fifty thousand dollars Avith un- 
divided profits of ten thousand dollars, while 
each j-ear the institution has paid its stock- 
holders an eight per cent dividend. While 
Mr. Davis has had the co-operation of men 
prominent in the business life of Mount 
Clemens, he has been the real head of the 
institution ;ind to his executive force, enter- 
prise and keen business discernment is 
largely attributable the success which the 
Citizens Savings Bank has enjoyed. 

]\Ir. Davis' character is largely indicated 
by the fact that he affiliates with the jrasonic 
fraternity, having been made a Mason in 
1895, in Macomb lodge. No. 64, A. F. & A. M.. 
He also belongs to the Mount Clemens chap- 
ter. No. 69, R. A. M., and the Romeo eom- 
mandery, K. T. He likewise holds member- 
ship with the Knights of the ^Faccabees and 
Avith the ilount Clemens Club. He has fig- 
ured to some extent in political circles, 
being a recognized advocate of republican 
principles, and in addition to the county 
office which he held, he served as clerk and 
supervisor of Ray township for seven years 
and was postmaster of Davis under President 
Harrison's administration. He was married, 
:\Iay 6. 1885, to Miss Fannie M. Davis, a 
daughti'r of Homer Davis, of Washington, 
^lichigan. 

In manner Mr. Davis is coiu'teous and 
pleasant, winning friends by his genial dis- 



jiosition and honorable character, which com- 
mands the respect of all. He is public- 
spirited in an eminent degree and through- 
out the entire period of his manhood has 
given his support to whatever is calculated 
lo jiromote the general welfare. In all the 
relations of life, whether as merchant, 
banker, office holder or private citizen, he 
has always been faithful and true, and in his 
life M'ork, varied as it has been, no shadow 
of wrong or suspicion ever darkened his 
honored pallnvay. 



ALFRED A. MILTON. 

One of the most popular and influential 
citizens of Chesterfield township is Alfred A. 
Milt(ui, who takes a very prominent part in 
public affairs. He was born August 9, 185-1:, 
on his present farm on section 9, and is a son 
of John and Lauretta (Burgess) Milton. The 
father was a native of England, his birth 
having occurred near Wells in Somersetshire 
on the liTth of March, 1817, and his parents 
were William and Sarah (Lewis) ililton, 
also natives of that country. Coming to the 
United States in 1840, John Milton settled 
in Chesterfield township, IMacomb county, 
]\Iichigan, buj'ing a farm along the Church 
road on section 9, where our sub.ject now re- 
sides. He at once burned the tindjer off of a 
part of the land to nuike a clearing on which 
to build his residence, which is still standing. 
In 1854 he returned to England and brought 
his parents to this country, they making their 
home with him until death, the father dying 
at the age of eighty-four years and the mother 
at the extreme age of ninety-six. 

On the 11th of October, "l848, John Milton 
M'as united in nuirriage to Miss Lauretta Bur- 
gess, a daughter of German and Victoria 
Burgess, of Chesterfield township. By this 
union four children were boi'n, but our sub- 
ject, the third in order of birth, is the only 
one now living. Those deceased are Sara V., 
who married Alvin Crawford, of Chcsterfielil 
township ; Louis Ann, who married Eben 
Farr, of the same township ; and Ruth L.. 
who went to California for her health and 
died in that state in 1884, her remains being 
brought back home and laid at rest in Hart 
cemetery. 

John Milton always took a very active 
interest in the welfare of his township and 
most capably filled the office of supervisor 
for thirteen years, including the period 
of the Civil war, when he saved the town- 



264 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COT'XTY 



ship from a di-aft for tlu- aniiy by oli- 
tainiijg enoii>;li volunteers to make up the 
ipiota. For sevei'al years he also served as 
justice of tile peaee, and in 1859, while hold- 
ing that j)ositioii, he united in marriage 
Charles K. Fulei'ton and Kosana Cai'd, old 
settlers of Chesterfield township. lie \\;is 
prominently identified with school work for 
many years, being a member of the school 
board of disti-ict No. 2, and bore a very im- 
portant part in promoting the welfare of his 
township and county. In connection witli 
farming he was also engaged in the commis- 
sion business, buying staves, which he shipped 
from New Baltimore and Salt Rivei-, having 
his yards at the latter place, and he stood 
deservedly high in business, social and politi- 
cal circles. He was a member of Lake St. 
Clair lodge, No. 82. A. F. & A. il., wliich he 
joined in the 'oOs, and at his death, which 
occurred Novendjcr 27, 1883, he was buried 
with Masonic honors. His widow still sui'- 
vives him and is living near our subject. 

Reared on the liome farm. Alfi'eil A. Milton 
attended the district school of the neighlior- 
hood and after completing Ids education aided 
his father in the operation ol' the land until 
the latter 's death, when In- took complete 
charge of the place. lie is a progressive and 
energetic farmer and is meeting with well de- 
served success. On the 16tli of September 
1875, he led to the marriage altar Miss Ella 
Leonardson, whose parents weiv James and 
Eleanor Leonardson, of Chesterfield tonvn- 
ship. They were natives of New York .state 
and came to Macond) county, iliehigan, in the 
':-{fls, settling on the Hart road in Chesterfield 
township, where Ihey made tlieir home until 
(k'ath. Of their seven children, five are still 
living in this county, one in Newaygo county 
and one in Sanilac eounty. .Mi-, and .Mrs. Jlil- 
ton luive two children: (irace, wlio is the wife 
of John (lillett, a mail carrier of New Haven, 
Michigan, and (!ny E.. who married Miss 
Berneta ( 'Iciiieiis, a (laiii:litcr u\' .Mclviii and 
Anna Ch'inens ol' Cheslci-fielil township, and 
lives with his father. 

Mr. Milton is a i)roiiiini'nt .Mason, belong- 
ing to Mount Clemens lodge, .Xo. (i. .\. F. (.<: 
A. M., which he joined by a grand lodge 
demit from Lake St. Clair lodge. No. 82, where 
he was initiated in 1875. He is also a iiieni- 
l)er of Mount Clemens chapter. No. 69, R. A. 
M., and Mount Clemens council. No. 8. R. & 
S. M. He is a member of the AVoodmen of the 
World camp. No. 9. of .Mount Clemens, and 
(leorge Washington court. No. 1408, 1. ( ). F., 
of New Haven, ill which he has filled all tin' 



jiriiicipal chairs, is juist chief riiuger and at 
present vice chief ranger. The democratic 
[)arty finds in him a stalwart supporter of its 
principles and he has taken quite an active in- 
terest in local jiolitics, si'rving as highway com- 
missioner in 1879, a member of the board 01 
review for four years in the '90s. and a mem- 
ber of the school board of district No. 2. for a 
number of years. Every duty devolving u[)on 
liiiii has been most faithfully disch.irged and 
he stands high in the regai'd of his fellow 
citizens. 



CHARLES STERLINC PROCTER. 

Cluirles S. Procter, deceased, was one of 
the most popular and highly respected young 
men of Romeo. He was a native of this 
county, born on the (dd Procter homestead 
ill Washington township, ilarch 21, 18(37, 
and was a son of Luther and Harriet L. 
(Sterling) Procter, whose sketch ajipears on 
another page of this volume. He was reared 
U|ion the home farm and attended the public 
schools of Romeo, completing the scientific 
course by graduation with the class of 1886. 
Later he attended the Detroit Business Col- 
lege for a commercial course. 

Mr. Procter assisted on the farm many 
years, and i'or some time was a very enthu- 
siastic pliotogra]ihcr. many of his fine pho- 
tograjihs being now in the hands of his 
friends and family. 

Being in ill health he went to .New ^le.xico 
in December. 1903, with the hope that a 
change of climate would prove beneficial, but 
he gradually grew worse and on the 17tli 
id' Alar(di, 1904. he passed away at Silver 
City. .Mthough so far away from home lie 
was not alone in his last illness, for his father, 
an aunt. .Mrs. Ellen (Procter) .Melleii. and 
his fiancee. Miss Mary .\. Brewer, were in 
constant attendance for nearly four weeks 
previous to his demise and were jn-esent 
when the final summons came. His remains 
were brought ba(d\ to Romeo for interment 
and the party was met by friends at Detroit, 
a special cai' conveying tliem from that city 
to Romeo. 

.\ltlioimli quiet and unassuming in manner. 
Ml'. I'i'octer possessed a lovable ilispositioil 
and had a cheery word for all. which traits 
(if character gained him many warm friends, 
and his loss was deejily mourned by the en- 
tire community as well as his immediate 
l'aiiiil\'. .\s a citizen he was ])rom])t and true 
to ever\' engagement, and as a man he held 




ClIAlil.KS STKlil.I.\(; 1M;iU'TJ"]H. 



PAST AXO PKESEXT OF :\rAro:\rR COfXTY 



267 



the houor and esteem of all ela.sses of peo- 
ple, beiug sincere in friendship and steadfast 
and unswerving in his loyalty to the right. 
He went to Paris in 1900, l)eiug offered a 
position under Dr. Bean, who had charge of 
the United States foi-(>stry exhibit, and he 
spent some time abroad. Mr. Procter was 
an honored member of the Masonic frater- 
nity and also of the Romeo Club, which 
called a special meeting on learning of his 
death, the following resolutions lieiiig adopt- 
ed at that time : 

Whereas, An all wise and ovfrriiling 
Providence has removed from our midst, by 
death. Charles S. Procter, an honored nieiii- 
bcr of our club ; therefore, 

Resolved. That we deeply deplore the loss 
of an esteemed friend, associate and fellow 
citizen, one who will long be remembered for 
his kindliness and consideration for others. 

Resolved. That we tender our heartfelt 
sympathy to the bereaved family of the de- 
ceased at the time of their great affliction 
and sorrow. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of our 
respect for the deceased, the club rooms be 
closed and that the niembers attend the 
funeral in a body. 

Resolved. That these resolutions be spread 
upon the records of the club and that a copy 
of the same be presented to the family of 
the departed and also furnished to the 
Romeo Observer for publication. 

Committee— L. K BEDELL. 

E. C. NEWBURY. 
WILLIAM GRAY. 



:\rRS. SAR.MI A. SAVAGE. 

Mrs. Sarah A. Savagi' has for seventy-three 
years been a resident of Macomb county. 
She was boi'ii in Xew .ler.sey, November 23, 
1828, a daughter of Elisha Weller, who was 
likewise a native of that state, born June 23, 
1800. He was a blacksmith by trade and in 
1832 he brought his family to ^Michigan, then 
largely an undeveloped state. He purchased 
from the goveriniient one hundred and sixty 
acres of wild land in Chesterfield township 
and at once began to clear it i)rei)ar;itoi-y to 
cultivating the fields. He iiiii)rov('(l a part of 
the farm but d(n()tc(l much nf his time to 
blacksmithing. his services lieim;- in constant 
diMiiaiid. He was married tn .Miss .Maria 
N'anetta. who was born in Philadelphia. Penn- 
sylvania, .lunc f). 1802. and who in 1822, in 
New Jersev, gave hei' hand in iiiari-iage to Mr. 



Wellei-. They liccniir the ])arents of twelve 
children, of whom six are living: William, 
who married Cordelia Shaddock, was a car- 
penter and farmer of Chesterfield township, 
gave his political support to the republican 
I)arty and died in the .year 1893. Martin died 
in infancy. ^Irs. Savage is the thirtl of the 
family. lOlizabcth became the wife of Jacob 
Bi'andt, a carpenter and farmer of Detroit, 
wdio was also an advocate of republican prin- 
ciides, while his religious faith was that of the 
Eiiisco]ial church. There were three children 
of thai mai-riage and the mother died in 1871. 
Joseph, the fifth mendjer of the Weller family, 
who mai-rictl Antoinette Keiniedy, was a car- 
l)enter of Konu'o. He voted with the republi- 
can party and held membership in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal chiu-ch. Samiiel, who mar- 
ried Alzura Brown and had two children, 
Claude and Jane, is a farmer and stockman 
living in iMount Clemens and votes with the 
rei)ul)lican party. John C. who married 
Cathei'ine Connor, liy whom he had two chil- 
dren, ;\Iyron and Jennie T., was a farmer of 
Chesterfield township and is now deceased. 
He was a member of the ^Methodist Episcopal 
church and of the ^Masonic fraternity and he 
gave his political support to the republican 
party. Charles, who followed carpentering, 
died in 18(i7. Cathei'ine ~Sl. became the wife of 
William Wycoff, a printer of Detroit, like- 
wise a supporter of republican principles 
Their only son, George, is deceased. Mary 
is the wife of A. R. Knight, a farmer and 
teamster of jMount Clemens, who votes with 
the republican jtarty. and they have four sons, 
Robert, Frank, Walter and Burton. George 
married Ella Atwood, by whom he has a 
daughter, Jlyrtle. He follows farming in 
Chesterfield township and like the others of 
the family gives his ]iolitical allegiance to the 
(irand Old Party, while his fraternal relations 
are with the Masonic lodge. 

Sarah A. Weller pursued her early educa- 
tion in the district schools and afterward con- 
tinued her studies in IMouiit Clemens. She 
was only four years of age when brought by 
lii>r parents to this county, where she has 
since resided — an interested witness of its 
rapid and wonderful develo]uiH'nt and growih. 
In early womanhood she gave her hand in 
marriage to James Savage, who was born in 
October, 1823, in the state of New York, and 
was a son of James and Anna (Haines) Sav- 
age, the former born in Ireland. Feliruary 25, 
17()9, and the latter in the Empire state, July 
24. 1778. They were the iiarents of the fol- 
lowing luimed: Almond, liorn September 7, 



268 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



1(97; Lois, Fehniary 16, ITilH; .Mary, l)()i-ii 
November 23, 1800; Mchitahle. July 12, 1802: 
Heury. April 4. 18(14; O'lirieii. Oetober 25, 
1805:" Sarah. .March 20. 1807: Krastus. Febni- 
arv .i, 1810: Eiiieiiiic. .laiiuarv 2:i. 1812: 
AYilliaiii 11.. March 14. ISltl: .lane. April 5. 
1818; Adeline, .Maicii 27. 1^21: and .laiiics. 
Oetober 7, 1824. 

]Mr. Savage became a I'csidciit of ^Maconih 
county in pioneer days. In early manhood 
he \voi'k('d for a number of seasons as a farm 
hand and then with the iihuicv which he had 
acquired thi'ough his industrs- and economy 
he purchased forty acres of wild land, which 
he at once began to cultivate. He erected 
buildings, tilled the tiekls and continued in 
the active work of farming until 188:^ when 
he suffei'ed a stroke of i)aralysis. He had led 
a very busy and useful life and his farm was 
the evidence of his earnest, ])er.-:istent labor 
and well managed business interests. 

^Ir. and ;\lrs. Savage bec;uiie the parents of 
eight childivn: William. Iinrii August 24. 
1857. has fai'ming interests at Evart. Osceola 
county, Michigan, and lives in Blount Clem- 
ens. He is a republican. He nuirried ]\liss 
Alice West and they have seven children : 
Viola, Wilmer, Frank, Donald, Helen, Alice 
and James. F'red C, born Septendier H. 1858. 
is a chef in San Jose, California, and votes 
with the republican party. Ceorge is de- 
ceased. Clarence, born June 28. 1861. was a 
molder at Port Huron. Michigan, where he 
died ^larch 6. 1905. He iield membership 
with the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen 
and the ^Maccabees, gave his political alle- 
giance to the democracy and attended the 
Congregational church. He luul married Mar- 
garet Ciu-ler and tiicy had two sons. Harry 
and (ieorge. Edith yi. Savage, fifth membei- 
of the family, was born April 27. 18(i:i. is en- 
gag('(l in dressmaking and resides with ln'i- 
mother on South avenue in Blount Clemens. 
Frank, born January 25, 1865, is first mate 
on a steam barge and i-esides in Mount Clem- 
ens. He votes the republican ticket. He nuir- 
ried .Mai'garet Bresau and has a daughter. 
Catherine M. Elmei- (i. Savage, born October 
5. 18ti7. died Julv (i. 1890. Nettie M.. born 
July 5. 1869, was the wife of Charles W\ Wus- 
sell, who was collector in Ohio and Iniliana 
for the firm of Kussell & Comimny of Mas- 
silon, Ohio. He was a repulilican and died 
in 1899. 

The sous of James Savage largely followed 
in his footsteps i)olitieally foi- he irave :ni uii 
faltering sujuiort to the men and measures oi 
the republican jiarty. lielii'vinii' tirndy in its 



principles as most conducive to good govern- 
iiieut. He held mend)ershii) in the Presby- 
terian church and his religious belief was a 
jjcrmeating influence in his life, pi'ompting 
his kindly and considerate treatment of his 
fellowmen as well as of his family. He died 
May 25. 1888, and his remains were interred 
in Clinton t iwnship cemetery. Mrs. Savage 
still survives her husband and makes her 
home in Mount Clemens. She is well known 
in the cit.v and county, where for seventy- 
three years she has lived, a witness of great 
changes and of a transfornuition which has 
converted the wildei-iuss into a center of civ- 
ilization. 



EDW^VKD K. SANDERSON. 

The life rec<)rd of Edward R. Sanderson is 
formed by a long period of activity in busi- 
ness circles crowned by a well earned rest, 
for he is now living retired in Romeo, en- 
joying the fruits of his former labor. For 
many years he figured as one of the active 
and successful farmers of St. Clair county 
and is nundjered among the early settlers of 
this portion of the state, having located in 
St. Clair comity in 1850. 

Like many of the representative citizens 
of eastei-n Michigan, ilr. Sanderson claims 
New York as the state of his nativity, his 
liirth having occurred in Herkimer county, 
November 21. 18:U. The famil.v was estab- 
lished in the new world in colonial days and 
his t;randfather, Elnathan Sanderson, was 
born in ^Massachusetts in the year which 
gave birth to the American republic — the 
year in wliieh the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence was signed. He was the youngest in 
a family of fourteen children and in 1806 
he removed from the old Bay state to New 
York, settling in Herkimer county. His son, 
David Sanderson, the father of our subject, 
was born in Massachusetts, was reared in 
Herkimer county. New Yoi-k. and when he 
hail reached man"s estati' was married to 
Miss Polly Hriggs. who was born in New 
York. August 6. 1811. He then devoted his 
attention to agricultural ])ursuits in Her- 
kimer county for a number of years, while 
later he removed to Oeauga county, Ohio, 
arriving there in .May. 18:U. He followed 
farming in that locality for a number of 
years and then removed to Michigan in 1850. 
The followiiie \eai' he located just across 
the boun<lary line ol' .Macoiid) c(uinty in St. 
Clair county, wlu-i-e lie pui'ehasi'd wild land 




MR. AND MRS. E. R. SANDERSON 



PAST AND PRP:SEXT OF :\rAC'().MB corxTY 



271 



that was covt'i-L'd -with a dense growth of 
tiiiil)er. 'I'liis he had to eh^ar away ))efore 
he eould phmt crops, but his persistent ef- 
forts soon wrought a transformation in the 
place, and wliere once were seen tall trees 
there were later found fields of waving 
grain. He continued to engage in farnaing 
upon the old homestead there and departed 
this life in January, 1884. His wife had 
passed away in 1867. 

Edward H. Sanderson was the oldest of 
five children, all of whom reached mature 
years. Mary, the next in order of birth, 
was born May 20, 1834, and married James 
Pinconibe. but is now deceased. Melissa, 
born October 9, 1839. is the wife of Laban 
Hanse. of ^Memphis, ;\[ichigan. Esther, born 
January 6, 1842, is the wife of Alfred Purdy. 
George W., born January (i, 1848, married 
Jessie Schumau and is now at Palm Beach. 
Florida. 

Edward R. Sanderson came to ^Michigan 
when a young man of nineteen years. He 
had attended the public schools of Ohio but 
is largely self-educated, his mind being con- 
tiinially In-oadened b.v experience in the 
business world as well as through reading 
and observation until he is now a well in- 
formed man. He assi.sted his father in the 
development of the home farm in St. Clair 
county and afterward jnirchased land and 
engaged in farming on his own account in 
that connt.v for more than thirt.v years. He 
made a specialty of dairying and his prod- 
ucts from the dairy found a read.v sale on 
the market. He erected a good residence 
and was one of the i)rosperous agriculturists 
of his portion of the state, having a valuable 
farm of six hundred acres, of which five 
hundred acres was under cultivation. He 
made many improvements upon his place, 
o])eratiug the fields with the latest improved 
machinery, and his dairy plant was also 
splendidly e(|uipped. He kept sixty cows 
for dairy purposes and for forty years was 
successfully and extensively engaged in the 
manufacture of cheese. 

On the 21.st of September, 1858, 'Slv. San- 
derson was married in Bruce to^vnship, Ma- 
comb connt.v, to ]\[iss Julia E. Edgett, who 
was born in that township. March 20, 1837, 
and was there reared and educated. Her 
father, Albert Edgett, was one of the earl.v 
settlers of ^Macomb count.v. His birth oc- 
curred in Ontario count.v. New York, Febru- 
ary 3, ISOo, his father being Peter Edgett. 
who was also born in the Plnipire state in 
1770 and died December 13, 1831. The sou 



was reared in Ontario count.v and was there 
married to .Miss Lucy 11. Atlams, a daughter 
of John and Susannah (Morse) Adams. She 
was born in New Hampshire, April 22, 1807, 
but was reared in the Empire state. To 
Albert Edgett and wife were born one son 
and six daughters: Cleora. born March 9, 
1829. was nmrried July 20. 1854, to Samuel 
Babcock, who died in 1897. while her death 
occurred June 19, 1882. Phebe P., born 
Februar.v 21, 1831, was married Jul.v 20, 
1854, to Hart Perkins, and they reside in 
Oxford, ^Michigan. Louisa H., born Decem- 
ber 13, 1832, was married November 28, 
1853, to Jacob T. B. Spillmau. who died in 
1897, and she makes her home in Romeo. 
Marietta E., born October 25, 1834, was mar- 
ried ^larch 4, 1857, to Samuel F. Aldrich, 
who died August 3, 1894. Julia E. is the next 
of the family. I\Iartha J., boru Jtine 25, 1839, 
was married November 7, 1878, to Levi W. 
Cole, and died ilarch 14, 1901. Albert P., 
born August 20. 1841, married Sarah Hobbs, 
of Louisiana, during the Civil war. 

ilr. Sanderson removed from the farm to 
Romeo in 1890, purchasing residence prop- 
ert.y on Main street, where he has since lived 
retired. He has invested his capital in Mich- 
igan lands and gives his supervision to his 
pro])erty interests, but otherwise is enjo.v- 
ing a well earned rest. He has been a stanch 
re]>ublican since casting his first presidential 
ballot for the first candidate of that party — 
John C. Fremont — in 1856. He has never 
sought or desired office, but has given his 
attention to his farm and business afl'airs 
and his close aiijilication and energy have 
been rewarded l).v a liandsome competence. 
His wife holds mendiersliip in theMethodist 
Episcopal church of Romeo and he attends 
its services with her and contributes to its 
support. He manifested his lo.yalty to his 
native country at the time of the Civil war 
by enlisting in ^March, 1865, as a member of 
Compan.v D, Twent.v-seeond Michigan In- 
fantry. He went south to Chattanooga, 
where he remained for three months and 
was then transferi-ed to Company B, Twen- 
ty-ninth iliehigan Infantry, with which he 
did guard dut.v along the railroad, serving 
in that eapacit.v the greater part of the time 
until nnistered out. He was honorablj' dis- 
charged at ]\Iui'freesboro, Tennessee, Sep- 
tember 6, 1S65, and he is now a member of 
the Grand Arm.v post at Romeo, in which 
he has served as commander. lie is recog- 
nized as a man of good business eapacit.v and 
of sound .iudgment, whose affairs have been 



272 



PAST AND PKE8EXT OF .MACOMB COLNTV 



capably iuaiiat;ed wliile tlio visilile evidence 
of his life of thrift and industry is the prop- 
erty whieh lie owns in Romeo and in ^la- 
conib and St. Clair counties. 



JOHN W. SWITZKR. 

John \V. Swit/.cr. hdrii .Janiiai'v 7. 1S47. 
in Erie county. New ^'()rk. is of (Icrnian line- 
age, his parents l)einii (ieorue and Elizabeth 
( Fisher 1 Switzer, both of whoai were natives 
of ];5avaria, (iermauy, and caine to America in 
1827. The father died August 24, 1887. and 
the mother passed away Februai-y 28. 1895. 
tlu-ii' remains beint;- interred in the Ttica 
cemrtery. 

John W. Switzer \v;is bi'ouLihl tn .Micliitian 
by his pan nts when only eight years of age, 
the family home being established on a farm 
near Disco, where he remained until he had 
attained his ma.iority. Tie was educated in 
the old Ewell school and began life as a clerk 
in the general store owned by Pei'ry Evcivtt, 
with whom he remained as a salesman for five 
yeai's and was then atlmitted to a partnership, 
while later he became sole owner. He conduct- 
ed this business for six years, at the end of 
which time his building and stock were en- 
tirely destroyed by tii-e. causing him a loss 
of ten thousand dollars, as he had no in- 
surance. The fire occurred on Tuesday, 
and on the following Saturday he resumed 
business in another building with an en- 
tirely new stock of goods. After remaining 
in Davis for anothei- year he sold his store 
there and in 1880 i-ciuoved to Disco where he 
opened a genei'al store and heiv he hail built 
uj) a lucrative business when his stock and 
store Were Mgaiii destroyed by tii'<'. He cai'- 
ried little insui-ance at that lime. He re- 
sinned business, however, with remarkable 
courage and determination, though these ex- 
l)eriences woukl havt' utterly disheartened 
Muuiy a num. lie has steadily advanced 
through determined and eai-ncst purpose, 
meeting his icver.ses with remarkable forti- 
tude and making the most of his position. Tie 
has a well e(|uii)ped store and is enjoying a 
liberal patronage. Moreover, he has the entii'c 
confideiu'e and esteem of the communil.v. 

Mr. Switzei- belongs to the .Methodist 
Protestant church in which he takes a very ac- 
tive and helpful i)art. doiuL;' ail in his power 
to i)romot<' the growth of the church ami ex- 
tend its influence. With the exception of one 
year he has sci'ved as sujiei'lntendent of the 
Sniula\'-school since ISIII) and has been secre- 



tary of the Shelby circuit. In ]iolitics he is an 
earnest republican and since 188ti has served 
as postjnaster of Disco, while for eight ye;irs 
he was township clerk. 

In 1882 Mr. Switzer was married to .Miss 
.Margaret Frances Gass, a daughter of John 
and Margaret (Stitt) Gass, who were early 
settlers in Hay township. She was educated 
in the old stone schoolhouse of that township 
on the farm owned by .Mi-, (iass and also at- 
tended school in Davis and the I'tica high 
school. -Mr. and Mrs. Switzer have one sou, 
Hugh (!ass, who enteretl the schools of Disco 
and is now in his third year in the high school 
in I'tica. .Mrs. Switz<>r, like her husband, is 
an earnest Chri.stian, and they are both identi- 
hed with the .Maccabees order. He is one of 
its charter members and is also a member of 
the Gleaners. He has been ((iiite successful, 
notwithstanding the difficulties that he has 
met, and he possesses a firm purpose that en- 
ables him to overcome all ob.staclcs in his path 
and to work his way steadily U])ward. lie is 
to-day numbered among the men of afirtuence 
in his community and he certainly deserves 
much credit for wluit he has aceomplished. 



ISAAC N. BRABB,. 

Isaac X. Bi-abb was a representative of a 
family whose name figures conspicuously and 
honorably upon the pages of .Macomb coun- 
ty's hist(n\v. Tie was a well-known citizen 
of Hoiiieo and became a leading business 
man and land-owner. His life work in many 
res])ects was worthy of emulation and as 
the years passt'il he won imt only a comfort- 
able competence hut an honorable nanu'. His 
birth occurred in ^lacomb county, .August 
l-"). }H-V.i. his parents being Isaac and Han- 
nah Hrabb. who were natives of England, 
and with five children came to America in 
18;!li. settling in JIacomb county when this 
state was still a territory. They are mentioned 
in connection with the sketch of (ieorge W. 
Brabb and .Mrs. J. H. Brabb on another page 
of this woi-k. Isaac X. Brabb was educatcJ in 
the common schools and through the ex]ie- 
riences of later life. He became wc^ll read 
concerning current literature aiul im]>ortaiit 
subjects of the day and lie also kept in touch 
with matters of general interest. In early 
life his attention was given to agricultural 
pursuits and he owned and opi'rate(l a large 
farm, which he sncccssfull\' conducted for 
some years. 

]\Ir. Brabb was married in Maeoiiii) county, 
in 18(14, to Miss ()live Kli/.a .Manlex'. who was 



/ 






^m^ 

•k.. . 




^:|pl 






w^^^^^^^^^^^ 


^^^^^^^^^^^^HHI^^^RII^^^W^ 



ISAAC X. J3KABB. 




JOEL MANLEY 



i'AST AND PRESENT OF :\IArOMB COrXTY 



277 



liDiii ill 1841 in this comity and was a dauyli- 
Xvi- of Joel ^lanley. who was a native of Ver- 
mont, boru in Kutiaiiil in 1810. Wiieii a 
yoiinu' man he eaiiie to Mi('liii;an and was 
ensiayed in teaehinji; for sevei-al years in tlie 
])ulili(' seliools. Ill' also tau.aht vocal music. 
After arriving at years of maturity he mar- 
ried ^liss .liilia Wiieii.x. a native of the Eni- 
])ire state antl a dauuiitei- of Klias Wilcox. 
who was one of the first settlei-s. Ideating in 
.Michigan in 182-1. Joel ^lanle\- was a jn'oiii- 
inent farmer, who owned aiul operatetl a 
valuable ti'act of land, lie also tiuured prom- 
inently in i)ulilic affairs and contributed in 
substantial measure to the improvement of 
the county and was elected and re-elected as 
county surveyor, tilling- the office for a num- 
ber of years. He was (|uite active in local 
politics and served in numerous positions of 
honor and trust. In early life he attendi'd 
the Congregational church, having been 
reared in that faith, but later he joiiieil the 
Jlethodist Episcojial chui'ch and was one of 
it.s active and cajiable workers, lie served 
as superintendent of the Sunday-schoiil for 
a 7iumber of years and his efforts proved of 
value in i)i'omoting the growth of the school 
and in extending the iiitinence of the church. 
In the various relations of life he was an ac- 
tive and useful citizen and commanded the 
uiii|ualified respect and confidence of his fel- 
l(i\\ men. He died in 1884, leaving behind him 
an untarnished name. His wife, surviving 
him for a few years, passed away in 1887. 

Following his marriage, 'Slv. Hrabb resided 
on the nhl homestead farm, which he ctm- 
dneted and (i|)erateil for a number of years, 
or until ISIII. In Januai-y of that year he 
lost his wife, who died on the old homestead. 
They had become the pai'cnts of three sons 
and a daughter: Ernest .Mauley, who is now 
living in Hoiiieo; Howard Stanley, who died 
in January. 1895. at the age of twenty-four 
\i'ai's; Kobert II., who is engaged in the jew- 
elry business in Yypsilanti: and Clara Ade- 
laide, a teacher of music in the conservatory 
at Yypsilaidi. Michigan. They adopted a 
daughter, .Mae, when foui' years of age, 
whom they I'eared. eilucated and loved as 

tlleil" own. Slie is nciw the wife III' Kiibect 

Rood, of lionieii. 

]\Ir. Bi-abb was again iiiMrriel, Xiueiiiber 
16. 1891. his second union being with M I's. 
Lueelia (Manley) Caiuion, a sistei' to his 
first wife, who was lioi'ii, reared and edu- 
cated in .Maciunb county, and in eai'ly life 
successfully engaged in leaciiing for several 
years. She fii'st gave her hand in marriage 



to Levi Cannon in December. 1S()8. He was 
a native of the J^mpire state and wluii a 
young man came to Michigan. For some 
years lie was engaged in locating |)iiie lauils 
and in estimating the value of timl)er. and 
later he turneil his atti'iitiou to tiic manu- 
I'aeture of lumber. He was thus identilied 
with one of the leading business interests of 
the state — an industiy that has contributed 
jierhaps more largely to the pi'osperity of 
Michigan than any one line of business. His 
career provetl that success and an honored 
name can be won simultaneously. He died 
in 1881). respected by all who knew him. Fol- 
lowing the death of her liusbaiRl, Mrs. Can- 
non settled up the estate and also the estate 
of her father and later remoxed to Ivomeo, 
whei'c she afterwai'il gave her hand in mar- 
riage to Isaac X. Hrabb. 

Subse(|uent to his removal to Komeo ^Ir. 
Hrabb engaged in the real estate business 
and also in loaning money. He was a suc- 
cessful business man ami tinanciei', well 
known in Macomb and adjoining counties. 
He became interested in northern ^Michigan 
by visiting Hay View in 188(i and ])urchased 
a cottage on (ilendale avenue, where, with 
his family, he spent thirteen successive sum- 
mers most enjoyably. Hoth by inheritance 
and frugality he acquired a eom]ietence and 
was one of the foremost citizens of his town, 
reliable and steadfast, alive to fxcry inter- 
est and betterment for rich and pooi'. 

Politically ili'. Bi-abb was a stanch I'eiiub- 
lican, taking an active interest in local ])oli- 
tics as Well as in national elertions. lie was 
(diosen by popular vote to the oltice of jus- 
tice of the peace, which position he lilled for 
twenty years, dischai'ging his duties in a 
nuinner which reflected credit upon liimself 
and jiroved eminently salisfactoi-y to his con- 
stituents. He also served as a delegate to 
many county and state eonventions and tilleil 
various township and village offices of trust. 
At the time of his death he was president of 
the Macomb County Pioneer Society. 

.Mr. Hrabli was a prominent iind consist- 
ent membei- of the .Methodist Episcopal 
church, being com-erted when ;i young man, 
and he contributed liberall\' to clinrch ami 
lieiievolrnt pur])oses. He servetl on the offi- 
cial hoard for t went \-live years. While of 
a lihei-al faith that recognized every Clii'is- 
lian as his lirotlier. he was ever loyal to the 
church of his choict' and |>articularly to its 
Sunday-school, of which he was for many 
years a supei'intendeiit and teaehei- and 
afterward, to the time of his death, a faith- 



278 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACO.MB COUNTY 



ful member of the seuior Bible class. He left 
behind him the reeoi-d of an untarnished life, 
for he ever displayed the sterling traits of 
character that constitute an honorable, up- 
right manhood. He died in Paris, France. 
July 12. 1900. 

'Sir. Brabb had been an I'.xtensive traveler 
in his own country and in 1862 he crossed 
the ocean to visit his ancestral home in Eng- 
land and also to attend the World's Fair 
held in the Crystal Palace in London. lie 
attended the Centennial at Philadelphia in 
1876, the Cotton Expositi(jn at Atlanta in 
1882. the Columbian Exposition at Chicago 
in 1893, the Tennessee Centennial at Nash- 
ville in 1897, and soon afterward became in- 
terested in ])hins foi' the Pai'is Exposition of 
1901), 

With his wife and niece, Dr. Alice Brabb. 
he joined a i)arty of seventy-five people, with 
Professor (i. W. E. Hill, of Des ^Moines, Iowa, 
as conductor, for a toin- through Great Brit- 
ain and the continent, leaving Romeo ^lay 
31 for the trip. It was an ideal compan.y and 
no member en.jo.ved every da.v and every 
change of scenery more than he. until from 
his own api)reciation he became a general 
favorite by his hel|ifulness for the enjoyment 
of others. So the tour of Ireland and Eng- 
land, thence across to Holland, Austria, 
Germany. Italy and Switzerland was com- 
pleted and lie iTachcd Paris with great 
expectations for the novelties of that gay 
city, only to receive on the following morn- 
ing a sudden sununons to the home beyond. 
The cause of his death was an organic heart 
trouble, an ailment of many years' standing, 
but scarcely seeming to aft'ect his general 
health, which was uniformly good, although 
he antici])ateil death from that disease. Plis 
daily life was such that wherever and when- 
ever the call caiiii' lir was ready, but those 
who were called upon to face the conditions 
of death in a foreign countr.v learned their 
utter heli)lessness before the majesty of 
French law, and imly tlmsc avIiu may l)e 
placed in siiiiilai- circumstances c;in I'ver un- 
derstand the difference between the coming 
of that ever unwelcome visitnr in the (|uiet 
of one's own home and in llir t'oiii-th stoi-y 
of a Parisian Imtel wlieii nil l"'r:iiicr was cele- 
brating its greatest national I'ete d:iys. with 
all the WDi'ld as an audi<Mice. 

A life-long anil ardent rei)id)lican Mr. 
Brabb had. during the trij), been particu- 
larly loyal to his country and to the flag, 
which he never failed to salute, it being a 
fancy of his to sing "America'' and ■"Michi- 



gan, My ilichigan, " at least once in every 
country, the last time for him having been 
while standing on the top of the Leaning 
Tower of Pisa. 

The remains were embalmed and a beauti- 
ful service held in the suite of rooms before 
the jiarty left for America and everything 
that the loyal friends of that company could 
do was gladly done for the wife so suddenly 
bereft, the presence of two of ovir own towns- 
men, Charles Procter and C. Fred Thomp- 
son, who had been residents of Paris for sev- 
eral montlis. being of almost inestimable as- 
sistance in the time of such great need. 

For the .service there Professor G. W. E. 
Hill was in charge and in a touching prayer 
commended all to the care of the tender 
Father, the united company sang "Jesus, 
Lover of .My Soul." Rev. Lewis Willsey, pas- 
tor of the Methodist church of St. James, 
Minnesota, followed with a brief address 
from the text: "The righteous shall be held 
in everlasting remembrance.'' Howard 
Smith of Pipestone, ^liunesota, gave a tenor 
s(ili). "Pai-adise," and the party united in 
singing "Near, ;\Iy God, to Thee." The me- 
tallic casket, enclosed in another of heavy 
American oak, was completely covered with 
long-stemmed roses and carnations, the gift 
of the sympathetic company. 

Aftei' many delays by accident and storm 
the party, accompanying the remains of their 
di'ceased mend)er, reached Detroit August 
11. and the following day. just one month 
from the day of .Mr. Brabb 's death, tin- tinal 
service was conducted in his own home on 
Pleasant street, whre the casket was cov- 
ered with choicest flowers and under drapery 
of the flag that he loved, the remains were 
placetl at rest at last m the Brabb vault in 
the Ronu'o cemetery, more than four thou- 
sand miles from the scene of his d<'ath, ami 
the sense of satisfaction to the wife who had 
endured so nnich to aecomj)lisli that purpose 
was beyond words for expression. 

Tile home service was conducted li\' his 
])astor. Rev. <^. F. Winton, assisteil by his 
Bible class teacher. Rev. II. S. White, the 
text used being the same on both occasions. 
Tiiere was a ([uartette of singers and Jlrs. 
Jessie Reed, as soloist, gave a favoi-ite of 
the deceased, "The Home of the Soul." 

Following the death of her husband Mrs. 
Hralib settled up the estate and edtu'ated the 
ehildren. For this purpose she removed to 
Yypsilanti that they might enjoy the ad- 
vantage of the .State Noi'mal School, and 
after reeeiviiie inst rue-lion there Miss Clara 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



279 



Brabb was graduated from the Conservatory 
of Music aud has since beeu a teacher of 
music iu that institution. In 1904 Mrs. 
Brabb returned to Romeo, purchased a lot 
and built a neat residence on ^Main street, 
■where she now resides. She is a woman of 
superior business capacity and enterprise aud 
has managed her affairs with excellent ,iudg- 
meut and keen discrimination. She also pos- 
sesses superior literary taste and has long 
been a correspondent for the Detroit papers, 
aud iu her reading has become familiar with 
the best authors of ancient aud modern times. 
She ranks high in the social circles of 
Romeo. 



EUGENE IT. LA:\[B. 



Eugene II. TjUiiiIi has lieen a resident of ila- 
comb county throughout his entire life, living 
upon the farm, for which he iiolds the old 
original patents granted by the goveriuuent 
to his grandfather, Otis Lamb. The family 
name has ever been a synonym for integrity 
in this part of the state and its representa- 
tives have done much toward the agrieultui-al 
development of the county. Eugene II. Laml), 
following in the footsteps of his ancestors, has 
become one of the thrifty farmers, stock- 
breeders and dealers iu Washington township 
and upon his farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres, is largely engaged in the raising of 
Duroc-Jersey hogs and Durham cattle. 

The date" of his birth is :March 25, 1852. 
His father, Edwin Lamb, is also a native of 
]\Iacomb county, having been liorn on what is 
known as the old Lamb homestead farm in 
April, 1825. The grandfather, Otis Lamb, 
was a native of ilassachusetts, born October 
16, 1790. He was there reared and became a 
tanner and currier by trade. Removing from 
his native state to Canada, he continued in 
that line of business and during his residence 
in the English province was married. Later 
he removed to Cenesee county, New York, 
where he was engaged in farming, and he also 
worked at his trade of tanning there. In 1823 
he removed west to .Michigan, finding it 
largely an undeveloped region and he entered 
land from the government, covering a tract 
of one hundred and si.Kty acres. Settling 
upon that place in lS2-t, he at once began to 
clear and iuiprove it and also established a tan- 
nery in the county, doing work iu that line for 
Macomt) and ad.joining counlies. He was 
prominent and influential iu public affairs, 
serving as justice of the peace and also as 



l)ostmastci-, aud his influeuce was ever exerted 
in behalf of progress, improvement and up- 
building. 

Edwin Lamb was born and reared on the 
old family homestead and later succeeded to 
the ownershii> of the ]ilace. He aided in its 
early development and improvement and car- 
ried on farm work through a long period. 
He was married here, June 29, 1851, to iliss 
Caroline Stone, a native of Macomb coiinty, 
and a daughter of Aaron Stone, who was born 
in New York and became one of the early set- 
tlei-s of this section of ^Michigan. ;\lr. Lamb 
continued his farming operations and erected 
a neat and conuiiodious brick ivsidence. lie 
also built barns aud other outbuildings and in 
fact added all modern improvements to his 
place. In connection with the tilling of the 
soil he engaged in raising pure l)looded Dur- 
ham cattle and was a successful, prosperous 
agi'ieulturist and stock-rai.ser. His entii-e life 
was passed on the old homestead and he was 
called to his final rest February 10, 1890. A 
memlter of the Masonic fratei-nity he was true 
to its teachings, exemplifying in his life its 
beneficent principles. In politics he was a 
stanch republican. He was a man whom to 
know was to respect and honor. His widow 
survives her husband and resides with her 
son on the old home place. - In their family 
were three sons and two daughters, all of 
whom are j'et living, the eldest being Eugene 
H., of this review. The others are : Dr. 
Elmer E. Lamb, who is a physician engaged 
in practice at Republic, Michigan-, Dr. A. R. 
Lamb, who is retired from the practice of 
medicine and resides upon the home farm; 
Metta A., the wife of I. N. Terpening of South 
Lyons, ^Michigan, aud Ida A., who is a teacher 
of French and German in the high school at 
Lansing, ^Michigan. 

Eugene H. Lamb was reared opou liis 
father's farm aud piu'sned his education in 
the Washington school. Throughout the 
period of his youth he assisted in the farm 
work as time aud opportunity permitted and 
following his father's death took charge of 
the old home place, on which he has since 
made some improvements. He raises good 
crojjs and iu connection with the tilling of the 
soil is succeasfiilly engaged in the breeding 
and sale of Durham cattle aud Duroc-Jersey 
hogs, owning some fine auinmls. His business 
ability is well known to his neighbors and 
finds visiiile proof in the success which is at- 
tending his labors. 

]\Ir. Lamb was married in AVasliiuirtou town- 
ship. :\larch 25, 1879, to :\Iiss Ida iM. Davis, 



28o 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



a dauuhter of Milo W. Davis, wiio was l)oni 
in New Yoi'k. hut bec-aine one of the early set- 
tlers of this state and one of the tirst eon- 
duetors on the Michigan Central railroad. 
ilrs. Lamb was born at Ypsilanti. iliehigan. 
but was reared and educated in Washington. 
There are foiu- children of this marriage : 
Leoua I.; Ka\' <).. who is supply clerk for the 
mining company in Trininuntain. ^liehigan; 
Cass A., wht) is a student in Lansing: and 
Harry ^I.. a stiident in the high school of 
Komeo. 

Politically Mr. Lamb is a republican wliere 
national issues are involved, but he has never 
sought or desired ofifiee. prcferi'ing to give his 
attention to his business affaii's. He and his 
family attend the Cnion clinn-li of \Vashing- 
ton and he is a member of the ^laccabees 
lodge, a fraternal insurance organization. 
Having spent his entire life in ^lacomb county 
he is well known to many of its citizens and 
there have been displayed in his life woric the 
many sterling traits of cliaractcr which liave 
been the means of hi'oadening liis circle of 
friends aiul gaining for him the admiration 
and respect of those with whom lu' has come 
in contact. 



Hl'KTO.X 



i5.\TKS. 



The sub.ject of this sketch has been idciitili<Hl 
with the agricultural interests of Chesterfield 
townshi|i throughout his active business life 
and now owns and operates the old homestead 
on .section .'>. where he was born December 1'"). 
1870. He is a son of Eli H. and Cei-inda 
(Hazelton ) Hates, the former a native of .New- 
York state and the latter of Canada. The 
father's bii'lh occurred on the 28th of May. 
18.SL'. and lie was therefore only three years 
ol<l when be aeeompanieil his parents on their 
removal to .Macond) county. .Michigan, in 1885. 
Our sub.ject "s grandfather. Ezra Bates, de- 
cided to locate in Chestertiekl township and 
l)urchased the farm of Petei' Hart, who had 
taken np tin- land from the government. To 
the cult i\'a1 ion and improvement of this 
|)i-operty lie at once turned his attejition and 
in conv<'rting the wild land into a uood farm 
he underwent all the hardships usually e\- 
pei'ieiiced by tlii' eai'ly settlei's. In those earl.v 
days in ui-iler to get liis grain ground into 
llonr lie bad to drix'e to l''rederick 's mill near 
.Moniit Clemens. He was a very active and 
prominent member of the I-"ree Baptist ehuieh 
of .\ew Haven, of which lu' was a de.ieon I'or 
maii\' \ears. When the <'oiintr\' luM'ame in- 



volved in a secoiul war with p]ngland. in 1812, 
he entered tiie service, l)ecoming a member of 
a New Yoi'k cavalry regiment. His son James 
was a soldier of Company A, Ninth Michigan 
Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war and 
was taken pri.soner at the battle of Murfrees- 
l)oi'o. When released he returned home but 
his imprisoiniient had broken down liis healtli 
and he died soon afterwartl. 

Amid frontiet- scenes Eli II. Bates grew to 
manhood and as soon as old enough to be of 
any assistance he aided in the arduous task 
of transforming wild timber land into a good 
farm, in the meantime receiving his literary 
education in the district schools near his home. 
He spent his entire life upon the old home- 
stead with till' exception of three years when 
he lived on the fai'm which he had purcliased 
one mile north of the home place. At the end 
of that time he sold out and returned to the 
parental roof in order to take care of his 
father in his declining years and look after the 
farm. Taking an active interest in educa- 
tional affairs, he served as a director on the 
school l)oard of district No. 3. and always 
gave his su|ii)ort to any measure which he 
believed calculated to pi-omote the moral, in- 
tellectual or material welfaic of the commu- 
nity in which he livetl. He attended the Bap- 
tist church of New Haven, and his death, 
which occui-red November 10, 1895, was 
deepl.v moui'iied by numy friends as well as 
his immediate family. He left only one child 
— Burton T.. of this review. His wife had 
died on the 25th of February. 1S72. 

P>urt<Mi T. Bates is indebted to the district 
schools foi- the educational privileges he eii- 
.joyed diii'ing boyhood. Owinu' to his father's 
fjiiling health the responsibilit.v of operating 
the farm fell npon his shoulders at the eai'l.v 
age of seventeen years, ami after the fatbei-'s 
tleath he remodeled the house and made many 
other improvements, so that he now has a 
thoroughly modern and attractive farm. 

On thellth of November, 18!)5. .Mr. Bates 
was united in marriage to Miss Nellie !\I. 
.lones and to them were born two children, 
but only one is now living. Heulah !M. (iladys 
C. died November 2!l. lltiU. :\rrs. Bat<^s' 
father was Frank .lones, of Hay townshi]). 
He was born in .Meade. Macomb connt.v. in 
1850, a son i>\' .lames .lones, who was a native 
of England. Throughout life he followed 
farming with g<iod success and ilied .June 7, 
l;i04. Of his four children Mrs. Bates is the 
I'ldest. 

l'"'cu- ten years .Mr. Bat<'s served as modera- 
tor in school disti'ict No. :i, and he has alwa.vs 





MRS. ELI 11. HATES 



111 II. I'.ATKS 




B. T. BATES AN I J FAMIIA' 





MRS. EZRA BATES 



'I./K.\ HATES 



PAST AND PRKSEXT OF :\rArOMB COUNTY 



283 



taken a conimeudablc interest in pul)lie affairs 
as every true Amerieau oiti/eii should do. 
Fraternally he is a prominent member of 
George Washington court No. 1408, I. 0. F., 
of New Haven, in which he is filling the chair 
of court deputy and has filled the office of re- 
cording secretary, lie belongs to New Haven 
lodge. No. 40."). I. 0. O. F., and is a member 
of the Free Baptist church of that place and 
belongs to its choir. 



WILLIAM H. SUTIIKK'LAXI). 

William H. Suthei-land, classed with the 
leatliiig, progressive and enterprising farmers 
of ;\Iaeomb county, was born in Chesterfield 
township, December 3, 1867, a sou of Hugh 
and Harriet (Hicks) Sutherland, who are rep- 
resented elsewhere in this volume. Byron J. 
Sutherland, brother of our suljject, obtained 
his start in life by working farms on the 
shares until 1904, when he Ijought land from 
Ford L. ililton on Telegraph road aud is now 
a prosperous farmer there. He was married, 
November 12. 1887, to Sallie I\Iay ^Milton, 
a daughter of O. A. ]\liltou. of Chesterfield 
townshiji. and they have a son and daughter. 
Charles C. Sutherland left home in 1SS7 and 
went to Chicago, where he began working for 
the McCormick Harvester Company. After 
two years he engaged iu the saloon business 
for two years and later followed the life insur- 
ance business for a year. He is now an officer 
on the Chicago police force. He is married 
anil has two children. Jennie ^lay Sutherland 
became the wife of Frank Bacon of New Bal- 
timore, who for twenty years has engaged 
in teaching in Chesterfield and ]Macoml) town- 
ships, having charge of the Center Line school 
for eight years, while for two years he was 
principal of the Burns school in Warren. 
They have two daughters and a son living 
at home. 

William II. Sutherland, whose name intro- 
duces this record, was educated in the public 
schools at Salt River until twelve yeai's of 
age, when he removed with his parents to his 
I)resent home and for two years he continued 
as a public school student through the winter, 
while in the summer months he worked in the 
woods with his father. At the age of sixteen 
lie began earning his living and for a year was 
employed by George Ilartway of Chesterfield. 
He was afterward with Alfred Dennison 
on the turnpike road )or two years, and in 
the fall of 1886 he went into the luml)er 
woods at Fast Tawas, .Miciiigan, working for 



'i'homas Cade, 'i'he following year he re- 
turned ami took uj) a skimming route for 
George Kobinson of Blount Clemens, After 
a year he joined Ward Brown, of Chesterfield 
township, and went to Ashley, Nebraska, 
working on an extension of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy Railroad, which was being 
built from Omaha to Kansas. He returned 
home in the fall and liought a third interest 
in the stock and implements belonging to his 
father on the farm. In 1892 he purchased a 
half interest in the land and since that time 
has made many improvements on the home 
pro])erty. He has two large windmills, .jne 
for pumping water from a well which was 
sunk at the rear end of the farm, the mill 
forcing this water a distance of twenty-six 
hundred feet before it reaches the house or 
barn. The other mill furnishes power for the 
cornsheller, for grinding feed for the stock 
and for a saw which cuts all his wood. He 
also devotes a i)art of his attention to the 
raising of thorough-bred Berkshire and im- 
proved Chester White hogs, having a drove of 
thirty-six head which are registered. 

William H. Sutherland was married, Feb- 
ruary 15, 1888, to Miss Alice Farr, a daughter 
of Samuel Farr, of Chesterfield. She died 
July 26, 1899, leaving three children — Roy 
E., " born August 14, 1889 ; Charles Leslie, 
]\larch 2, 1891; and Jennie Hazel, July 30, 
1893. Mrs. Sutherland's father was one of 
the early pioneers of Chesterfield town- 
ship, who jturchased a farm in what was 
known as the Bates settlement. His wife died 
in 1879, leaving three children, of whom ^Irs. 
Sutherland was the eldest. On the 28th of 
August, 1900. :\lr. Sutherland wedded .Martha 
Kriesch, daughter of August Kriesch, of St. 
Clair county, and they had one child, Hattie 
JIabel, who was born February 23. 1904, and 
died on the 2d of ^larch following. Her 
father, August Kriesch. was of (Jernum birth, 
coming to America in 1878. He settled in 
St. Ciair county and enjoyed a prosperous 
career as a fai'mer on one hundred acres of 
land. Mrs. Sutherland is the fifth of seven 
children and was born July 20, 1881. She has 
four brothers and a sistei' living in St. Clair 
county. The third child of the family became 
ill and died on board the ship while crossing 
the ocean, being bui'ied in the sea. 

Politically Mr. Suthcrlaml is a stanch re- 
publican and is now serving as deputy under 
Sheriff" Eckstein. He was moderator on the 
school board of disti'iet No. 2, Chesterfield 
township. Hi' belongs to New Baltimoi'e 
lodiiv, .M. \V. A., and Lake Side tent. No. 156, 



284 



}'AST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



K. 0. T. M.. of New Baltimore. His atten- 
tion through life has l)een ehiefly given In 
farming o]ierations and by liis unremitting 
diligence and eai'efiil management he has 
gained very ereditahii' sneeess and is .justly 
accounted one of the leading farmers of the 
coiintv. 



WILLIAM Tltr.MAX HOSNER. 

William Truman llosner, who has won 
more than local distinction as a member of 
the ]\Iaeomb county bar. in the trial of im- 
portant civil and criminal cases, was born 
in Bruce township, :\Iay 27, 1870. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, Jacob llosner, emigrated 
to this eoiuity when it was a frontier dis- 
trict and settled in Bruce township near 
Nowland lake, where he purchased one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of timber land. There 
in the midst of the forest he hewed out a 
farm and when the trees had been cut down 
and the brush cleared away he turned the 
first furrows in the fields, continuing the 
work of cultivation and improvement until 
he had a fine farm. His first home was a 
log cabin, and in those early days the fam- 
ily experienced the usual trials and hard- 
ships that fall to tlic lot of those who estab- 
lish homes on the frontier. In the family 
of Jacob llosner were eleven children, Jesse 
G. being one of the seven sons. 

Jesse G. llosner was born in the state of 
New York and with his parents came to 
Macomb county, where he lived for many 
years and where he yet has a large circle 
of friends. Fin- a long time he was actively 
engaged in farming in Bruce township, ;ind 
prospered in his undei'takings, but in lltO-I 
he retired from active business life and re- 
moved to Oxford, Oakland county, IMichi- 
gan, where he now makes his home, enjoying 
a rest from further labor. Foi' a long period 
he was classed with the energ(4ic and pro- 
gressive agricidturists of his conmiunity and 
liis well directed labors bi'ought him a grati- 
fying measure of siu-cess. His puiitical sup- 
|)art has always been given llie n'publieaTi 
jyarty. lie mai'ried j'llerta ( >. Ivripey. a na- 
tive of Michigan and a danghtei' of George 
Em|)ey, who eame from Canada and settled 
in Bruce townshi]), where be followed farm- 
ing for nuiny yeai's. He is now deceased. 
Mr. and ^Mrs. llosner became the jiarents of 
three children: William T. ; George E„ who 
resides on the old homestead farm of one 
hundred and sixty aen's in Brnee tciwnship; 



and Carrie, also living on the home farm. 
Mrs. llosner died October 12, 1899. She was 
a meinbei' of the Freewill Baptist church, 
held in the highest esteem by her friends 
and neigbbors, being a woman of firm con- 
viction of right and wrong, whose life was 
like an open book. 

William Truman llosner, having pursued 
his early education in the district schools, 
contiiuied his studies in the high school of 
Honiei). fi-inii which he was graduated in 
189:?. He then entered the law department 
of the Michigan l^niversity and was gradu- 
ated with the class of 1898, after which he 
began the |n"ictice of law in Romeo, where 
lie has since i-emained. Careful in-eliminary 
training and thorough preparation of each 
case entrusted to his care have won him 
some notable victories at the Maeimib coun- 
ty bar. 

Mr. llosner is influential in jiolitical cir- 
cles as well and has labored effectively in 
the interests of the republican ]iarty. He is 
now chairnum of the republican county com- 
mittee and a member of the district congres- 
sional committee. He was appointed jiost- 
mastei- of Romeo by President ]\IcKiidey and 
in .lanuary, 1905, was reappointed, so that 
he is now filling the second term. 

On the 7th of December, 1898, Mr. llosner 
was united in marriage to Miss Nora Criss- 
niaii. a daughter of Charles C. Crissnuin of 
Washington townshi|t. They were the pa- 
I'cTits of three children: Electa, born Jul.y 
19, 1900: William Truman, born Septend)er 
(), 1902; and Cameron Cri.ssman. born De- 
cember 8, 1904. The parents attend the Con- 
gi'egational church and since 1899 ^fr. Hos- 
nei' has been a member of the ^Masonic lodge 
at Romeo and is also affiliated with the For- 
estei's and the ^Maccabees. 



REV. CHAULES 



KOKNli;. 



Kev. Charles .1. Koenig. pastoi' of St. 
Mai\\"s church at New Baltimoi'c, was born 
in (iermany, Jan\iary 7, 1865. He is the son 
of .\dam and Catln'rine Koenig, who came 
to Detroit, .Michigan, in the year of 1S7S. 
h'alher Koenig received his early education at 
St. .Joseph's parochial school of Detroit, eon- 
tiiniiiig his studies at the old high school on 
(iriswold street, atteiuling the evening course. 
In the meantime he was employed in the large 
dry goods store of George Peck & Company on 
Woodwiird aveiuie. where he remained from 
1S7S until 1SS2. .\fter having learniMJ his 



■ 


H^^ - ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 


1 




1 


i^fl 


I5f ] 


!iH 


B M 





WILl.IA.M TUr.MAX llOSNKi;. 



PAST AM) PRESENT OF :\[A('OMH COUNTY 



287 



trade thoi'ouy;hly, lie was en^aiied by the firm 
of Lacluiiaii & lluoki'stciii and remainod with 
that lioiiso as one of tlie Icadiiin' clerks until 
1887. On Scpteniher ."), 1887. he left for St. 
Jerome's CoUeiic. lierlin, Ontario, where he 
completed his classical course, iiraduatiui;' 
with the hiiihest honors, obtaining the medal 
in German, i-hetorie and philosophy. There- 
after he entered St. ^Mary's Seminary, Balti- 
more, ^lai-yland, to take uj) his theological 
eonrse, at that time under the rectorship of the 
learned \'cry Rev. A. L. ilagnien. D. D. 
On account of ill health and tlie climate, after 
two year.s of study Father Koenig was com- 
pelled to come home and take up hi.s last year 
of study at tlie Assumption College, Sandwich, 
Ontario. AVhile coiiii)letiiig his last year of 
theology, he, during the same year, filled the 
vacancy of professor of the (ierinan language 
at the Assumption College. On September 
12, 1895, Father Koenig was ordained to the 
priesthood b}^ the Rt. Rev. John S. Foley, 
and appointed pastor of St. Mary's congrega- 
tion at New Baltimore, September 17, 1895, 
succeeding the Rev. A. J. Tjambert as pastor, 
and is still in charge, beloved by all of his 
parishioners. 

The history of St. Mary's jiarish date- way 
back to the year of 1832, at which time mis- 
sionary fathers came from Detroit to attend to 
the spiritual welfare of the people; thereafter 
it became a mission to ]\[iirine City and after- 
wards to Swan Creek. In the year of 1875. 
the Rev. E. ]\I. Dekiere was appointed as resi- 
dent pa.stor. who was succeetled by the Rev. 
A. J. Lambert and now in chai'ge of the Rev. 
Charles J. Koenig. The church was built by 
the Rev. Father Bnssy while in his charge as 
a mission to JIarine City. The parish includes 
one hundred and twenty-five families, con- 
sisting of a mixed congregation, French, (<er- 
man and Irish nationalities. The church, 
school and house, have all been repaired liy 
Father Koenig, and are in the best of condi- 
tion, besides a handsome hall has been erected 
and the ])arish is clear and free of debts. 



CEORGE A. BAILEY. 

(ieorge A. Bailey, a resident of Riehnioiul. 
but one whose business interests have taken 
him to many sections of the country, he be- 
ing now engaged in promoting cement plants, 
was liui'ii in Armada township. Macoiiili 
county. September l!l. 1848. His patei'iial 
grandparents wei-e William \. and Elizabeth 
(Arlington) Bailey, and the father was 



]\Iahlon P. Bailey, wIk) was born in Paterson, 
New Jersey, January 2:5. 182U. In 18-14 he 
mari'ied Phoebe Cudworth, a native of Can- 
andaigua. New York. He was a mason by 
trade and in 1S4() he came to ^[aconib county, 
where he follnwed that pursuit luitil about 
1870. He then returned to his farm a mile 
west of Leno.x, making it is home for a few 
years, after which he permanentl.v put aside 
Inisiness cares and retained his residence in 
Hichmond until his death, which occurred 
November Id, IDOIi. His children are: Eu- 
gene, who is now living retired in Richmond; 
George A.; ^Irs. Mary A. Brown, of Detroit; 
and J. William, who is living in Cement City, 
Michigan. 

(ieorge A. Bailey spent liis lioyhood days in 
Lenox toA\nshi|) and attemled the iniblic 
schools of Richmontl. suliscquent to which time 
he engaged in farming, purchasing the home- 
stead jiropert.v- of his father in 1873. He then 
engaged in its further cultivation and im- 
provement until 1888, when he sold out and 
came to Riehmond, where, with Fuller & Son, 
he bought the hardware stores of Mr. Fuller 
and Mr. Abliott. lie afterward engaged in 
till' business for two .vears as a member of the 
firm of Fuller & Bailey and on selling his 
interest he went upon the road as traveling 
salesman for the McCormick Harvester Com- 
pany, controlling the ti-ade in a large number 
of counties. In this he continued successfully 
until lilOO, and in l!t01 he became connected 
with the cement industry, representing the 
Peninsula Portland Cement Company, of 
Jackson, ]\Iiehigan. He then went to Canada 
to introduce their cement and in 1903 Cana- 
dian capitalists started a plant at Durham, 
Ontario. ]Mr. Bailey having charge of the sale 
of their product for a short time. He then 
returned to Richmond and soon afterward 
his father died. Since that time .Mr. Bailey 
has been more or less extensively engageil in 
the promotion of the business of the Interna- 
tional Cement Company, of Ottawa, where 
they have comideted a plant covering more 
than four acres of floor space and having a 
ca])acity of one thousand six hundred bai'rels 
per da,v. This is on(> of the finest plants in 
the world. A portion of the winter of 1904-5 
was s])ent by him in the Canadian northwest 
exploring for carlmnati' linn'. In this lu' was 
successful and is now interested in forming a 
company to build a plant near Banl'l' in the 
K'cicky mountains. 

On' the 29th ol' 1 )<'eenil)er, 18(i9, Mr. Bailey 
was married to Miss Alice J\I. Weeks, of Co- 
lumbus, ^Michigan. ^Ir. Bailey belongs to the 



288 



i'A.ST AND PRESENT ()F .MAC'O.MB COrXTY 



^Masonic fraternity and the Maceabees tent. 
lie has found in the business world opportu- 
nity to give full scope to liis ambition and in- 
dustry — his doMiinaiit ((ualities — and in the 
freedom and ai)piveiation of the growing 
western portion of the country he has entered 
upon a successful business career. 

Elton I). Bailey, son of (ieorge A. Bailey, 
was boi-n in Lenox. Jiuu' ItJ, 1877. pursued 
his e<lueati(in in the pul)lie schools and in the 
^liehigan AgiMeultural College, from whieli he 
was graduated at the head of his class, com- 
pleting a course in mechanical and civil en- 
gineering. When he left college he entered 
upon practical work at Bay Cit.v, ^Michigan, 
and made rapid progress there. Having 
studied electricity, he took uj) the work of in- 
stalling plants and has installed several large 
cement plants in diffei'ent parts of the coun- 
try, being at the present time engaged in such 
an enterprise at Independence City, Kansas. 
He is a young man of great promise and while 
he has already made for himself a ereditalile 
position in the business cii'cles he has also lie- 
come popular in social circles. He was mar- 
ried in November. lltOl. to Lettie H. Clag- 
gett, of Macomb county, a daughter of James 
Claggett, one of the i)ioneer settlers of Kich- 
mond. Frateriinlly he is a ]\lMson and <^dd 
Fellow. 



SAJirKL WOOD. 



Samuel Wood, whose activity in liusiness 
affairs anil hearty support of progressive 
public measures made him one of the influ- 
ential and valued citizens of ^lacomb coun- 
ty, was born in Yorkshire. England, on the 
14th of November. iSi'O, and dei)arted this 
life at his home in .Mount Clemens, ^Mareh 
20, 1887, at the age of sixt.v-six years. His 
fathei', Jai:ies Wood, spent his entire life i!i 
England. Samuel W(ji)d was I'cai'ed and 
educated in that country and remained ;i 
resident of the land of his nativity until 
18o'2, when at the age of thirty-two years 
he saile 1 for America. hoi)ing to benefit by 
its im|)roved business conditions. 

In the meantime he had married Jliss 
Eliza Armitage. who was born in Yorkshire, 
in 1824. Their mari'iage was celebrated on 
the l:ith of February. 184'). and four chil- 
dren were born unto them ei'c their emigra- 
tion to the new w(M-ld. but John had died in 
infancy. The others were (ieorge. who died 
at the age of seven years: Anna W. Bates, 
who makes her home with Iut motliei- duriuir 



her declining years: and William, who nuir- 
ried Letitia Cole of Canada and died in 
1898, at the age of forty-two years. He 
was a farmer by occupation and owned coun- 
try property and also real estate in Mount 
Clemens. He was a member of the Baptist 
chui'ch and also of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and when called to his final 
rest his remains were interred in Clinton 
(Ji'ove cemetery. Following the emigratioii 
of the fandly to America two daughters were 
added to the household: Augusta, the wife 
of (ieorge Skelton, a marble dealer of Mount 
( leiuens: and ilatilda, the wife of Charles 
Mason, a resident of Eureka. Kansas. 

Wlirii Samuel Wood reached the shoi'es of 
the new world he at once resumed his .jour- 
ney toward the interior of the country, and 
established his home in ilacond) county, 
where he first jiurchased sevent.v-eight acres 
of land and began the development of a 
farm. This was all unimproved with t'/e 
exception of a very small portion, but hi" 
at once began to divide it into fields which 
he [ilaced umler cultivation. He built a 
small frame house of five rooms, to which 
he afterward added until there is now a 
commodious and substantial residence upon 
the farm, built of brick which he nianufac- 
tui'cd. .Ml-. Wood turned his attention to 
the brick-making industry in connection with 
general farming and followed that business 
for a number of years, meeting with very 
desirable success. 

In his later years, on account of ill health, 
he lived in retirement, enjoying a well earned 
I'cst. For \ears he was a most active and 
entei-pi'ising business man and he deserved 
the cessation fi'om labor which he was per- 
mitted to enjoy in his last years. He was 
intei-ested in all movements for the welfare 
and improvement of the county and he- 
liiiigcd to that class of repi-esentative Ameri- 
i-an citizens who while promoting iiulividual 
MKM'i'ss also foster and further the [irospei'ity 
of the coinnnuiity. He was a republic;in in 
politics, lie sci'ximI as one of the first trus- 
ti'cs of the Cliiilon (irove cemetery and 
was long ;i member of the Baptist church, 
in which for a number of years lie servi>il 
as a ilcai'on. His life was u|)riglit and hon- 
orable, his actions manly and sincere, and 
the good (|ualities which hi' daily manifested 
in his relations with business associates, 
family and fi-iends won him uniform regard. 
.Mi-s. Wood, still surviving her husband, luis 
ri'ached the advanced age of eiirhly-two 
\cars. Sli' has been a member of the 




SAMl'EL WOOJ). 




MRS. ELIZA WOOD 



PAST AM) I'RKSKAT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



293 



cliiirrli I'm- li;iir a I'l'iitury, consistent and 
fiiitlitul, and lias contriliuted generously to 
its support. She now lives in Mount Clem- 
ens and lias a wide eirele of t'l'iends in the 
eounty which has been her home for nioi-e 
than lial f a ceiitiirv. 



'no:\IAS B. KEIL). 



Thomas B. Kcid. iixini;' on section 12, Bruce 
township, is the owner ol' the Faii'tield farm, 
a well-iinpi'oved property of two liuudretl and 
thirty acres, lie is a native son of ]\lacoiid) 
county, horn upon this jilace. Septeuiher It, 
IStio. His father, William Reid. was horn 
ill Ayrshire, in Scotland, in .\pril, 1814. 
and in early luauliood came to the I'nited 
States, niakiiiti' his way at once to this coun- 
ty, where he worked by the mouth as a fariu- 
liand for several years. He married Mary 
(iray, daniihter of Neil (iray. Her father uave 
her one hundred and si.xty aei'es of wild laud 
and after clearing: up the land .Mr. Reid pur- 
chased it of his wife. Not a stick of timber 
had been cut or the work of improvement lie- 
gun in any way, and so the artluons task of 
clearing and developing the land devolveil 
upon him. He was e((ual to the work, how- 
ever, and soon instead of the tall forest trees 
were seen fields of waving grain, in the midst 
of wliieh stood sub.stantial builtlings, indica- 
tivi' of an ailvauced civilization and of the 
jirogressive spii'it of the owner. He also 
bought iiioi'e hind until his possessions aggre- 
gated four huiulred and ten acres, of which 
three hundred and seventy acres was com- 
jirised in the lionie place, while the remaining 
forty acres M'as a tract of tiiiibei- land near 
Almont. in Lapeer <'ouiit\'. I'pou the hoim- 
farni .Mi'. Reid reared his family and con- 
tiuue(l to reside until calli'd to his final rest. 
There wen' three sous by this marriage who 
reached mature years, but all ai'e now de- 
ceased. They married, howescr, and left fam- 
ilies. Foliowinu- the death of his first wife 
William Reid marrii'd Anna lioi'land, a na- 
tive of Scotland, in which country siie s[)ent 
her iiirlhood. There are three sons of this 
marriage: Thomas B. : .lohii L., who is living 
in .Muskingum county. Ohio, carryinsz' on busi- 
ness near Zaiiesville; and .laiin's II.. who owns 
and o|icrates a part of tlii' old homestead. 
Th.' Father died September l'l'. lSi)l, whih" the 
mother survived until Angu.st 2:5, IW)}. 

Thomas B. Reid spent his youth in the 
usual iiuinner of farmer lads of that period. 
He iittended the district schools, performing 



the duties of the schoolroom and enjoying 
greatly the pleasures of the iilaygroiind. He 
was tiaineij to habits of industry and econ- 
omy n[)on the old home ]ilace, continuing to 
assist his father until the hitter's death, when 
he became owner of a part of the farm. Here 
he has since livi'd. He has made many re])airs 
upon the place, im|)roving buildings, and has 
carried forward his farm work along progres- 
sive and enterprising lines. He is a thorough- 
going farmer and uood business man and is 
now meeting with \-eiy i-reditable success, so 
that he is classed with the substantial citizens 
of his coiiimuuity. 

^Ir. Reid was marrieil in Bruce township, 
in .luiie, 1898. to Miss Eliza (iilmour, a na- 
tive of Scotland and a daughter of Thomas 
Gilmour. There is one child by this iimr- 
riage — Lilian G. Reid. Mr. Reid votes with 
the republican jiarty and he and his wife are 
valuable members of the United Presbyterian 
chureh, while he is connected with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Foresters, They are well 
and favorably known in thi eounty and many 
friends enjoy the hospitality of their home. 



liVRO.X R. KRSKl.XE. 

Byron R. Erskine. a ]ironiinent lawyer of 
.Mount ('lemeiis, who is now sei'viug as circuit 
jiulge, was born .\dvember Iti, 18()4, in Port 
Sanilac, Michigan, his parents being James 
and Rebecca (Hammond) Erskine, the foriiu'r 
a native of Maine and the latter of Canada. 
The Erskine family is of Scotch descent. The 
grandfather, -lames Erskine, was a surveyor 
in the employ of the British government and 
in that position went In Nova Scotia. lie died 

ill early maiili 1. The l';ithei-. howe\er, 

reached the advanced age of .seventy-one years. 
He was a lumberman and removed from one 
lumber stati' — .Maine — to another — Michigan 
— one of whose chief industries is the uiaiiu- 
factni'e of Imiiber. 

In tlu' public schools of his iiati\e city 
• liidge Erskine pursued his t'ai-ly education 
and having determined to engage in the ]irac- 
tice of law as his life work he entered the 
University of Michigan in 188") ami was gi'ad- 
uated in 1887, having comiileted the law 
course. The saiiii' fall he entered upon the 
practice of his chosen profession and became 
a partnei' of Oscar C. Lungerhausen. of 
.Mount Clemens, as a member of the firm of 
Lungerhausen & Erskine, This relationslii|> 
was maintained for eight yi'ars and w;is dis- 
continued on his partner's election to the 



294 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



office of proseciitiug attoriK'y. .Mr. Erskiue 
afterward practiced alone and in his chosen 
profession has met witli gratifying success, 
gaining a large and distinctively representa- 
tive clientage, which connected him with the 
leading litigated interests tried in the courts 
of his district. His attention has always been 
chietiy directed to his law practice and he has 
met with gratifying success. In the prepara- 
tion of cases he is systematic, thorough and 
painstaking and his devotion to his clients" 
interests is proverbial. In the presentation 
of his cause his arguments are strong, his de- 
ductions logical and his reasoning clear and 
convincing. 

A republican in politics, the Judge takes 
an active interest in public affairs and at the 
convention of his party in the spring of 1905 
was nominated for circuit .iudge, being after- 
ward elected by a ma.jority of four hundred 
and seven over Judge Tucker, for a term of six 
years. His interest in public affairs is that 
of a public spirited citizen who has studied the 
needs of his community and labors for its 
progress along beuelicial lines. Fraternally 
Judge Erskine is connected with Blount Clem- 
ens lodge. No. 6, A. F. & A. M.. in which he 
has tilled Various offices. He was married in 
1890 to ]Miss ^Margaret E. Nichols, a daughter 
of George 0. and Henrietta (Little) Nichols, 
and their children are James B. and Dorothv 
M. 



ROBERT N. McKAY 

Robert N. JIcKay, who is engaged in gen- 
eral agricultural pursuits and stock-raising 
on section 24. Bruce township, has a fine farm 
of four hundred and twent.v-five acres, con- 
veniently and pleasantly located about four 
miles from Romeo. He was born on the old 
homestead here October lo, 1847, and is a 
.son of Robert and Jean ]McKay. who are men- 
tioned on another page of this work. Rob- 
ert N. McKay lived on his father's farm 
through the period of his boyhood aiul youth, 
attending the district schools until he had 
mastered the branches of learning therein 
taught, after which he spent two years in 
the high school at Romeo. His ti-aining at 
farm labor was not meager and he gained a 
practical knowledge which has enabled him to 
carry on his own farm work with success. 

On the 1st of November, 1870, in Armada 
township, he married Miss ]\rary Tlnirston, 
who was l)orn there and pursued her educa- 
tion in the public schools. Her father, Ben- 



jamin 11. Thurston, was one of the pioneer 
settlers of that locality, arriving in 1833 from 
Niagara county, New York. He is still liv- 
ing, making his home with his daughter, Mrs. 
ilcKay, and is to-day one of the valued early 
settlei-s of the county, having an intimate and 
compi-ehensive knowledge of all the events 
which frame the history of this portion of 
the state. Mr. and ilrs. ilcKay have been 
blessed with two children: Etta, who is en- 
gaged in teaching in the county : and Robert 
T., at liome. 

Following his marriage 'Slv. ^FcKay pur- 
chased the fai'in where he now lives and began 
its further improvement, carrying on the 
worlv until he has one of the best developed 
farms in this section of the state. He began 
here with one hundivd acres and has three 
hinidred aiul forty acres in another place. Ile> 
afterward sold two liundred and forty acres 
and to-day is the owner of four hundred and 
twenty-five acres in the home farm. He built 
two good barns and has just completed a neat 
and attractive residence, built in modern 
style of architecture. It is supplied with fur- 
nace lieat, with hot and cold water, bathroom 
and every attention has been paid to sanita- 
tion, light and air. The house is illuminated 
at night by gas and the chandeliers are one 
of the attractive features of the homq. The 
worlv throughout the house has been done in 
thorough manner and this is one of the most 
comfortable, convenient, attractive and beau- 
tiful country homes of ilacomb county. 

Politically ^Ir. IMcKay has always voted 
the republican ticket, and was elected and 
served as highway commissioner for a number 
of years, while at present he is filling the of- 
fice of justice of the peace. He has fre- 
(juently been a delegate to county conventions 
and his work in l)ehalf of public intei'ests here 
has been effective and far-reaching. The fam- 
il}' home is noted for its hospitalitj' and it is 
a fitting monument to the life of activity, en- 
ergy and successful accomplishment of Rob- 
ert 'n. McKay. 



ayillia:\i :\n:RTHUM. 

^Villiam Murthuui, who is engaged in the 
cultivation of fruit and berries in "Warren, 
was born on the Reimold farm, in Clinton 
township, JIacomb county, January 21, 1854, 
aiuI is of (icrman lineage, his parents, Ceorge 
and Dora (Scliiiiipf) ]\Iurthum, having been 
born in the fatherland. The former came to 
this county in 1845, settling first on the Rei- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



295 



mold farm, where he remaiued until ISGl!, 
when he removed to Sterling township, pur- 
ehasiny the Sanuders farm, upon whieh he 
lived until his life's labors were ended in 
1895. lie left a widow, who died in 1S98, 
and four children : Charles, a resident 
of Utica, ;\Iiehigan; ilrs. Cieorge Berz, of 
Sterling township ; William ; and Mrs. Henry 
Wolfe, of :Moimt Clemens. .Mr. Murthum 
was deeply interested in the public welfare 
and his aid could always be relied upon to 
further progressive measures, while his po- 
sition as a supporter of democratic principles 
was an vmequivoeal one. He belonged to the 
German Evangelical church of Mount Clem- 
ens and was most loyal to its welfare. 

AVilliam ^lurthum was a public school stu- 
dent between the ages of six and thirteen 
years, but at that early age left home and 
started out in life on his own account, since 
which time he has been dependent entirely 
upon his own resources. Going to Detroit he 
there learned the confectioner's trade, after 
whieh he returned to Warren township and 
gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, 
following farming until thirt.v years of age, 
when he opened a meat market in the vil- 
lage of Warren. After conducting it for four 
years he sold out to F. W. Cartwright and 
I'ented the Cartwright farm, remaining 
thereon for two years. He next purchased a 
part of the Spinnings farm, to which he re- 
moved, making it his home for six years, when 
in connection with C. F. Halsey. he oi)eued 
a general store in Warren. That partnership, 
however, was dissolved after six months, and 
a year later ]Mr. ]\Iurthum opened another 
store in the village, which he conducted suc- 
cessfull.v for twelve years, when he sold out 
to Frank Peek. In the meantime he had pur- 
chased twenty acres of land in the northern 
part of the village, on which he erected his 
handsome residence. Here he now lives, de- 
voting his time to the cultivation of fruit 
and berries, for which he finds a read.v mar- 
ket in Detroit. He makes a close study of 
the needs of ti'ees and plants and raises only 
high-grade fruit. 

In 1S,S3 ^Ir. ilui-thum was united in mar- 
riage to Miss jMinnie Cai't^vright. a daughter 
of F. W. Cartwright, of Warren township. 
She died in 1884 and their onl.v child died 
in infancy. In 1886 ^Mr. ]\Turthnm wedded 
iliss Fanny Trusdale, of Oakland county, 
nnd they have two children. Edna and Jes- 
sie, l)oth at home. In his political views Mr- 
Murthum is an earnest democrat, but the 
honors and emoluments of office have little 



attraction for him, as he has always preferred 
to devote his energies to lii.s l)usiness inter- 
ests, and he finds in the duties of the every- 
da.v life ample oppoi'tunity to exercise his 
industry, per.severance and determination — 
his ilominant (pialities. 



FREDERICK C. MILLER. 

Frederick C. Millei-, engaged in the prac- 
tice of law at .Mount Clemens, is a native son 
of ]\lacoml) county, his liirlh having occurred 
in New Baltimore, August 11, 1874:, and is 
a son of Charles A. and Caroline (Nelson) 
ililler and a grandson of Frederick Miller, a 
native of Basle, Switzerland, who for a time 
lived in Baden Baden, (Germany, and with 
his family came to America, locating in Bris- 
tol and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 
making his home in those places for about 
fifteen years. For over fort.v years his home 
has been in Macomb county, living at New 
Baltimore. He married Louisa Sulzer, whose 
ancestors lived in the duchy of Baden Baden, 
Germany, the ancestral iiomo being at Carls- 
ruhe. To them were born three children: 
Charles A. ; Louisa, the wife of August Graes- 
sle, of Detroit, Michigan ; and a sim that died 
in infancy. 

Charles A. ^liller was born iu Baden 
Baden, Germany, and came to this counti'y 
when five years of age and was reared in 
Pennsylvania, coming to Macomli county 
when twenty-five years of age, and for a long 
period of time was engaged in the meat busi- 
ness at New Baltimore. He is still residing 
at that place and is one of its leading and 
influential citizens, having served as a mem- 
ber of the board of trustees and is a justice 
of the peace of the townshi]> of Chesterfield. 
He married Caroline Nelson, a native of 
Michigan and a daughter of Cornelius Nel- 
son, w'ho was born in Christiana, Norway, 
while his wife, Catherine (Fink) Nelson, was 
a native of Hamburg, Germany. She came 
to this country during her early life, met her 
future husband on the sailing vessel coming 
across, and upon reaching New York was 
married, he having been a mate on the ship. 
Leaving New York they went to Buffalo, re- 
maining there a short time, thence coming 
to ^lichigan, where ^Mr. Nelson purchased 
the farm upon which he lived and died, in the 
early da.vs enduring all the liardships and pri- 
vations incident to pioneer life. He fre- 
quentl.v walked to and from Detroit, a dis- 
tance of over thirty miles, carrving provi- 



2g6 



PAST AND PRESP:XT OF MACO.MB COIXTY 



sions find othci- Kupi)lit's. The Indiiins at tliat 
time still caiiiixHl in tlie vicinity, sliowiu^' 
liostility at lii-sl hut smm iH'caiHc frieiully. 

Fi'ederick ('. .Milli-r pursued his literary 
education in the Hathaway Institute and re- 
ceived a coiniiiercial and shorthand course at 
the Detroit lousiness University, enterinsr 
upon the stutly of law in the fall of ISfMi. 
reatling' under private instruction for some 
time, then pursuing a course at tiie Detroit 
C'olleo-e of Law. In Octoliei', 1890, after suc- 
cessfidly passing tlie bar examination at 
Lansing. Micliigan, hi' was admitted to prac- 
tice ill the suju'eme court of .Michigan and in 
the I'nited States courts, also in the interior 
and treasury departments at Washington, D. 
C. He began tile practice of his pi-ofession in 
the fall of 18!)!), with otifices at .Mount Clem- 
ens. 

lie carefully prepared foi- his chosen pro- 
fession and as the years have advanced he has 
(lispla.V(-:l fertilit.v of resoui'ce as well as com- 
l)i'ehensi\e Understanding of the i)rinci]iles of 
.iui'is])rudence by ]\\< careful liandlinL;' ol' liti- 
gated inteiH'vts. 

Residing at Xew liMltiiiinre. .Mr. Millei- is 
a inembei' of the boai'd of education, lias 
been village attorney of that vilhige and is 
a trustee of the Coniii'egational chni-ch. lie 
belongs to the Maccabees and the Modei'ii 
Woodmt'u. 



ja:\ies prefssel. 

.lames Preussel. of .Mount Clemens, is a 
native of (ierman.v. born A])ril (i. 184:1 His 
fathei-. Christi;in Preussel. who was also born 
in that enuiit ry. had ime brother. .lames, who 
lived ;ind died there. Christian Preussel. 
however, came to .Vmerica in 18o4, bringing 
with iiiiii his lamily. He had been married 
in his native land tn Miss Mary Wuesten- 
berg. who was boi-n there, as was her fathi'r. 
.lacob AVuesti'iiberg. who in 18.54. also 
crossed tiie .\tlaiitic. settling in Xew Hal- 
timore, .Maeondi county. Soon afterward he 
[lurchased a Farm on sectinn 1(1. ( hcsti'rtield 
townshi]). and estalilished his famil.v in their 
new home there. The Pi-missel famil.v also 
located in Xew Baltimore, where the father 
W(U'ked as a laborer foi- a few months and 
then bought twenty acres of his father's 
land, of which between eight and ten acres 
hail been (deared. He next built a log house 
and at once began the further di>ve|opment 
Mild iiiipi-oveiiient of his |iropert.\'. He con- 



tinued on this ])lace until his son -Tames pur- 
chasetl the homestead in 1864. Christian 
Pi-eussel died in Detroit. ^liehigan, in 1889, 
at the advanced age of eight.v-five years, 
while his wife passed away in 1856, at the 
^arly age of twenty-six years. 

.lames Preussel received but limited edu 
cational i)rivileges, attending school foi' a 
brief jx'i'iod in (Jerman.v and the knowledge 
he has ac(|uii'ed in America has been gained 
through experience, observation and read- 
ing. He was twent.v years of age when lie 
]iurchased forty acres of land, which is 
across the road from the old l'aiiiil.\' home- 
stead on section 8. Chestertield township. He 
afterward bought the old homestead farm 
of twent.v acres on section 10 and later pur- 
chased thirt.v acres adjoining, so that liis 
farm altogether comprises ninety acres. This 
he cleart>d and placed under a high state of 
cultivation. It involved much arduous labor, 
for his first fort.v-acre tract was all covei'cd 
with timber. He erected all of the buildings 
there and his first barn was constructed of 
logs, but in 1870 he replaced this by a good 
frame structure. His house was erected in 
1869 and he continued upon the farm until 
18!)9. when he sold the propert.v to Charles 
Schwanebeck. his son-in-law. In 1882 he 
])urchased a farm of eight.v acres on section 
)i. Chesterfield townshi|i. and this he lias 
graduall.v improved, rebuilding the house 
and erecting a new barn and other (nit build- 
ings. He still owns this propert.v. 

On the Kith of .March. 1865. .\li-. Preussel 
was married to So|)hia Trost. a daughter of 
.lohn and Mar.v (Bowman) Trost, of Chester- 
ticdd townshi|>. ;\Irs. Preussel was born April 
7, 1844, ami died February 8, l!)0:i in her 
tift.v-ninth .rear. She was known thi'oughout 
h(>r localit.\' as one of the most charitable 
and motherly women and no call was ever 
made to her for assistance that she did not 
meet. Her acts of kindness will long be re- 
membei'ed and the love ami respect ill which 
she was held will be the brightest .i(>wels in 
her crown. She came to this countr.v from 
(Ierman.v with her parents in 1849 and in 
1856 they removed to .MmcohiI) county, set- 
tling in Chcsterlield townshiji. wliere they 
s])ent their remainiii.i;' <la,vs upon a farm. 
Fnto Mr. and .Mrs, Preussel were born two 
children: Minnie, now the wife of Charles 
Schwanebeck. of Chesterlield lo\viislii|i; and 
Frank AV., of Mount Clemens. 

Jlr. Preussel is a member of the German 
TiUtheran church. His earl.v jiolitical supjiort 
was given to the deiiiocracv. but during the 




.lAMKS IMiKI'SSEL. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACO:\IB COUNTY 



299 



last tY'w years lie has advocated republican 
])rinei])les and voted for the candidates of 
that party. He is a man of generous dispo- 
sition and genial temperament. He still re- 
sides in Chesterfield township and is one of 
the substantial and respected men of his lo- 
cality, having made a clear record, his life 
being as an open book which all maj' read. 



ALBERT E. :\I1LLETT. 

Albert E. ^lillett, now engaged in the fur- 
niture and undertaking business in Armada, 
was formerly connected with educational in- 
terests in ^lichigan. being widely known as a 
most competent teacher. He was born in 
Hebron, Oxford county, I\Iaine, October 3, 
1858, his parents being Lemiiel T. and Mary 
A. (]\lilliken) ilillett, both of whom were of 
English lineage, some of their ancestors hav- 
ing come from Scotland and some from Eng- 
land. The line of paternal descent can be 
traced back to Henry ^lillett, gentleman and 
attorney-at-law of Surrey county, England. 
The son, Thomas ^lillett, was the original an- 
cestor in America, coming from England to 
this county in 1635. The next in the line 
of direct descent was also named Thomas. 
The paternal great-great-grandfather was 
David ilillett, v\lio settled in New (lloucester, 
Maine, and died in North Yarmouth about 
1785. The great-grandfather, John ^lillett, 
was a .soldier in the Continental army during 
the Revolutionary war. The father, Lemuel 
T. ]\Iillett. was liorn in Peru, Maine, in 1810, 
becoming a farmer and contractor, and died 
in the year 18(i8. He wedded ^liss Mary A. 
]\Iilliken, who was born in Scarborci. Maine, 
in 1818. 

Albert E. Millett pursued his early educa- 
tion in the schools of Andro.scoggin county, 
Maint', and continued his studies in the Acad- 
emy of Helu'on and Bridgeton, being gradu- 
ated from Ihe latter in 187!). He then ma- 
triculated in Bates College, from which h(- 
was graduated with the degree of bachelor 
of arts in 1883, while in 1886 the master's de- 
gree was conferred upon him by the same in- 
stitutioii. His career as an educator began 
soon afterward and extended over the period 
of twenty-six yeai's. He taught in Minot, 
Elaine, in 1877, in West Minot in 1879, in 
West Scarboro, ]\Iaine, from 1880 until 1882, 
and the following year came to Michigan. He 
was principal of the liiuh school at Richmond 



lor ('(iur years and at Rochester for one year, 
while for seven years he was j)rincipal of the 
schools of Armada and at IJtica for eight 
years. His labors in the schoolroom were 
highly successful because he was an excellent 
disciplinarian and moreover had the ability 
to impress strongly and clearly upon the 
minds of thi> pujiils the principles of knowl- 
edge which he wished to impart. He was 
a member of the school board of examiners 
for ten years, but in 1903 he put aside active 
school work and came to Armada, engaging 
in the furniture and undertaking biisiness 
here. He carries a carefully selected and 
quite complete .stock of goods and has se- 
cured a liberal patronage. He pursued a 
course in the Chicago College of Embalming 
and has a diploma from that school. 

Mr. ]\Iillett is recognized as one of the lead- 
ing, influential and prominent citizens of the 
town, and is now serving as a member of the 
school board and also as a member of the 
village board. He has been the champion of 
every progressive measure and his labors have 
proved very effective, beneficial and far- 
reaching in advancing the general good. So- 
cially he is a Mason, belonging to Harmony 
lodge. No. 43, A. F. & A. M., and he is also 
identified with the Eastern Star lodge, the 
Knight Templar connnandery and the ^lys- 
tic Shrine and is senior warden of the blue 
lodge. He takes a very deep interest in Ma- 
sonry, is thoroughly informed concerning its 
tenets and teachings and in his life displays 
the beneficent spirit of the craft. He is like- 
wise identified with the Ancient Order of For- 
esters, the Knights of Pythias and the Mac- 
cabees. 

In 1887 ]\Ir. ]\nilett was united in mar- 
riage to iliss Nora Perkins, a daughter of 
Charles and Adelaide (Selleck) Perkins. Her 
father follows farming in this county, but 
his wife is deceased. Mrs. IMillet was born 
in Richmond, inirsued lier education in the 
public schools there and afterward engaged 
in teaching in Armada for four years. She 
had three children, but Mai'ic, the eldest, who 
was born July 13, 1893, died October 24, 1900, 
when .seven years of age. The others are: 
Ethel A., born December 24, 1894; and Bert 
P., who was born :\rarch 10. 1902. The fam- 
ily attend the Congregational church and ^Tr. 
I\rillett gives his political allegiance to the 
democracy. He and his wife enjoy the high 
esteem of many friends and occupy- a very 
enviable position in social circles, where true 
worth and intelligence are received as the 
passports into good society. 



30O 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .AIAro.MB COLNTV 



REV. JOTTX Rl'SSELL. 

R(n-. -John Russell, of New Haven, was 
hoi'u in Jjiviiijrston county. New York. Sep- 
tenii)er 20, 1822. His parents, Jesse and 
Catharine (Barber) Russell were natives of 
New Jei'sey hut heeame acquainted and were 
married in Ijivingston county. Xew York, 
in 1.S18. The father was of Scotch-Irish de- 
.scent and the mother was of English and 
(iernuui hlood. They were blessed with four 
sons and two daujrhters who grew to man- 
hood and womanhood. About 1830 the family 
removed to Niagara county and settled on a 
farm three miles from the falls, remaining 
there until 1888, when they came to Jlichi- 
gan and fixed their home in the township of 
Cambridge, Lenawee county. The father 
died Ajiril 8, 1885, lacking only a few days 
of completing his eight.v-eightii year. The 
mother remained until .Alay 81. 1895. near 
the close of the ninety-fifth year of her age. 
They loved (Jod, wrouglit righteousness, and 
were most highly esteemed by those who 
knew them best. The sub.jeet of our sketch 
inherited a firm, sinewy, physical constitu- 
tion as well as a vigorous, well balanced 
mind, both capable of much endurance. 
These qualities have enabled him to i)ei-form 
nnu'h labor both of a mental and physical 
chai'aeter during his later years. What he 
has most deplored is the fact that his early 
educational advantages were confined to the 
l)ublic schools of his immediate vicinity, but 
.wch as those advantages were he evidently 
niade the best po.ssible use of them, for in 
his examination on a prescribed course of 
study preparatory to the ministry, with a 
college president as chairnuin of ' the com- 
mittee, he was awarded the hightest number 
on every branch. Mr. Russell has been twice 
married. The first time to .Miss Catharine 
Pulver, of Lenawee county, by whom he had 
one son. Charles P. Russell, of Detroit, who 
was born in Romeo. December 8. 1845. 
Losing his fir.st wife by death he .subse- 
quently niari-ied Miss Mary J. Ilerriman. 
daughter of the late John I'lerrimaii. of the 
township of Chesterfield. To tlieni have 
been born seven children, lour sons and 
three daughters, all of whom are yet living. 
All are married and muster a total of I'oui'- 
tcen grandchildren. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Russi'li ccIcIumI,.;! the lif 

tieth annivi'rsary of tlicii- inarriau i the 

L'lst of .bmiiiiry. lildl'. in ;i <\\\\r{ way at the 
home of their yoiuigest daiightei-. .Mrs. K. A. 
Lultenbachcr. of .New Haven. .Manv sub- 



stantial tokens of esteem and affection were 
l)resented them on the occasion, among them 
ma.v be mentioned fifty dollars in gold by 
express from their youngest son. living in 
P<u-fland. Oregon. 

Mr. Russell entered the Methodist minis- 
try when in his twenty-first year, and by 
studious habits and his rare gifts as a public 
speaker has c(uitiinieil to hold an honorable 
and influential place in the profession for 
more than sixty years. The following are 
among the places where he has served 
churches with great acceptability .- Romeo, 
Port Huron. .Alount Clemens, rtica. Wash- 
ington. Ypsilanti. Detroit. Flint. Ponfiac and 
.Mar(piette. He has also served two terms 
of four years each as presiding elder of a dis- 
trict. Twice he has been elected by the De- 
troit annual conference as a delegate to the 
general confei-ence of the IMethodisf Episco- 
])al church. In the session of 1880 he was 
made chairman of the special eomniiffee on 
tenqiei-ance and thoroughly revised the 
teachings and discipline of his ehundi on that 
sub.iecf. himself writing every line of a ver.v 
elaborate report which was adopted without 
amendment. Through his whole life he has 
been a total abstainer from the use of intoxi- 
cating lif|uors of every kind and from the 
use of tobacco in an.v form, and from earl\' 
manhood ht' has advocated the complete out- 
lawry of the manufactiu-e and sale of alco- 
holic beverages. The following, written by 
him. has stood for the past twent.v-five years 
as expressing the sentinuMits of the ^fetho- 
dist church on the tem])ei'anee (pu'stion : 

"Tempei'ance in its broadei- meaning is 
distinctively a Christian virtue, en.joined in 
the Holy Sci-iptures. It implies a subordina- 
tion of the emotions, passions and appetites 
to the control of reason aiul conscience. 
Dieteticall.v it means a wise use of suitable 
articles of food and drink with entire ab- 
stinence from such as are known to be hurt- 
ful. Both science and human experience 
agree with the Holy Scriptures in con- 
deuniing all alcoholic bevei-ages as being 
neither useful nor safe. The business of 
manufacturing and of vending such liquors 
is also against the i)rinciples of morality, po- 
litical economy and the imblie welfare. We 
therefore i-egard voluntary total abstinence 
fi'o)ii all intoxicants as the ti'ue grouiul of 
pei'sonal temi)ei'ance and complete legal pro- 
hiliition of the traffic in alcoholic drinks as 
the duty of civil goveniiniMit . "' 

The above pai-agraiili was quite exten- 
sively conunended by the press when it first 





MR. AND MRS. JOHN RUSSELL 



PAST AXI) PRESENT OF MACO.MH COUNTY 



303 



appeared, The Bnltiiuoi-e Aiiifriciiii remark- 
iiig that the author was "entith'd to a patent 
on it for its perspieuity and distinctness ol' 
definition." Perhaps ilr. Russell will be as 
well remembered by his service to the cause 
of temperance as from any other branch of 
his wideh' extended and lony; cnntiiuied pub- 
lie career. It was in the church of whicli he 
was then pastor, in the city of Detroit in 
1852, where the first public meeting was 
held to organize for the campaign which 
secured a prohibitory statute for the state 
in the following year. That meeting was 
addressed by lion. Jacob ]\I. Howard. Hon. 
William A. Howard. Dr. (ieorgc Dutficld. 
Hon. Ross Wilkins and Rev. John A. Baugh- 
man. These men were "giants in the earth 
in those days." He was part owner and 
.joint editor of the ^lichigan Advocate pub- 
lished in Detroit during that struggle for 
prohibition, and succeeded in helping to se- 
cure more than eighteen thousand ma,iority 
for the law at a special election to test that 
question, in June, 1853, and which deter- 
mined the policy of the state until 1875. He 
has co-operated with most of the leading 
temperance organizations during his time, 
.ioining the Sons of Temiierance at ]\Iount 
Clemens in 1848. In ISH.':! he was elected 
as presiding officer of the order of Good 
Templars in the state, to which position he 
was re-elected annually for ten years, the 
membership inci'casing more than thirty 
thousand during his administration. He was 
also twice placed at the head of that order 
in the world and presided over the first ses- 
sion ever held east of the Atlantic, in the city 
of London, England. So satisfactory were 
his services in that office that on leaving the 
chair the English delegates presented him a 
beautiful and expensive gold watch as a 
souvenir, inscribed as follows: "Presented 
to the Rev. John Russell, Right Worthy 
(Jrand Tenijilar on the occasion of his visit 
to London, England, as presiding officer of 
the Right Worthv fJrand Lodge of the I. O, 
of G. T., July 25, 1873." During the two 
years following his presidency this order 
employed him as their grand lecturer, en- 
al)ling him to visit about one hundred and 
fifty of the largest cities of Gi-eat i^ritaiii. 
Canada and the Hnited States. Although 
his theme was one not calculated to elicit 
very much s.vmpathy or conunendation from 
the secular press, yet a volume might be 
composed of favorable notices of his plat- 
form speeches both in this country and 
aliroad. .\ bi-icf excerpta will be in place 



hci-c : Tile .\'('w Haven L)ail\' Palladium 
(Connecticut) said: "He is a man of great 
l)ower and handles his subject with such mas- 
terly skill as to at once interest thinking 
men of all shades of sentiment." "This 
gentleman is an able speaker and not oidy 
the friends but the enemies of temperance 
slioukl hear him." — Bay City Journal. "As 
a platform speaker ]Mr. Russell has few 
e(|uals for solid logic, keen analysis and gen- 
uine wit. He is a debater not easily worsted 
and he can pierce the sophistries of oppon- 
ents with masterly skill." — Connecticut 
•b>urnal. "Mr. Russell is a nmn of decided 
ability and is apjiarently a man of great sin- 
cerity of purpose. He speaks forcibly and is 
at times quite eloquent." — Hartford Cou- 
rant. 

In 187-t he was invited to deliver a 4th 
of July address on prohibition at Ripon, 
Wisconsin. Of this effort the Ripon Free 
Press spoke in jiart as follows: "The 
s])eaker showed himself familiar with his 
subject and armed with most convincing ar- 
guments for prohibition. The lecture was 
one of the grandest efforts ever listened to 
in Ripon. He is sowing golden grain in these 
parts." After a visit to Delaware, Ohio, seat 
of Wesleyan University, one of the pro- 
fessors writing for the press said: "As to 
the address of Mr. Russell at the Opera 
House ; in point of argument it was a most 
masterly one and as a specimen of oratory 
it would vie with the best efforts of Clay 
or Webster. Such a presentation of law, 
|)hilosophy. history and religion was never 
witnessed in any one man in Delaware be- 
fore. This is not merely an opinion of your 
corresi)ondenf luit is the expressed opinion 
of the ablest and most talented men of our 
educational cit.v." The late Dr. Arthur Ed- 
wards, writing editorially in the Chicago 
Noi-fhwestern Christian Advocate, speaking 
of his work in the temperance reform, says : 
";\Ii-. Russell has grown gray in the combat 
and to-day he occupies the only consistent 
and logical ground in respect to this greatest 
of national questions." 

On the ajiproach of 'Sir. Russell's seventy- 
fifth birthday, friends from a distance sent 
him many congratulatory letters. We have 
his permission to insert the two following in 
this place. The first is fj-om Dr. I. K. Pimk, 
of the Funk & Wagnalls Publishing Com- 
pany, New York: "My Dear Friend and 
lirother: P(>rmit me as yoTU' seventy-fifth 
birthday approaches to congratulate you on 
the uiiblc tcstimonv that vou have borne for 



304 



PAST AND PRESENT OF I\IACOMB COUNTY 



niauy years for truth, for the home, for man 
and "for God. Such a life as yours leads us 
to think more nobly of the entire race. ]\Iay 
your life be spared for many long years. 
Yours for the absolute destruction of the 
liquor traffic." The other is from the mar- 
velously gifted pen of that saintly woman. 
Miss Francis E. Willard : "Honored and 
Dear Brother: You have influenced my life 
and my beliefs for good and for this I write 
to thank you on your seventy-fifth birthday. 
Tens of thousands of temperance men and 
women could truthfully say the same. I re- 
member vividly your presence in several 
temperance conventions and if I were to 
express your character in two words they 
would be 'No Compromise.' You have from 
the beginning stood for the truth and the 
whole truth as you saw it and have sacri- 
ficed yourself on its altar. Henceforth there 
is laid up for you a crown of life. You have 
fought a good fight, you have finished your 
work, you have kept the faith. My heart 
thanks ( iod that you have lived and wrought 
and that you have helped me to be a better 
and more useful woman. In another coiintry 
and a heavenly I hope to talk with you 

With grateful tongxie 

Of storms and trials past 

And to praise the mighty Pilot 

Who brought us through the rapids. 

Believe me yours with every good wish for 
the life that now is. and the life that is to 
come. Francis E. Willard." 

Out of sixty-two years of public life ^Ir. 
Russell has maintained a residence in Ma- 
comb county thirty-six years. Some portions 
of the time as pastor of different churches, 
at other times traveling at large, lecturing 
and preaching, and still in other years edit- 
ing and publishing newspapers. In 186-1 he 
began the publication of the Peninsular Her- 
ald at Romeo, intended chiefly as the organ 
of the Good Templar organization in the 
state. In 1866 his son. Captain Charles P. 
Russell, having returned from the Civil war, 
they removed with the Herald to Detroit, 
where J. Russell & Son continued its pub- 
lication for six years longer. At first the 
Herald had no office of its own, but hired the 
mechanical work done in the office of the 
Romeo Argus. Only a few numbers of the 
Herald had been issued when the Argus of- 
fice was consumed by fire. This was a great 
local calamity and to the proprietor of both 



.iournals presented a difficult problem. The 
Phoenix would not rise from her ashes with- 
out strong financial wings. But the princi- 
pal citizens of that enterprising village 
evinced their confidence in ^Ir. Russell by 
jiresenting him a spot cash bonus of two 
thousand dollars to start up with, on condi- 
tion that he would guarantee the publication 
of a local paper there for the next ten years. 
Whereupon he added to the sum presented 
by the citizens in the purchase of an office, 
re-issued his temperance paper and founded 
the Romeo Observer, which, although chang- 
ing hands several times, has continued unin- 
terruptedly for more than forty years. 

The beautiful and somewhat noted Simp- 
S(Ui Park campground, situated one and a 
half miles northwest of Romeo, was also pur- 
chased on "Sir. Russell's suggestion and un- 
der his administration as presiding elder of 
the district in the summer of 1865. He 
solicited most of the money to pay for it, 
preached the dedicatory discourse and built 
the first cottage on the ground. 

Politically ^Ir. Russell has also been a re- 
former. He cast his first presidential vote in 
1844, in the township of Washington, for 
James G. Birney, the anti-slavery candidate, 
and so straight through on the same side 
until after the Civil war. In 1845 he was 
invited to counsel with the late Hon. Dexter 
Muzzy and a few men of like type for the 
better organization of the anti-slavery vot- 
ers of Macomb county. He is a firm be- 
liever in well organized and honorably con- 
ducted political parties. To him a citizen 
without a party is analogous to "a man with- 
out a country.'" Nevertheless, he does not 
believe that any party in this country can 
have an unconditioned and perpetual char- 
ter. Political prejudice and religious big- 
otry are both distasteful to him. Religion 
in its true and best sense lives right on, while 
a good and useful ecclesiastical (U'ganization 
of one age may by bad hmuan manageiuent 
become effete and worthless in a future age. 
The same is more particularly true of po- 
litical parties. However, not every trifling 
difference of opinion among citizens will .ius- 
tify the rending of old party ties and the 
formation of new parties. Yet questions of 
so radical a nature as to demand a re-align- 
ment of voters have arisen and are likel.v to 
arise in this country ; then it may become un- 
patriotic to adhere to old parties and refuse 
to form new ones. Holding these general 
princijiles sacred he has acted boldly upon 



PAST AND PRi:SENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



305 



Ihcm in dealing with the liquor traffic. 
Ilcnci- he is known, and wishes to be the 
world over, as the "Father of the Prohibi- 
tion Party."' He does not wish ns to discuss 
here either the wisdom or folly of his conrse, 
but does desire to go truthfully and square- 
ly on record in this respect. -Mr. Russell 
wrote the first article favoring such an or- 
ganization, presided temporarily over its 
first convention, and was its first nominee for 
the vice presidency, was the first chairman 
of its national committee and yet continues, 
as far as health and failing strength will 
permit, to champion its claims. In 1892 his 
party supported him for governor of the 
state and he has several times been nomi- 
nated for congress, always leading his ticket 
in the number of votes received. 

Two pamphlets written by him some 
years ago have probably contributed more 
than any other documents to engage the at- 
tention of thinking men in that direction. 
One is entitled "An Adequate Remedy for a 
National Evil."" and the other "The Liquor 
Traffic versus Political Economy." 

He is a believer in progress, not only in 
science and in the arts, but in philosophy, 
religion and government. That true politics 
includes the "protection of citizens in their 
rights with the preservation and improve- 
ment of their morals." To this end he adopts 
the sentiment of Lowell : 

"New times demand new measures and new 

men : 
The world advances and in time outgrows 
The laws that in our fathers' days were best: 
And, doubtless, after us, some purer scheme 
TVill be shaped out by wiser men than we, 
^Fade wiser by the steady growth of truth." 



W. F. EDMUNDS. 



W. F. Ednuuids came to ilichigan from the 
Empire state, his birth having occuri'cd in 
Albany, New York, June 20, 1851. His par- 
ents died during his infancy and he after- 
wards made his home with Peter Stanley, 
who went to Barry county, Michigan, in 
1863. When a youth of only twelve years he 
began life for himself by working as a farm- 
hand during the snnniier months, while in the 
winter seasons he continued his education in 
the district schools of the county, and later 
at Ann Arbor. It was in that city he became 



connected witli ihc family whose name he 
finally adopletl. He was married December 
Hi, 1877, to .Miss Anna Lowell, daughter of 
Henrj' and Sai'ah (Warwick) Jjowell, of New 
Haven, Michigan, and began operating a 
farm on shares near Battle Creek and was 
thus engaged for about three years. 

The year 188(.) witnessed his arrival in ila- 
eomb county, where he purchased the 
'"Light" farm in Lenox township, where he 
renuiined for twelve years, placing the fields 
under a high state of cultivation. Removing 
to New Haven in 18!t2 he has since been con- 
nected with the grain trade, building the lai-ge 
storage and implement house known as Mac- 
cabee Hall. This he sold in 1901, and for a 
year retired from business. At the expira- 
tion of this period he purchased the New Ha- 
ven Roller Mills, whicli he remodeled and 
equipped with new machinery throughout, 
and is now doing a very successful and ex- 
tensive business in the manufacture of tlour. 

In 1899 ilr. Edmunds built his beautiful 
residence on West Main street. It is a mod- 
ern structure, attractive in architecture, 
tasteful in its furnishings and especially 
pleasing because of its "homey" air and 
warm-hearted hospitality. A daughter, Es- 
ther Victoria, an only child, is the treasured 
jewel in this beautiful home-setting. 

Mr. Edmimds has long been identified as 
one of the influential and prominent citizens 
of his town. He has held the office of com- 
missioner of Lenox township, supervisor for 
two years, treasurer for two years, served as 
president of the village for several years, and 
has had a position on the New Haven school 
board for the past ten years. 

Jlr. Edmunds is also a representative of 
industrialism in New Haven. Besides being 
the owner of the New Haven Roller Mills and 
considerable other projierty, he is one of the 
leading stockholders and president of the New 
Haven Elgin Creamery Company and one of 
the organizers of the New Haven Savings 
Bank, of which he has continuously served as 
president. He has likewis(> been a factor in 
the promotion of vai'it)us other schemes of 
jiublic enterprises, successful and otherwise. 

Fraternally he is connected with the New 
Haven lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and stands to-day as 
a typical representative of the spirit of the 
times: closely in touch with the world's prog- 
ress, j)ossessing an intellectual foi-ce which en- 
aliles him to undersland existing conditions, 
to correi'tly value possibilities and utilize op- 
jiortunities, not only in the fields of com- 
iitci'ce .-ind finance but also in ]iulilic matters 



3o6 



PAST A XI) PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



wliLTc the general interests of soeiety are af- 
fected. He forms his plans readily and is 
determined in his execution, iloreover, his 
bu.siness methods are such as will bear the 
closest investigation, or most critical scrutiny 
into his integrity. 

The parents of ^Irs. AY. F. Edmunds, so 
closely allied as they were with the pioneer 
life of Macomb county, seem appropriately 
entitled to honoraljle mention in connection 
wit!) this family history. 

Ih'iu'y Lowell was born in Bennington 
count.v, Yermout, in 1825. Ilis father, Peter 
Lowell, while a student in Sweden was taken 
])risoner by pirates while on a pleasure trip 
with his uncle, who was master of a merchant 
craft, and for nine yeai's had no opportunity 
to escape. Although attempts were repeat- 
edl.v made, punishment was his only reward, 
but finall.v, under cover of darkness, he 
jumped overboard while near Boston harbor 
and swimming three miles succeeded in 
reaching land and eventuall.v made his way 
to Yermont. where he married Nancy Smith 
and .settled. He died al)out 1828. his son 
Henry lieing at that time three .years of age. 
The latter, in 1848, came to Jlacomb count.v, 
settling in ]Mount Clemens, where he leased 
a stave and heading mill, which he operated 
for four years. He married Sarah A. War- 
wick in Januar.v, 1853, removed to New Bal- 
timore and continued the same business for 
about three years, wlu'ii he ])urchased a farm 
in Lenox township and became actively en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, which were 
carried on in addition to the operation of 
a sawmill (about 1866) until 1895, when he 
divided his farm between his sons and re- 
moved, for a time, to New Haven. Later he 
purchased another fai'm in Chesterfield town- 
ship anil renewed his hd)ors, giving his time 
and energies to the cultivation of his tine 
farm there until 19U1, when through the per- 
suasion of his children he again consented to 
give up such a strenuous life and earl.y in 
March of that year returned to New Haven 
to en.jo.v a well-earned rest, but before he 
was fairl.v settled in his n(>w home he jiassed 
away, Jlai'ch 22, llMil, His wife survived 
him onl.y four da.ys. 

Sarah A. Warwick was born on board the 
ship on which her parents, Kichard and I\Tarv 
( ixandall I Warwick, were crossing from Eng- 
land to Amei'ica in 18S5. The captain be- 
stowed upon her the name of his vessel (Sarah 
Ann), together with a piece of gold, as was 
the custom of those times. After landing at 
.M(in1real these homeseekers in a foreign land. 



with their little famil.v, made their waj' 
through Canada and across Lake St. Clair, 
settling near New Baltimore, on what is now 
known as the Kidge, where bears and Indians 
were then their nearest neighbors. Both her 
parents d.ving while she was still a child, she 
was taken into the home of Robei-t Knight on 
the Gratiot turnpike, where she was kiudU' 
given a good home until her marriage to Jlr. 
Lowell. Three sons and one daughter sur- 
vive them and a kindl.v rememlu'ance by 
hosts of friends. 



CAPTAIN SYDENHAM SCOTT. 

Captain Sydenham Scott, of ^ilount Clem- 
ens, one of the best known representatives 
of navigation interests on the eastern coast, 
was born in Detroit, June 21, 1843, a son 
of George Scott, a native of London, Eng- 
land, who crossed the Atlantic in 1837 and 
took up his abod(> in Windsor, Canada, where 
he lived for five .vears. He was a baker b.v 
trade and for nian.v .vears followed that 
jiursuit. About 1842 he removed to Detroit 
and it was there that Captain Scott was 
born, but the parents soon removed to ]\lonnt 
ChMuens and in the latter cit.y the captain 
pursued his education until he was twelve 
years of age, when he left home to make his 
own wa.y in the world. 

He ^vent to Detroit where he secured a i)o- 
sition in a store and was thus employed until 
seventeen years of age when he went to Ijake 
Huron and for twelve years was engaged in 
the fishing business. He next sailed on 
the great lakes and for over fort.v years fol- 
lowed that vocation, continuing upon the 
water until aboul 1 luce .years ago. Wiiniing 
advancement and promotion he was soon 
made master of a vessel and has since been 
in command of man.v. He was first master 
of the schooner. John Elinor, of Detroit, and 
has since had charge of various kinds of 
boats, including both freight and passenger 
steamers, and his acquaintance was vcTy 
wide in shipping circles. Three .years ago he 
left the water and returning to Mount Clem- 
ens leased the Mount Clemens Hunting i!t 
Fishing Club. 

In his ])olitical views Mr. Scott is a repub- 
lican, having long supi)oi-t(>d that i>ai-1.v but 
without politiciil as[)ira(ion tiiat office should 
be given him in n'cognition of liis part.v 
tealtv. He was made a Mason in Detroit 




CAl'TAIX SVDKXIIA.M SCOTT. 



PAST AND PRESPLXT OF :»[ACOMB COUNTY 



309 



ami now holds membership iu the lodge at 
Mount Clemeus. There is iu him somethiug 
usually seen iu those who battle with the 
forces of nature aud learn to know her in her 
varying moods — a sturdiness and strength 
of purpose that eommaud confidence and in- 
spire respect. His circle of aequaiutauces 
is extensive, the circle of his friends almost 
equally so, and he is now classed with the 
leading citizens of Mount Clemens. 



STONE BROTHERS. 



The Stone brothers are well known in Ma- 
comb county, living on section 22, Washing- 
ton township. They are among the promi- 
nent farmers of their localitj', owning and 
operating a ti'act of land of about two hun- 
dred and forty acres, known as the old Stone 
homestead. This is a well-improved and valu- 
able place aud its thrifty appearauce indi- 
cates the careful supervision of the owners. 

The brothers are natives of this county, 
having been born on the farm where they 
now reside, the date of Arthur Stone's birth 
being January 20, 1865, aud that of Omar T. 
Stone, March 5, 1867. They are sons of Wil- 
liam A. Stone, who was born on the same 
farm in 1824, and in turn was a son of Aaron 
Stone, who came from New York to .Michigan 
among the first settlers who established homes 
in ]\Iacomb county. He entered his land from 
the government, opened up his farm aud made 
a good home for his family. The Stone broth- 
ers now have the origiual patents which were 
granted to their grandfather, giving him own- 
er.shi]) to the land. 

William A. Stone was reared upon the 
homestead farm and, having arrived at years 
of maturity, was married to Miss Caroline 
Lamb, a native of Macomb county and a 
daughter of Squire Lamb, one of the first 
settlers here. William Stone succeeded to the 
ownership of his father's farm by purchas- 
ing the interests of the other heirs. He re- 
built and improved the house, built a barn 
and in course of time purchased more land 
until he owned two hundred and forty acres 
antl became recognized in his community as 
one of its most prominent farmers and stock- 
raisers. He was a devoted member of the 
I'nion church of Washington and was es- 
teemed by friends aud neighbors for the pos- 
session of those qualities which in every land 
and clime awaken respect and confidence. 
His birth occurred November 24, 1824. His 



first wife passed away about 1870 and he 
afterward married again. 

There are three sons and a daughter of the 
first marriage, the eldest being Dr. W. A. 
Stone, who is a.ssistant superintendent of the 
Kalamazoo As\lum. Arthur and Omar T. 
are the next of the family. Helen is the wife 
of Judge H. A. Lockwood, who is now on the 
bench of the Jlouroe circuit court. 

Arthur and Omar T. Stone were reared on 
the old home farm, pursued their education in 
the district schools and afterward continued 
their .studies in the Romeo high school. Omar 
T. Stone also attended two years at the Mon- 
roe high school, while their brother, who is 
a physician, is a graduate of the medical de- 
partment of the State University of Michigan 
at Ann Arbor. Arthur and Omar T. Stone 
purchased the interests of the other heirs in 
the old home place, thus becoming propriet- 
ors of the farm. They have further im- 
proved and developed this and are successful 
in their choseu work, having now a property 
which is classed with the l)est farms in this 
portion of the state. 

Omar T. Stone was married in Oakland 
county, ^Michigan, February 19, 1902, to ]\Iiss 
Kitty Garvin, who was born, reared and edu- 
cated in that county and is a graduate of the 
high school of Oxford. After completing her 
own education she engaged in teaching for a 
few years prior to her nuirriage. There is one 
daughter by this marriage, Elizabeth A. 
Stone. 

In political affiliation aud belief the Stone 
brothers are republicans, stanch and active in 
the support of the party, yet never seeking of- 
fice. Omar T. Stone and his wife attend the 
LTnion church and ]\Irs. Stone was at one time 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. The 
brothers are members of the I\Iasonic frater- 
nity, being affiliated with the blue lodge at 
Romeo. They ai'c well known in the town and 
in the county as men of sterling character and 
worth aud are nuich esteemed by a wide circle 
of friends. 



ROBERT N. JONES. 



Robert N. Jones, who is now living a re- 
tired life in ]\Ieade, was for many years ac- 
tively interested iu farming in .Macomb town- 
ship, where he owned and operated a tract of 
land. He was born in that township, April 
13, 1842, and is a son of James Jones aud a 
brother of Charles H. Jones, who is repre- 



3IO 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



sented elsewhere iu this volume. Robert 
Jones spent his boyhood days on the old home 
farm, reiiiaiaiii<;- with his father until he had 
attained his majority and was educated in 
the district schools. J le was married in Ches- 
terfield township. Maeomb county, February 
27, 1865, the lady of his choice being ]\Iiss 
Harriet A. Hart, who was born, reared and 
educated in Chesterfield township. She is a 
daujihter of Putnam Ilart and a sister of ilrs. 
Charles Jones. 

Following tlieii" mai'i'iage the yoiuig couple 
located on a farm in l^Iacomli township, where 
he had fifty acn^s of land, which he at once 
began to cultivate, making excellent improve- 
ments upon th(; plan. In due course of time 
he gathered ricli harvests and year by year 
his laliors wei'c thus rewarded. As his finan- 
cial I'esources increased he purchased more 
land until he owned one hundred and fifty 
acres. Upon his farm he built a good resi- 
dence, two good barns and two windmills, one 
of which was for ]ium]iing purposes while the 
other furnished power for grinding feed. He 
likewise planted an oi'chard. put in stock 
scales and. in fact, added all modern equip- 
ments, accessories and conveniences to his 
farm until it became one of the valuable prop- 
erties of the township. He raised and fed 
.stock and also engaged in the dairy business. 
Each year he fed a large niunber of cattle and 
in this branch of his business was quite suc- 
cessful. In all departments of his labor, how- 
ever, he prospered and thus added to his capi- 
tal year by year until he was at length en- 
abled to retire from active l)usiness life in 
1!MI2. In that year- he rented his farm and 
purcliased the residence property which he 
now occupies in I\Ieade. He has repaired and 
i-cbuilt the house and now has a neat home, 
pleasantly furnished. In 1905 he sold eighty 
acres of his farm to his son, who is on the 
home place. 

Fnto My. and ;\li-s. Jones have been Ikd-h 
four children, who are yet living: Flora, the 
wife of Francis FuT'ton. a faianer of Macomb 
township : James, wlio is engaged in the lum- 
ber business near Meridian, Mississippi ; 
Delia, the wife of Judson Wright, a carpen- 
ter and machinist of IMeade-, and Hart II., 
who owns eighty acres of the old homestead 
and is opei'ating the entire fai'm, being an 
enterpi'isJTig. progressive agricultui-ist and 
stock-dealer. 

In his political views .Mr. Jones is a demo- 
crat, but the honors and emoluments of of- 
fice have had no attraction for liim as he has 
preferred to concentrate his iMiergies upon iiis 



business affairs. He has so directed his la- 
l)ors throughout his entire life that a very de- 
sirable competence has rewarded his judg- 
ment, careful management and untiring in- 
dustry and to-day lie is enjoying the fruits 
of his former toil in a pleasant home in 
.Meade. 



JOHN HOOKER. 



Jiihii Hooker, residing in New Haltimore, 
has extensive and imixtrtant agricultural in- 
terests in Jlacomb county. He was born in 
the town where he yet lives, his natal day 
being November 14, 1865. His paternal 
great-gi'andfather was in active service in 
the Revolutionary war. His father, Cortez 
1'. Hooker, was born at Hampton, Washing- 
ton county. New York, in 1814, and became 
a resident of Washington township, ]\Iacomb 
county, ^licliigan, in 1837. There he engaged 
in farming until 1851, when he removed to 
Romeo and afterward to Ashley, now New 
Baltimore, where he eai-ried on merchandis- 
ing mitil 1857. He then again turned his 
attention to agricultural pursuits, in which 
he was extensively engaged during the last 
nineteen years of his life, having large land- 
ed interests, while his fields were placed un- 
der a high state of cultivation. He was i)rom- 
inent and infiuential in public affairs and his 
efforts and opinions did much to mold pub- 
lic thought and action. He served as jus- 
tice of the -peace for a number of years, was 
county superintendent of the poor, president 
of the village council and also served as al- 
dci'man for several terms, but still higlu^r 
political lionors were also accorded him, for 
in 1849 he was elected to represent his dis- 
fi-icf in the lower liouse of the state legis- 
hitiii-i' and in ls55 was chosen a member of 
the state senate. His political allegiance was 
given to the democracy and he did every- 
thing in his power to promoti' the growth 
and insui'e the success of his party, yet he 
iie\<'r sacriliccil the welfare of his constitu- 
ents or of the connuonwealth to partisan 
measures. He was twice married, his first 
wife being ]\Iargaret Axford, whom he wed- 
ded in 1S42 and sli." died in New Balti- 
mor<' in 18(il. For his second wife he cliose 
.Miss Sarah A. Smith, a daughter of Aratus 
Smith, of Romeo, ^lichigan. and Ihcy became 
the i)arents of two children: John and JIary, 
the wife of Dr. Frederick L. Burdon, a prac- 
ticising |)hysician of London, Ontario. The 
rather died in New Haltimore. in 1886. but 




MRS. CORTEZ P. HOOKER 




CORTEZ P. HOOKER 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



315 



the niother is still living', inakini: her home 
with her son iu New Baltimoi-e. Papers have 
been I'ouiul whereby her aiieestry can be 
ti'accd liaek to the gentry of England, tlie 
Hooker family possessing a coat of arms 
whieh was preseutctl to Ihfiu liy one of tlie 
English kings. 

John Hooker is in(lel)te(l to the public 
schools of his native county for the early 
educational i)rivileges he enjoyed and in 
11S82 he matriculated in tlie Michigan Stati' 
Agricultural College, at Lansing, from whicli 
he was graduated on the completion of a 
regular course, with the class of 1S8(). The 
same .year he entered tlic Anur'iean Veterin- 
arv College in New York and graduated 
therefrom in 1889. In the fall of 1895 he 
entered upon a course of srtudy in the ^lichi- 
gan College of iledicine and Surgery, at De- 
troit, and was gradiuited in 1897. He then 
I'eturned to his home in New Baltimore, but 
has given little time to medicine and sur- 
gery. ])i-eferring to concentrate his energies 
upon his agricultural pursuits and kindred 
interests. He is now a stockholder in the 
New Baltimore Creamei'y, the Cliestertield 
Creamery and the New Baltimore Elevator 
Ciimpany. He likewise owns a farm of over 
\\\n hundred acres near the town and sev- 
(■ral otliei- valuable tracts of land in the 
township. He takes a very active interest 
in agricultural work and is to-day one of 
the rei)resentative farmers of Macomb coiui- 
ty. He has been a meml)er of the city coun- 
cil of New Baltimore and was also justice 
(if Ihi' peace for several years. 



WINENT H. n. FOX. 

Winent II. D. Fo.x, who has gained distinc- 
tion at the ^faeomb county bar. and who is 
Well l<nn\vn throughout ^lichigan as one of 
the leading members of the prohibition party, 
has spent his entire life in this ])orli(in of the 
state, his birth having occurred on section 8, 
Clinton township, June 19. lS(i4. liis jiar- 
ents being Henry L. and Desdcmona (Wil- 
liams) Fo.K, the former a native of tiiis coun- 
ty and the latter of Onondaga county, New 
York. His great-grandfather. Joel Fox, of 
!-'aybrook, Connecticut, after living for a 
time in New York, came to ^lichiiran and set- 
tled in ilaeoml) county during the pioneer 
ciioch in its history. Ilis son. Henry Fox, 
was born in Connecticut, in 1806, and in 1833 
removed from the Empire state to Michigan, 
settling first in this countv and then near 



Port Huron, where he purcliased timber land 
and engaged in llic lund)er business luitil 
1850, wiien he I'ctui-ned to Maconil) county, 
settling in Clinton townshij). He was at one 
time a cajitain of the state militia. He died 
in 1857, at the age of fifty-one years. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Mary Avery, 
was a native of New York, and died in 1892, 
at the age of seventy-foui- years. Gustavus A. 
Fox, a brothel- of Henry Ft)x, was born in 
1810 and died Xovemlier 17, 190-1, aged nine- 
ty-four years. Ih? made liis home in Clinton 
township on a farm which he entered from 
the government soon after coming to this 
state. 

Henry L. Fox, son of Captain Henry and 
;\rary (Avery) Fox, was about five years of 
age, when he accompanied his j)arents on 
their removal to the vicinity of Port Huron, 
and there he affcrwartl assisted his father in 
the lumber business until 185U, when they 
became residents of Clinton township, Ma- 
comb county. Here he followed carpentering, 
coopering and farming for many years. His 
political supjiort was given to the democratic 
party for a long jjcriod, but in his later life 
lie became a iimliibitionist. He died ^larch 
17, 1901, at the age of sixty-six years. His 
wife, who came to Mount Clemens with her 
parents in 1833, when ten years of age, died 
May 11, 1905, aged eighty-two years. Her 
parents were (ieorge F. and Elsie (Vander- 
werker) Williams. Her father, who was a 
veteran of the war of 1812, died in 1871 at 
the age of eighty years, while his wife died in 
1863, when sixtj^-seven years of age. Of their 
family the following are now living: Ruth 
II., the widow of (lilbert Dolson, of New Ha- 
ven. Michigan: Winent \'.. of Kansas: and 
Mahala A., of New Haven. .Michigan, for 
many years a teacliei- in tin' schools of ila- 
comb county. 

Winent 11. D. I^'ox begjm his education in 
the district schools of ijcno.x township and 
was gi'aduated fi^oiii thi' .\ew Haven high 
school ill till" class of 18S3. His youth was 
sj)ent on the home farm and in 1S82 he began 
teaching school, at the same time keeping up 
his high school stmlies. During the period 
of his teaching he was principal of the Wash- 
ington and Mem]ihis schools in Macomb coun- 
ty and he followed tlie j^rofession until 1893, 
when he began reading law. (~)n January 1, 
1S1)4. he liecame a student in the law office 
of B. i\. Erskine of Mount Clemens and siib- 
sc(piently imrsued a course in the Detroit Col- 
lege of Law. fidiii which he was graduated on 
.\pril 22. 18!I9. lie was then admitted to 



3i6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



practice at the ^Michigan bar and in the Unit- 
ed States circuit court. On the 1st of Octo- 
ber, 190U, he severed his connection with ^Ir. 
Erskine and became associated with Alfred 
J. Parker, under the firm name of Fox & Par- 
ker, a relation that was maintained until June 
1, 1902, since which time he has engaged in 
general practice alone. He always enters the 
courtroom well prepared to present his cause 
in clear and forceful manner antl to with- 
stand the attacks of the adversary, his co- 
gent reasoning and logical deductions being 
strong points in his favor. 

Mr. Fox was reared in the faith of the 
democratic party, but in 1883 he espoused the 
cause of the prohibition party and in IIKI.':! 
was its candidate for justice of the supreme 
court, receiving fourteen thousand six huu- 
di-ed and eleven votes. He was candidate for 
attorney general of ^Michigan in 1902. His 
political position accords with his entire life 
record — being characterized by a fearless de- 
fense of his honest convictions and his stal- 
wart support of the principles in which he 
believes. Fraternally he is connected with the 
Knights of the ilaccabees of the World, the 
Knights of the Modern Maccabees, the ilod- 
ern Woodmen and the National Association 
of Stationary Engineers. He was married 
Septemljer 12, 1899, to Elsie M. Parrott, a 
daughter of George and Elizal)eth Pari'ott, of 
JNlount Clemens, and tht-y have a son, George 
Henry, born July 6, 1900. In the county 
where his entire life has been passed ]\Ir. Fox 
has a wide and favorable acquaintance, and 
valuing his own self-respect more than any 
place or j)rominence that he might gain l)y 
the sacrifice of his principles, lie has also won 
the respect of his fellownien. 



CHARLES L. PHELPS. 

Charles L. Phelps, manager of the New Ha- 
ven Lumber & Coal Company, was born at the 
crossing of Gratiot and the old Romeo plank 
roads in Lenox township, October 21, 1861, 
his parents being Josiali Louis and Cale.stia 
C. (Ford) Phelps. The father, who was born 
in ^lassachusetts in 1814, came to JIacomb 
county witli his i)areuts, Mr. and Mrs. p]li- 
.iah Phelps, about 1831. The grandfather 
purchased goveriuiient land in Ijcnox town- 
ship on the Gratiot tui'Mjiike road, where he 
endured the har(lslii|)s of the early pioneers 
in opening up :iih1 iiii]iniving a farm. He 
pei'sistently carried on liis woi'k. however, un- 
til he had a valuable jjroperty, which he after- 



ward divided among his children. Of his 
family three sons, William. Edward and Jo- 
siali Louis, also spent their lives in ilacomb 
county and died liere, with the exception of 
\\illiam, who departed this life in Kansas. 

Josiah L. I'heljjs lived on part of the origi- 
nal home.stead and witii the family endured 
all the trials and privations incident to the 
development of a farm in a pioneer district, 
giving his attention through life to agricul- 
tural pursuits. He married Miss Calestia C. 
Ford, a daughter of Gardner and Samantha 
Ford, natives of ^Massachusetts and Ohio re- 
spectively, who came to ^Michigan in 1846, set- 
tling in Lenox township two miles north of 
.Xew Haven. 'Sir. Ford was a painter by trade 
and died in 18o(i, while his wife passed away 
in 1876. The death of Josiah L. Phelps also 
occurred in 1876. His wudow and sons are 
still living in New Haven, and one of the .sons 
is now in charge of the New Haven power 
house. 

The other sun. Chai'les L. Phelps, was a 
student in the district schools of New Haven 
until ten years of age, when he began work- 
ing in Hazelton's mill, where he was em- 
ployed until 1881, when he was sent to Wash- 
ington, ]\raeomb county, where he worked in 
the sawmill for thirteen years. Li 1894 he 
went to Detroit and was in the employ of the 
firm of Browidee & Company until 1898, when 
he again came to New Haven, where he or- 
ganized the New Haven Liimber & Coal Com- 
pany, of which he is the largest stockholder 
and is now the manager. This has proved a 
prosperous business venture, a large and prof- 
itable trade having been secured. 

On the oth of October, 1887. ilr. Phelps 
was married to Jliss Carrie E. Briggs. a 
daughter of Jacob Briggs. of Chesterfield 
township. She died July 31, 1900, leaving a 
.son, (ilenn C. On the 27th of Noveml)er, 
1902, "Sir. Phelps was married to ^fiss Carrie 
S. Sinunons, a diiughter of Wesley Sinnuons, 
of Lenox township, and by this marriage 
there is one son, Stanford N. .Mrs. Phelps' 
father was born in Chesterfield township, 
January 31, 1840, and was a son of Cyrus B. 
Simmons, whose birth occurred in Oneida 
county. New York, in 1813. The latter came 
to ^lacomb county in 1832 and purchased a 
tract of government land on section 7, in 
what is now Chesterfield township, the deed 
being signed by ^lartin Van Buren. then 
president of the United States. IHs fir.st work 
w^as to clear enough land in order to plant 
some grain. Having no .saw. all of the timber 
was cut down with an ax. When a small crop 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JLACOMB COUNTY 



317 



liail lieen put in ilr. Siimiions undertook the 
work of eutting a road, hi' and other neigh- 
bors going as far as Fairehiid and then work- 
ing baek toward their own homes, lie made 
the first cart used in this section, eonstruetiug 
it by cutting a hirge log and joining the 
blocks with iron bauds. His labor,s were 
not alone for his owu welfare, for he was 
likewise interested in school work and was 
one of the first members of the school Ijoard 
of district Xo. 3. He also aided in liuilding 
the first ^Methodist ICpiseopal chui'ch on (ira- 
tiot road, and thus he contributed in no im- 
material manner to the substantial uptniilding 
of intellectual and moral progress of this 
comnuuiity. He died January 2G. 1886. 

Wesley Sinnnons. father of Mrs. Phelps, 
was educated in district Xo. 3. Clinton town- 
.ship, and in Mount Clemens, and he remained 
upon his father's farm until his marriage in 
1866, after which he located upon a tract of 
land of forty acres in Lenox township, given 
him by his father. He, too, served on the 
school board and he was a member of the 
Xew Haven Congregational church. He died 
January 24, 1892. and his wife passed away 
Xovember 27. 1903' They left three children : 
Edwin J., who is living on the home farm; 
Carrie S., now Mrs. Phelps; and Angle M., 
now ]\Irs. W. Ewalt. who is living with her 
sister in X^ew Haven, ilrs. Pheli)s was edu- 
cated in the Ypsilanti Xormal School, while 
Angle was a graduate in elocution of the 
Xorthern Indiana Xormal School of the class 
of 1898. The life history of Mr. Phelps is 
that of a self-made man. Success comes not 
to him who idly waits, but to the faithful 
toiler whose characteristics are intelligence 
and force and who lia.s the foresight and keen- 
ness of mental vision, who knows when, where 
and how to exercise his energies. 'Sir. Phelps 
without any pecuniary assistance at the out- 
set of his career has so utilized his opportuni- 
ties and directed his efforts that his position 
in business circles has long been assured, for 
during many years he has been accounted one 
of the forceful and valued factors in com- 
mercial life in New Haven. 



HON. JOHN E. BARRIXGER. 

Hon. John E. Barringcr has wielded a wide 
influence in juiblic affairs for many years and 
his efforts have been so directed as to prove 
of signal usefulness in promoting the general 
welfare. In local interests and as state sena- 
tor he has been the champion of many move- 



ments for tl[c public good and his labors have 
been far-ivadiing and beneficial. 

^[r. Barringcr is a native of Ontario county, 
Xew York, his l)ii'lh having occured in Bris- 
tol township, July Ki, 1841, his parents being 
Ebenezer F. aiul Rozilia (Packard) Barrin- 
gcr. In the paternal line he comes of Holland 
ancestry, his grandfather, a native of the land 
of dykes, emigrating to America and estab- 
lishing his home in the state of Xew A^ork. 
His son. Ebenezer F. Barringcr, was born in 
Rensselaer county, not far from Albany, and 
became a farmer. He was also a captain in 
the militia. His wife was a native of the Em- 
pire .state and both have passed away. They 
were the parents of three children : John E., 
(iooding P., a farmer of Ontario county, Xew 
York -. and Phoebe Adeline, the wife of Henry 
Olmstead, who is living in Ontario county, 
Xew A^ork. 

John E. Barringcr, having begun his educa- 
tion in the district schools, continued his 
studies in a select school and in an academy 
at Canandaigua. Xew York, which town was 
named for a tribe of Indians liearing that ap- 
pellation. His youth was jtassed upon his 
father's farm and when eighteen years of 
age he began teaching, which profession he 
followed for four or five years. In the mean- 
time he took up the study of medicine, be- 
(•(tming a student in the medical department 
of the University of ^Michigan. In the fall 
of 1863 he located in Ai-mada. whei'e he en- 
tered upon the practice of his profession, 
which he followed successfully until the fall 
of 1878 when an attack of typhoid fever in- 
capacitated him for fiu-ther ef'tVu't in that 
direction. 

This did not, however, prove a bar to his 
usefulness in the communit.v, f<n- he has taken 
a very active and helpful part in public af- 
fairs, being closely identified with the inter- 
ests of the township and county. He was 
president of the village of Armada for two 
terms, a director of the union school for many 
years, township treasurer foi' two terms and 
county treasurer for two terms. In 1887-8 
he was a member of the state senate and took 
a helpful part in framing the laws of the 
eonunonwealth, being the earnest champion 
of all acts which he believed would prove ben- 
eficial and ojiposing as strongly all nu\nsures 
which he deemed detrimental. He was always 
a stanch democi-af until the free silver issue 
arose, since whi<'h time he has been independ- 
ent in his political affiliation. He Became one 
of the charter members of the Armada Agri- 
cultural Societv. of which he served as sec- 



3i8 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



retary for twelve years, and he was appointed 
by Governor Winaus to the position of state 
stock commissioner, in which capacity he 
served for six years. He is now the vice- 
president of the Farmers Mutual Insurance 
Company of Macomb county. 

Dr. Barringer married ]\Iiss Antoinette Per- 
kins, who was born in Ontario county, New 
York, August 7, 1839, and was educated in 
select schools of that state, after which she 
taught school for two years. Unto Dr. and 
^Irs. Barringer were born two children : Hor- 
ace P., the elder, boni ^lay 12, 1866, is a 
traveling salesman for the Detroit White Lead 
Ware Company and resides in Armada. He 
married Elva Freeman, a daughter of New- 
man Freeman, and they have one child. Ger- 
trude. Alice A., born June 11, 1870, is at 
home with her parents. 

Dr. Barringer has membership relations 
with the Grange. He has been a ^lason since 
1864, was master of his lodge for fifteen years 
and belongs to the chapter. Few citizens of 
Armada are more widely known and none are 
held in higher regard throughout the state 
than is Dr. Barringer, whose i)rofessioual and 
business career, as well as his activity in pub- 
lic life, entitles him to the confidence and 
trust of his fellowmen, whom he has faith- 
fully served in many positions of responsi- 
bility. He has long been regarded as a leader 
of public thought and action and has been 
and is distinctively a man of prominence and 
influence in this state. 



SABIN 1. ST I '.MP. 

Sabiu I. Stumi) is a grain dealer of Armada, 
who owns a fine elevator well equipped for the 
conduct of business of that characfer. He is 
a native son of Armada township, born Au- 
gust 15, 1857, his parents 1)eing Levi and Har- 
riet (Newhall) Stump. The father was born 
in New York and with his parents came to 
.Michigan about 18:{(), the family home lieing 
established north of the present site of Rich- 
mond. Leonard Stump, the grandfather, be- 
came a pioneer resident of this part of the 
state and there developed a good farm. In 
his family were the following named: Henry, 
Levi, Chester, Horace and two daughters. 
Mary and Di'iia. Horace Stump is now in 
Chicago with the National Exju-ess Compiuiy, 
having' made his home in that city from his 
boyhood days to the present. 

licvi Stnm[) was for many years actively en- 
gaged in farming and owned a good tract of 



land, richly cultivated, northwest of Armada 
but at length he determined to live a retired 
life and removed to xVrmada, where he now 
n)akes his home. He j'et owns twenty-one 
acres of land while the old farm homestead is 
in possession of his son Sabin. The father was 
mai'i'ied twice and his second wife is now de- 
ceased. There were three children of the first 
marriage: John II., who began business as a 
farmer, is now a lumbei' merchant and owner 
of a veneer plant at Arnuida. He is married 
and has one .son. Sabin is the next younger. 
Elizabeth, who was keeping house for John 
Stump, was burned to death in an apple (lr\-er 
when twenty-five yeai's of age. 

Sabin I. Stump comijleted his education by 
.study in the high scIkjoI at Armada and later 
he engaged in teaching for two years. He 
afterward followed fai'ming for three years 
upon land owned by Mr. Case west of the 
town. He then came to the village of Armada, 
whei'c he built an elevator, which is still stand- 
ing. He began buying grain in the old station 
house and in 18S4 he built an elevator in order 
to facilitate his business. In 1898 he erected 
a still more modern elevator all finished in 
hardwood and eciuipped with a complete bean 
plant which was installed at a cost of fifteen 
liunderd dollars. He also has his own electric 
light plant and everything about his place is 
most modern in construction, showing his 
familiarity with all i)rogressive ideas con- 
nected with his line of trade. He also has a 
mill for the manufacture of (juarter-sawed 
oak and is now making fine panels. 

In 187!) "Sir. Stump was united in nuirriage 
to ;\liss Olive Case and unto them have been 
1)1 irn six children, of whom four are yet living, 
but Carl, the eldest, is deceased. Vida, who 
was educated in the high scIukiI and in a busi- 
ness college in Detroit, is now assisting her 
father in business, lla/.el is a graduate of the 
high school of Armada. Olive is deceased. 
Clyde is attending the iniblic schools of Ar- 
mada and Clarence comi)l('tes the family. The 
eldest son was a grailiiate of the high school 
of Armada, also of the Ypsilanti Noriiuil 
School and had a life certificate as a teachei-, 
but died at the age of twent,v-one years. 

^li'. Stiuup was formerly a democrat in his 
political views but now gives his political alle- 
giance to tli(> r('])ublican party. He has lieen 
township ti-easnrei' and i)resident of the vil- 
lage l)()ar(l. He belongs to Ihe ^Masonic lodge 
at Ai'iiiada and is also identified with the 
Foresters and the Maccabees, while both he 
and his wife liehiiig to the Congre<jrational 
rliiirrli. Tlicv arc widciv and favorably 




SAHIX I. STl'MP. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



321 



known in social circles here and his linsincss 
pi'oniineiice is ackiiowlediicd liy all. for he lias 
the capability which enables him to I'cadily mi- 
derstaud intricate liusiness situations and to 
furnish the problem for their solution. 



GEORGE W. BRABB. 

George W. Brabb. who is now living a re- 
tired life in Romeo, was for a nunil)er of 
years a prominent farmer and business man 
of !Maeonib county. He was born in the 
township of Washington, February 10, 18-13, 
and is of English lineage, his father Isaac 
Brabb, having been born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, October 10, 1794. The name was origi- 
nally spelled with an "s, " but this was 
dropped liy the children of Isaac Brabb, Sr. 
In that country he was reared to mature years 
and was married to Hannah Hudson, who was 
born September 1-1, 1799, and, following the 
birth of iive of their children, he and his wife 
emigrated to the I'nited States. The year 
1830 witnessed their arrival and they made 
their way direct to ^Michigan, where ^Ir. 
Brabb purchased and entered land near Ro- 
meo in the township of Washington. Here 
he began clearing the fields and in course of 
time he developed a good farm, so managing 
his agricultural interests that his land be- 
came very productive, yielding large crops, 
which found a ready sale on the market. He 
was know'n as a capable financier, his busi- 
ness judgment being sound and reliable and 
as the years passed he became the owner of 
large tracts of land. He gave to each of his 
sons a farm. When prosperity to a large de- 
gree had crowned his efforts and he found 
himself in i)os.session of a comfortable compe- 
tence he removed to Romeo to spend his last 
years in retirement from further lal)or. He 
was, however, a promoter and one of the or- 
ganizers of the Romeo Savings Bank, in which 
he served as a stockholder and directoi- until 
his death. He was ever a useful and public- 
spirited citizen, giving his aid and influence 
to many worthy public measures which have 
proven of temporary or permanent good to 
the community. He died in 1876, at the age 
of eighty-two years, respected and honored 
by all who knew him. 

Oeorge W. Brabb is the youngest in a fam- 
ily of four sons and six daiighters, the others 
being : Ann, who was boi-n November 8, 1818, 
and married John Stead, but both are now 
deceased ; John H., who was born Novemljer 
5, 1820. and for a number of years was presi- 



dent of the Citizens Savings Bank of Romeo ; 
Ann, who was Iwrii November 8, 1824, and 
is now deceased; William H., of Romeo, who 
was born September 15, 1826 ; Caroline, of 
Romeo, who was born September 1, 1829, 
and is the widow- of Robert Ferguson ; Isaac 
N., who was born August 1'), 1833, and after 
following farming for a number of years, 
took up his abode in Romeo ; and three daugh- 
ters, who died in infancy. 

George W. Brabb spent his youth in his 
parents' home and acquired his early educa- 
tion in the common schools, while later he con- 
tinued his studies in the high school of Ro- 
meo. Following the time when he attained 
his ma.iority he gave his attention to the su- 
pervision of his father's interests and later he 
engaged in tlie hardware trade, purchasing 
a hardware store in Romeo, which he con- 
ducted for several years. He organized a 
stock company for the manufactiire of road 
carts and in his factory employed a large 
force of woricmen. The business grew to ex- 
tensive proportions and the output was as 
high as from fort.y to seventy-five carts per 
day. Subsequently j\Ir. Brabl) also engaged 
in the implement business and in this he is 
still interested. He likewise holds stock in 
the Romeo Savings Bank and he is the owner 
of the old family homestead of two hundred 
and seventy acres, constituting a very val- 
uable tract of land, which is richly improved, 
being ecpiipped with all modern conveniences. 
He erected thereon a neat and commodious 
residence. 

In 1873 Mr. Brabb was united in marriage 
to Miss Lois Garlick. who was born and 
reared in Canada. She died in Romeo in 
1892 and 'Sir. Brabb has since wedded Miss 
Martha J. Starkweather, a native of this coun- 
ty, reared and educated here, and a daughter 
of Edwin and Juliet (Chamberlain) Stark- 
weather. Politically Mr. Brabb is an old-line 
democrat, but his last j)residential vote was 
cast for Theodore Roosevelt. Political hon- 
ors have had no attraction for him, as his 
business interests have claimed all his time. 
He and his wife are active and influential 
members of the IMethodist Episcopal church, 
in which he has done much effective work. He 
has served on the church board for a number 
of years and was formerly active in the Sun- 
day-school, lie belongs to the Masonic fra- 
ternity, having attained the Knight Templar 
degree in the connnandery at Romeo, and he 
and his wife are identified with the Eastern 
Star, Mrs. Brabb holding office therein. Mr. 
Bralili is likewise coiuiected with the Indo- 



322 



PAST AND PKE8EXT OF MACOMB COI'XTY 



pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he 
has filled all of the chairs and is a past grand. 
He is to-day numbered among the most enter- 
prising citizens of Romeo, having been en- 
gaged in active business here for many years 
and having taken an interested \r,ivt in the 
maintenance of the moral, educational and 
comniereial progress of the city. lie has fos- 
tered numerous local industries and has con- 
tributed his means and influence to various 
undej'takings calculated to benefit the people 
of Romeo and of ^lacomli countv. 



WALTER J. BAILEY. 

Among the enterprising and successful ag- 
riculturists of Bruce township is numbered 
Walter J. Bailey, who is the owner of a well- 
improved and valuable farm of two hundred 
acres on section 23. within two miles of Ro- 
meo. He is a native son of ^Michigan, his 
birth having occurred in Pontiae, Oakland 
county, October 28, 1863. His father. John 
Bailey, was born in Dorsetshire, England, in 
1823, and came to the new world with an 
older brother in 1831. Settling in Canada, 
he there grew to manhood, and in 1S47 re- 
moved to Oakland county, Michigan, being 
engaged in the liver.y business at Pontiae 
and Detroit for twenty-four years. At the 
former place he was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth Kimble, who is a native of 
Rochester, New York. On his retirement 
from the livery business IMr. Bailey located 
on a farm east of Pontiae and to the culti- 
vation and improvement of that place he de- 
voted his energies throughout the remainder 
of his life, dying there in 1883. His widow 
still survives him and makes her home with 
her son Walter, a hale and hearty old lady of 
seventy-seven years. In the family were 
three children, of whom Walter J. is the 
youngest. James II., the oldest, is a farmei' 
of Bi-uce township. Abbie, the only daughter, 
died at the age of seven years. 

Walter J. Bailey spent the first fourteen 
years of his life in Pontiae, and in the 
schools of that city accjuired the greater part 
of his education. He then aeeomjjanied his 
parents on tlieir removal to the farm and 
assisted his father in its operation until the 
latter 's death. For three years thereafter 
he continued to carry on the home farm, aiul 
then worked by the month for the same 
length of time." On the !)th of April. 18!H). 
he was married in Romeo to Miss Belle B. 
Wvman, who was born, reared and ethicate ! 



in Pontiae and is a daughter of Moses Wy- 
man and a granddaughter of Hiram Taylor, 
one of the first settlers of Macomb county 
from Vermont. 

After his marriage ilr. Bailey located on 
the Hiram Taylor farm, which he operated 
for five years and then removed to Dr. 
Berry's farm of four hundred acres, form- 
ing a partnership with that gentleman in the 
stock-raising intlustry, which relation was con- 
tinued with nnitual pleasure and profit for 
seven years. Although there was never any 
written agreement between them, their bvisi- 
ness relations were always most satisfactory 
and they are still warm friends. After the 
partnership was dissolved Mr. Bailey con- 
tinued in charge of the Doctor's farm for two 
years. At one time the}' owned and operated 
seven hundred and seventy-six acres of land. 
In 1900 ;\Ir. Bailey purchased his present 
fine farm of two hundred and twelve acres, 
which he has placed under a high state of 
cultivation and greatly improved. For many 
years he has dealt in stock, which he buys 
and fattens for the market, and is also a 
breeder of fine driving hor.ses and Shropshire 
sheep. A man of good business and execu- 
tive ability, he has met with success in all 
his undertakings and is to-day numliered 
among the prosperous farnu-rs and stock deal- 
ers of Macomb county. 

i\Ir. Bailey has been called upon to mourn 
the loss of his wife, who died on the 1st of 
June, 1897, leaving two children : John M., 
born August 28, 1891 ; a)id Sadie Belle, born 
November 12. 1894. Since age gave him the 
right of franchise he has .supported the men 
and measures of the democratic party, cast- 
ing his first presidential vote for Grover 
Cleveland, but he has never cared for polit- 
ical honors. Fraternally, he is a Royal Arch 
Mason, and is now serving as jtuiior warden 
in the blue lodge. He is also a member of 
the Ea.stern Star and the Knights of the Mac- 
cabees at Romeo, and is a man highly re- 
spected and esteemed by all v.-ho know him. 



WILLIAM T. KKLLY. 

William T. Kelly, of iMount Clemens, a 
practitioner at the bar of .Mai-omb county, 
was born April 17. 1878. in the city which 
is still his home. His jiaternal grandfather 
was Rev. William T. Kelly, a native of Ire- 
land, who canu^ to this country about 1844. 
He was an P^piscopal clergyman and died 
while serving as rector of the church at Dex- 




WILLIA.M J'. KELLY. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



325 



ter. Jliehigan. His wife, a sister of T. M. 
Crocker, died at :\[ouut Clemens, :\liehigan. 
Their only ehild was Dr. .M. C. Kelly, a 
native of ]\Iiehii;an, who eiit;a.u-ed in the 
practice of his profession in Blount Clemens 
for twenty-eight years. He died in Decem- 
ber, 1898, at the age of fifty-one years. He 
married Alice Mary Snook, also a native 
of Michigan and a daughter of Thomas W. 
Snook, a native of ilouiit Clemens and pro- 
prietor of a .stave mill in this city. He died 
in 1901. Mrs. Kelly is still living. By her 
mai-riage she became the mother of four 
children: William T. ; Arthur 11., deceased; 
Charles D., who is studying mechanical en- 
gineering in the ^Michigan University: and 
Harry C. at Mount Clemens. 

William T. Kelly, the eldest of the fam- 
ily, pursued his preliminary education in 
the public schools of Blount Clemens and 
continued his studies in the University of 
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and the Detroit 
College of Law, from which he was gradu- 
ated with the class of 1901. He entered 
upon the active practice of his profession 
January 1, 1902, in Blount Clemens, and 
has met with gratifying success, having al- 
ready a good clientage, although one of the 
youngest members of the Macomb county 
bar. There is no calling which demands 
closer application and more unremitting dili- 
gence than the law and through the exer- 
cise of these qualities ^Ir. Kelly has won 
the favorable attention of the bar and of 
the general public. In politics he is a demo- 
crat, active as a worker in the ranks of the 
party, and on ilay 5, 1905, was ap])ointed 
eitv attornej' for Mount Clemens. 



WILLIAM H. NORTON. 

William H. Norton, living on section 16, 
Washington township, is devoting his atten- 
tion to general farming and stock-raising. He 
is a typical son of the golden west, enterpris- 
ing, alert and energetic. He was born in 
Oakland county, ^Michigan, April 11, isr)2, 
and is a son of the Hon. John ]\I. Norton, a 
native of Ontario county, New York, his 
birthplace being not far from the cit.y of 
Rochester. His natal day was May 5, 1820. 
His father. Elder John Norton, was a pioneei' 
minister of ilacomb county, Michigan, arriv- 
ing in this state in 1S21. He re|)resented the 
Baptist denomination and labored earjiestly 
to carry the gospel thi'ough the new settle- 
ments. Hon. John M. Norton was i-eared in 



( >akland county and was a self-educated and 
self-made man. In early life he, worked by 
the month until his labors had brought him 
capital sufficient to enable him to engage in 
business on his own account. He followed 
farming in Oakland county, owning and oper- 
ating a valuable tract of land near Roches- 
ter and thereon he reared his family. He 
served for one term as state senator of ^lichi- 
gan and was always keenly interested in the 
fjuestions and issues that involved the up- 
building and progress of the .state along so- 
cial, intellectual, legal and moi'al lines. He 
was married in Oakland county to Miss Nancy 
Hazen, who was born in Ontario county, New 
York, and came to the west in her childhood 
days. ilr. Norton passed away August 11, 
1902, and is still survived Ity his wife, who 
yet resides upon the old homestead farm. 

William II. Norton is the second in order 
of birth in a family of four sons and two 
daughters, all of whom are yet living, ex- 
cepting Abbie May, who died in infancy. The 
others are as follows: Elvira E., now the 
wife of J. W. King, of Tawas City, ]Michi- 
gan ; William H., of this i-eview; John T., a 
druggist and business man of Rochester; 
Clarence S., a physician of Chicago; and 
Grant C, a farmer, of Oakland county. 

William H. Norton was I'eared upon the 
old homestead farm and supplemented his 
early educational advantages by study in the 
high school at Rochester and at Romeo, I\Iieh- 
igan, supplemented by one year's attendance 
at the University of ^Michigan, where he pur- 
sued the literary course. He engaged in teach- 
ing to a greater or less extent for eighteen 
years, following that profession through the 
winter months, while in the summer seasons 
he operated the farm. In each department of 
labor he met with success, carefully guid- 
ing his affairs .so that his efforts resulted in 
the acquirement of a comfortable competence. 
In 1896 he purchased his present propei'ty, 
comprising one hundred and twenty-five 
acres of land on section 16, Washington town- 
ship. This is a Avell-improved and valuable 
farm, on which he raises good grades of stock. 
He has made a specialty of breeding and 
dealing in .sheep and has a fine flock of Hamp- 
shire Downs. He also raises Duroc-Jersey 
hogs and the sale of his stock adds largely to 
his annual income. 

On the IGth of Jaiuiary, 1876, in Oakland 
county, ^Michigan, INfr. Noi-ton was married 
to ^liss Anna Hij)le, a native of .Macomb 
county who was reared and educated here. 
After his marriage he taught and farmed for 



326 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



a number of years in Oakland county and 
while living there was elected and served as 
township superintendent of schools for a num- 
ber of years. The home of ilr. and ilrs. 
Norton has been blessed with two sons : Har- 
vey W., who has been educated in the Roch- 
ester high school; and Don C, who is now a 
student in the high school at Romeo. 

Politically ]ilr. Norton is a republican 
where national issues are involved, having 
cast his first presidential ballot for Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes in 1876 and his last for Theo- 
dore Roosevelt in 1904. He has filled a num- 
ber of local positions of honor and trust anil 
has served as president of the Farmers' Club 
for two years. He was president of the Ma- 
comb County Institute for two years and he 
and his wife are yet identified with that or- 
ganization, ilr. Norton is well known in ila- 
comb and Oakland counties as a man of in- 
tegrity and worth and both he and Mrs. Nor- 
ton enjoy the esteem of the entire country- 
side, while the gracious hospitality of their 
own home has uaiTicd for them the good will 
of all. 



C. A. W. LILJENSTOLPE. 

Cai-1 August Wilhelm Liljenstolpe, the 
founder and proi)rietor of the Swedish In- 
stitute of Scientific ilassage and Medical 
Gymnastics, is a native of Sweden, born June 
11, 1849. His parents, Major Carl and 
Christina Amelia (Breuholtz) Liljenstolpe, 
were natives of southern Sweden, where both 
died. The father was born in 1813 and 
passed away in 1876, while the mother's birth 
occurred in 1824 and her death in 1902. They 
were the parents of five children, namely: 
Clas Axel Gustav, of the Swedish army: 
Christina Olga, who is living in Stockholm. 
Sweden ; Carl A. W. ; KJiut Otto, who is living 
in Omaha, Nelo-aska; and Eleanora, who is 
yet living in Stockholm, Sweden. The father 
was a major in the Swedish army. 

Carl A. W. Liljenstolpe was reared in Smo- 
land, Sweden, and acquired his education 
through instruction from a private tutor. On 
the 15th of October, 1862, he entered the War 
Academy at Carll)ei'g, Sweden, from which in- 
stitution he was grjiduated on the 31st of May, 
1871, after i)assing a most rigid examination. 
His examination certificate bears the signa- 
ture of King Oscar. He was then commis- 
sioned a lieutenant in the regular army and 
this paper contains the signature of Charles 



XV. He remained in service until 1879 and 
afterward entered upon a coiu'se in scientific 
massage and medical gymnastics. In 1894 
he came to the United States and located in 
Chicago, where he engaged in practice for 
eight j'ears. During the Spanish-American 
war in accordance with provisions of the for- 
t\--first general assembly. Governor Tanner, 
of Illinois, in recognition of his patriotism 
and valor and his services in connectitm with 
the state, placed his name for enrollment in 
the volunteer army with the rank of lieuten- 
ant colonel, but he was not called to active 
duty. 

In 1896 Mr. Liljenstolpe came to Mount 
Clemens, where he established the Swedish 
Institute, incorporated, for scientific massage 
and medical gymnastics. He has met with ex- 
cellent success here and has effected many 
remarkable cures. During the past season he 
has had four hundred and forty-nine patients. 
The institute, located at No. 59 Cass avenue, 
is ecjuipped with apparatus and appliances 
for the successful treatment of those who 
come to him, and his comprehensive knowl- 
edge of anatomy and of the methods of mass- 
age and gymnastic work that will prove most 
beneficial, have gained him success which is 
well merited. 

Mr. Liljenstolpe was first married in 1876, 
in Sweden, to ]\Iiss Anna Breiholtz, who was 
also a native of Sweden, and died in 18S9. To 
them six children were born, of whom four 
are living: Skold, Gunnar. Emar and Anna, 
and they all follow the profession of the 
father and assist in the institute. On the 
19th of October, 1904, Mr. Liljenstolpe was 
mai-ried to ^liss Pearl Pi-escott, a daughter 
of AVilliam Prescott, of Cleveland. Ohio. He 
was made a ilason in Sweden in 1878. His 
natui'e is kindly, his temperament genial and 
his manner pleasing, and these qualities have 
made him popular with all classes. 



ARTHUR JAY BALDWIN. 

Ill reviewing the histoi-y of Arthur J. Bald- 
win one is reminded of the words of a great 
New York financier, "If you are not a suc- 
cess don't blame the time .you live in; don't 
blame the place you occupy; don't blame the 
circumstances you are surrounded with — lay 
the blame where it belongs — to yourself. Not 
in time, place nor circumstance, but in the 
man. lies success. If you win success you 
must pay tlie ])rice." Realizing the truth of 




MRS. A. J. BALDWIN 





MRS. COKNKLIUS BALDWIN 



CORNELIUS BALDWLN 




A. I. BALDWIN 




MKS. LAURA BALDWIN 





N. W. DRVKR 



MRS. N. \V. DRYER 




MLSS MARY A. liALDWIN 



PAST AM) IMJKSFAT OF MACO.MB COCXTV 



331 



tills Mr. Baldwin has paid f(ir his sui'c(>ss. the 
price of eoneentrated ott'ort, indofatiirable 
energy, of perseverance and well applied 
business principles and has won the victory 
which he started out to win years ago. He 
is to-day conducting important business in- 
terests in New Haven, being owner of an 
elevator and iuiplenient business there and 
also carrying a large line of harness and ex- 
tensive stock of cement and fertilizers. He 
is, moreover, active in community affairs, 
being the president of the village in which he 
makes his home. 

A native of Chesterfield. ]\richigan, born 
November 8, 1860, ^Ir. Hakhvin is a son of 
Cornelius and ^Margaret Antoinette (Leon- 
ard) Baldwin, both of whom were natives of 
the state of Xew York. The paternal grand- 
father Avas also born in New York. April G, 
1791, and was there married to Miss ^lary 
Van Scoiek. In 1836 he removed to ^Macomb 
county, settling in ]Mount Clenu'us, where he 
lived for three years, following tlu- trades of 
a carpenter and millwright. On the expii-a- 
tion of that period he removed to a farm in 
Lenox township, having entered the land 
from the government on the 15th of April, 
1837, his deed being signed by Andrew 
Jackson, then president of the United States. 
He continued to follow his trade, building 
the government lighthouse at Eagle Tlarboi' 
and while thus engaged he was taken ill. He 
was unable to be brought back on the last 
boat that came down the river m the fall 
and he died there November 19, 1845, his re- 
mains being interred at that place. 

Cornelius E. Baldwin, who was born in 
Phelps township, Yates county. New York, 
April 9, 1824, accompanied his parents on 
their removal to Macomb county in 1836, and 
with his father he learned the trades of car- 
penter and millwright in ]\Iount Clemens, 
ILany of the early buildings which he erected 
are still .standing. He built the frame school- 
house at Big Stone, also the government 
lighthouse at Ausable and Pointi' Aux 
Barques. Following the father's death lu^ 
purchased the interest of the other heirs in 
a tract of eighty acres of land on which he 
settled and he afterward extended the boun- 
daries of his farm by the purchase of forty 
acres adjoining it. He was married. April 
G. 1856, to ^liss ^fargaret Antoinette Leon- 
ard, of Lenox township, and they became the 
parents of two children — Fred Calvin and 
Arthur J, The wife and mother died Novem- 
ber 25, 1864. and on the 4th of November. 
1865, lie mai'i'ied ^fiss Tjaura r'rnttenden, a 



daughter of ^Villi,■llll M. and .Mai-y R. Crut- 
tenden of Macomb township. By this mar- 
riage there was one cliiid — Mary Antionetto, 
who died September 25, 1892. Coi-nelius E. 
Baldwin departed this life January 15, 1892, 
and is still survived by his widow who makes 
her home with Artlu^r J. Baldwin. The 
father was a member of Mount Clemens 
lodge, A. F. & A. "SL, and was an active fac- 
tor in the early material j)rogress of the 
county, while at a later date he was known as 
a worthy representative of agricultural in- 
terests. 

Mr. Baldwin, whose name introduces this 
record, supplemented his early educational 
privileges received in the district schools, 
by study in the high school of New Balti- 
more, ^lichigan. His early days were spent 
upon a farm and at the age of twenty-four 
years he started oxit in life on his own ac- 
count, pni'chasing a farm in Lenox township, 
upon which he remained for two years. He 
then sold that property and began buying 
hay which he disposed of in the markets of 
the east. Following the death of his father he 
purchased the old farm homestead and de- 
voted his energies to general agricultural 
pursuits until 1902, when he removed to New 
Haven and bought of W. F. Ednnmds the 
elevator and imjilement business which he 
has since conducted. He has also increased 
his ojierations by adding a large line of har- 
ness and also carries c(>ment and fertilizers. 
His trade has constantly grown and he is ac- 
counted one of the well known and leading 
business men of New ILaven, so directing his 
efforts that they have been resultant factors 
in winning him success. 

On the 27th of April, 1884, :\rr. Baldwin 
was united in marriage to ^liss Annette ^f. 
Dryer, a daughter of Nathan W. and ^lar- 
tha (Shattuck) Dryer, of Lenox township. 
Her father was a son of Thomas F. Dryer of 
the state of New Yoi-k, who came to IMacomb 
county in 1833, renuiining a resident of 
Lenox town.ship until his death, which oc- 
curred in ;March, 1890. He passed away one 
of the honored pioneer settlers of the cora- 
nuuiity, for his worth Avas many times 
demonstrated not only in his business life 
bnt also in the helpful part he took in public 
affairs. Nathan W. Dryer departed this life 
February 19. 1869. leaving a widow and four 
children, namely: Clarence N. of New Ha- 
ven; Mrs. Baldwin; Eva M.. of St. Clair 
county; and Clyde W. of Detroit. The 
mother afterward married again, becoming 
the wife of William H. TInlsey. of Lenox 



332 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACO:\IB COUNTY 



township, and they have one child — Mercy, 
who is with Mvh. Baldwin in New Haven. 

Mr. Baldwin belongs to New Haven lodge, 
No. 465, I. 0. 0. F. ; :\Ionnt Clemens En- 
campment; Division No. 69 of the Knights 
of the Loyal Guards of Mount Clemens, and 
The Wayside tent, K. 0. T. 'SI. of New Haven, 
and he has been active and influential in pub- 
lic affairs. For a number of years he has 
been connected with this portion of the up- 
building of the county and has just reason 
to be proud of the fact that to his efforts can 
be traced many a substantial enterprise or 
achievement, contributing greatly to the 
beauty and prosperity of the city in which 
he makes his home. In every sense of the 
word he is a representative citizen, devoted 
to the welfare of his town and county. He 
served as township treasurer in 1902-3, was 
a member of the village council in 1903-4 
and in the spring of 1905 was elected presi- 
dent of the village and in other offices which 
he has filled he has shown himself worthy of 
the trust and confidence reposed in him liy 
his fellow townsmen. 



JOHN HAKTSKi. 



John Hartsig is the owner of a well-im- 
proved farm of (me hundred and sixty acres 
on section 4, Warren townshij), and its pleas- 
ing appearance, with substantial buildings, 
richly cultivated fields and good grades of 
stock, is attributalile to the energy and busi- 
ness ability of Jlr. Hartsig. A native of this 
township, he was born December 15, 1848, 
and is a .son of Louis and Aiigeline (Spin- 
ning) Hartsig, the former a native of Switzer- 
land and the latter of the .state of New York. 
The father came to Michigan in 1828 and 
cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers who 
were reclaiming this vast district from the 
domain of the Indians for the purposes of 
civilization. He settled on the Campeau farm 
at Grosse Pointe, Wajaie county, where he 
lived for .seven years, and then removed to 
Warren township, buying school land on sec- 
tion 16. It was covered with a dense growth 
of trees and in order to cultivate the land 
he cut and burned all the first fiiiil)er. At 
that time few roads had been opened and in 
order to get to Detroit and sell his produce 
and buy provisions he had to follow the trail 
through the woods. The experiences of pio- 
neer life soon became familiar to the family 
and their labors proved a factor in the de- 
velopment of this i)ai't of file state, ^fr. Hart- 



sig became quite active and influential in 
townshij) affairs and. being elected highway 
commissioner, he used every means in his 
jiower to open up the roads. He was also 
township treasurer for two terms, was the 
champion of the i)ul)lie schools and served as 
assessor of school disfi'ict No. 2. At one time 
he was a driver on the old Utiea and Detroit 
Horse Railroad and he is yet remembered by 
many of the early settlers because of his activ- 
ity along lines that contributed to the general 
good. In the early days he attended the 
First ]\Iethodist church and helped to organ- 
ize the (Jerman Evangelical church of War- 
ren, of which he was treasurer and trustee 
for many j'ears. In 1862 his wife died and 
he was married again to Catherine Busch 
in the year 1863. On the 9th of April. 1905, 
he passed away, respected b\' all who knew 
him, and now his name is enrolled among the 
pioneers and honored dead of ^Macomb 
county. 

John Hartsig, the eldest of the thirteen 
children of this worthy man, pursued his 
early studies in the district schools and later 
attended the Utiea high school. He remained 
with his father until 1874. when he pur- 
chased forty acres adjoining his father's farm 
and lived thereon until 1883. when he re- 
moved to Iowa. Upon his return in 1886 he 
purchased the Spinning farm in Warren 
township, where he now resides and on which 
he has made many improvements, remodeling 
the house, while in 1891 he built a large barn. 
He uses the latest improved machinery in 
the cultivation of his fields and has all of 
his one hundred and sixty acres well tiled, 
with the exception of twenty-five acres. It 
is also fenced and the land is well adapted for 
general farming, while a bed of clay upon 
the ]ilace is well adapted for brick and tile 
making. 

On the 1st of October, 1874, :\Ir. Hartsig 
led to the marriage altar .Miss Christina Sear- 
ing, of Warren township, who died Decem- 
ber 29, 1886. Of their four children the 
third is deeea.sed. The others are : Ida A., 
of Detroit : Pxlward W. and Clarence L., at 
home. On the 6th of December. 1887, Mr. 
Hartsig wedded ^liss Ida D. Seliarnberg. a 
daughter of Frank Scharnhei-g, of Warren 
township, and the children of this marriage 
are: Anna L., Laura W., Charles J. and 
John 11., all at home. 

Mr. Hartsig is a member of the German 
Evangelical church of Warren and is one of 
the charter members of the German Arbeiter, 
of Warren. He has tilled the chair of jmiior 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 



333 



warden in L'tica lodge, No. 75, A. F. & A. M. 
and is a charter member of AVari'en lodge, 
No. 71, K. P.. in which he has also 
filled the chairs and is now master of 
the exchequer. His political support is 
enthiLsiastically given the republican party 
and he has served as township school inspec- 
tor, while in 1878 he was elected justice of 
the peace. Every office he has tilled, whether 
civic or political, has found him prompt and 
capable and in the discharge of all duties, 
whether of a public or private nature, he 
displays fidelity and accuracy. 



ROSWELL GREEN. 



Roswell Green, an honored veteran of the 
Civil war, who spent many years as a sailor 
on the Great Lakes, but is now engaged in 
farming on section 11, Chesterfield township, 
claims New York as his native state, his birth 
having occurred in Clarkston. ^lonroe county, 
on the 6th of October, 1S:3'2. His parents, 
Daniel and Almira (Lampshire) Green, were 
natives of New Hampshire and New York, re- 
spectively. About 1830 the fatlu'r first came 
to >Macomb county, ^Michigan, but shortly 
afterward removed to Ohio, where he spent 
three years, and then returned to New York, 
remaining there during the following two 
years. In 1844 we again find him in this 
county, and at that time he located in Len- 
ox township on the Misner road, near Big 
Stone, which name was given it by the In- 
dians, the site being marked by a large stone. 
Daniel Green continued to reside at that place 
until his death, whicli occurred 'Si-Ay 17, 1873. 
He made farming his principal occupation, 
but for four years was engaged in buying 
staves and culls for ]\Ir. Jenny of Mount 
Clemens. Like most of the Green family he 
was a well-educated man and took an active 
interest in educational affairs, serving on the 
district school board in Lenox township for 
some years. During his boyhood daj^s he 
served as a teamster in tlie war of 1812 for 
twenty-two days, but was discharged at the 
end of that time on account of his youth. His 
brothers, Orlin T. and Roswtll W., both saw 
active service in that war and the latter rose 
to the rank of major. 

The subject of this sketch aciiuired his edu- 
cation in the district schools of this county 
and remained upon the home farm until 1847. 
when, at the age of fifteen years, he began 
Bailing, first serving before the mast under 
Captain "Whipple on the schooner Pronson for 



a season and a half, that vessel i-unning from 
Salt River to Detroit, carrying staves. The 
second season he shipped uiulei- Captain J. 
Aimes on the scow Eagle, I'unning from all 
lake points to Detroit, carrying staves and 
wood. He then returned to the home farm, 
where he remained until 1860, when he re- 
sumed sailing. He assisted in l)uilding the 
Abraham Lincoln, on which he sailed uiader 
Captain Charles De Sha, running from Lake 
Huron and touching at all i)oints along the 
river to ports on Lake Ei'ie. At this time he 
was promoted to second mate. He next helped 
to build the schooner I. L. Quimby, the scow 
Gladiator and the J. F. Buffum, which on 
her third trip was totally wi-ecked on Port 
Stanley pier while trying to make a harbor 
during a storm. On board wei'e Captain De 
Sha's mother and sister, whom he was mov- 
ing to Toledo, together with their household 
effects, whicli were lost, though the passen- 
gers and crew' were saved. The same year 
Mr. Green was made master of a schooner 
owned by Dwight & Richardson, of Detroit, 
running from Lake Huron to Lake Erie and 
touching at New Baltimore and Swan Creek. 
He next bought the scow Juno, whicli he 
sailed for two seasons, and for one year sailed 
the schooner Island City. Following this 
he was on the Rosa Ann, owned by J. F. Buf- 
funi, of New Baltimore, running from that 
place to Buffalo and Cleveland, and for two 
seasons was on the Colonel Hathaway for Mr. 
Shoemaker, of New Baltimore, carrying 
shook from New Baltimore to Buffalo and 
Cleveland and grain from Toledo to Cleve- 
land and Erie, Pennsylvania. His last sail- 
ing was on the scow St. Stephen, owned by 
]\Irs. James Hathaway, of New Baltimore, 
running from Alpena to Buffalo and Cleve- 
land and returning with freight to New Bal- 
timore. He sailed that vessel for two years. 
He met with many experiences during early 
days on the lakes and encountered man,v dan- 
gers, as most of the vessels at tluit time were 
without compass and there wei-e few light- 
houses to guide them. The larger vessels at 
New Baltimore were anchored out in the bay 
in deep water and the fr(>ight was drawn into 
the water as far as possible by oxen and then 
loaded on to a lighter, which was poled to 
the vessel on which the freight was to be 
shiitjied, being then transferred. 

On leaving the lakes ^Tr. Green returned 
to the hom(> farm and for three summers was 
engaged in contracting and building in Rich- 
mond, afterward continuing the same work 
in Rocliester and "Washington, ^Tichigan. He 



334 



PAST AND PRESENT OF INFACOMB COUNTY 



also built the sawmill for Hiram Hazeltou at 
New Haven and one for Daniel Smith, of Ro- 
meo, at Perrington, Gratiot comity, on the To- 
ledo, Saginaw & ^Muskegon Railroad. He built 
the .Maeeabee Halls at Washington, Richmond 
and New Haven and assisted in building the 
Congregational church at Richmond. He 
then retired to the farm, where he and his 
wife are now living. 

On the 2nd of December, 1853. 'Sir. Green 
married Miss Alice Van Horn, a daughter of 
John and Cornelia (Slack) Van Horn of 
Chesterfield townsliip. Her parents were na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and came to Macomb 
county, :\richigau. in the '40s, first settling 
in Blount Ck'mens. where they lived for five 
years. The following five years were spent 
on the Patton farm and at the end of that 
time ilr. Van Horn purchased a farm on 
section 1, Chesterfield township, where he 
made his home until his death in 1875. His 
wife died on the same place two yeai's later. 
In their family were eight children, but only 
three are now living, these being : j\Irs. Green 
and her two brothers, who are retired farmers, 
residing in New Haven, ilr. and 'Sirs. Green 
have three children : James "Walter, who 
married Bertha L\isk and follows farming in 
Jlacomb townshi]) : John V.. who married Nel- 
lie Douglas and follows farming in Ray town- 
ship ; and Ida Alice, now the w-ife of Charles 
]\raliskey, of Owosso. [Michigan. 

During the dark days of the Civil war Mr. 
Green joined the Engineer Corps of the First 
Division of the .Mississippi Department, and 
saw some hard service. He remained at the 
front until hostilities ceased and at the close 
of the war was honorably discharged at Chat- 
tanooga, Tennessee, in ilay, 1865, returning 
home with a good militarj' record. For over 
sixty yeai-s he has been a resident of this 
county and is Avidely and favorably known 
as ;i man of iijiri^ht cliaracter and sterling 
worth. 



:\1I{S. REBECCA A. XEWBERRV. 

Mrs. Rebecca A. Newberry is well known 
ill Romeo, wliere she has taken a very active 
and lieljjful part in l)enevolent work, her 
services being especially Iteneficial in con- 
nection with the Woman's Relief Corps and 
the Eastern Star. She is a native daughter 
of Macoml) county, \\cr birth having occurred 
in Macomb townsliij), Octobci- 7, lS-40, Her 
father, Jolm N. Scranlin. was a native of 
New York, born on the banks of the ^Mo- 



hawk river in 1784. His father, John Scran- 
lin, was of German lineage. John N. Scran- 
lin was reared to manhood in the place of 
his nativity and was there married to [Miss 
Hannah Gordon, also a native of the Empire 
state and a daughter of Eliphalet Gordon, a 
native of France. In early life ilr. Scranlin 
learned the mason's trade, which he followed 
in New York for a number of years. Fol- 
lowing the birth of seven of their children 
he and his wife came witli their family to 
Michigan and here two children were added 
to the household. They arrived in this state 
eai'ly in 1840, making a permanent location 
in [\Iacomb county. The father purchased a 
tract of land of one hundred and forty acres 
in ]\Iacomb township. It was largely covered 
with timber, only a few acres having been 
cleared and in the midst of the little clear- 
ing stood a log cabin. Here in true pioneer 
style the family began life on the frontier. 
Mr. Scranlin continued the work of prepar- 
ing his land for the plow, cutting down the 
trees and hauling oft' or burning the timber. 
As the .vears passed he developed an . ex- 
cellent farm and erected a good farm resi- 
dence and outbuildings. He also worked to 
some extent at his trade, but continued to 
make his home upon the farm throughout the 
period of his residence in ilacoml) county, 
passing away on the old homestead in No- 
vember, 1862, at the advanced age of sev- 
enty-eight .vears. His wife survived him for 
a number of years and died in August, 1884, 
at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. 

[Mrs. Newberr.y is the eighth in order of 
birth in their family of six sons and three 
daughters, all of whom reached adult age 
and passed their twent.v-first birthda.v in 
their home. Of this family one sister and 
one brother are now living, tlic lattei- Iteing 
Jacob Sci'anlin, who resides with a daughter 
near Troy, Michigan, while the sister, Susie, 
is the wife of AVilliam .McCullough. a farmer 
of Macomb township. 

]\rrs. Newben-y sjjent her girlhood da.vs on 
the old homestead farm in Macomli township, 
assisting in the duties of tlie household and 
ai'ipiiring her education in the public schools. 
She gave hci- hand in marriage. [March 20, 
1861. to (ieorge P. Newberrv. a business man 
of Romeo. He was born in Oneida eount.v, 
New York. November 24, 1817. and was 
reared in the place of his nativit.v, there 
learning the harness and saddle making 
trade. In that eount.v he was first mar- 
ried and in 1846 he came to [Michigan, 
establishing his home in Romeo, where he 




GEORGE P. NEWBERRY 



PAST AND IMJKSKXT OF ^fACOMB COUNTY 



337 



opi'iu'd a simp and engaged in IIh' nianurac- 
ture of liariu'ss and saddlei-y. llo was an 
active and jn-oj;ressive business man and be- 
cause of his exeelleut work, reasonable prices 
and reliable business methods, he rapidly ac- 
cumulated a comfortable competence, lie 
was also known as a horse fancier and owned 
some valuable roadsters and trotters at dif- 
ferent times. His activity e.\teniled to many 
lines and in various ways he i)ronH)te(l the 
welfare and progress of his locality. He was 
a nu'mber of the Romeo fire deiiartnient, or- 
ganizing the first fire company in this city, 
and remained at the head of the department 
until his health failed. During llic ('ivil war 
he served for three years as de])uty i)i'ovost 
marshal of the first district luider Captain 
]\IcCounell. He was also identitietl with 
Konu'O lodge, 1. 0. 0. F., took an active and 
hel|)fnl part in its work and served as noble 
grand for a number of years. All the meas- 
ures for the general good received his en- 
dorsement and many causes were given 
his financial support and active co-operati<ni. 
He was ever found on the side of right, prog- 
ress and improvement anil Komeo .instly 
numbered him with its representative men. 
His death occurred in 1884. 

;\Ir. Xewberry erected a good residence on 
Jlain street in Romeo and there reared his 
family. I'lito him and his wife were born 
ten children, fire of whom are living: John 
S., a resident of Detroit : George E., of Ro- 
mcii; ;\liiniie, the wife of Dr. Robert L. Par- 
kin of this city; Alfred ^L, also of Romeo; 
and Fannie, the wife of O. D. Thompson, Jr., 
of Romeo. One .son, Henry Ij., died at the 
age of five months; while Luther II. died at 
the age of three years; James Herbert, when 
si.xteen months old; and ilargaret A., when 
twenty-one years of age. 

ilrs. Xewberry is a lady of good business 
capacity and has capably administered the 
estate of her father, husband and daughter, 
displaying keen discernment and marked en- 
tei'prise in the conduct of the business atl'airs 
which have thus devolved n])on her. .\1- 
though her duties in this dii'ection have bi'i^n 
many she has found time to devote to the 
welfare of the community. She possesses a 
most kindly and benevolent spirit and is ac- 
tive in many charities and good works. She 
belongs to the Eastern Stai' of the Mascniic 
fraternity, also the AVoman's Relief Corps 
and of the latter has served as |)resident for 
three years. She attends the Coneregational 
church and gives libei'ally to its support and 
to its various au.xiliaries. It is known 



lliriiiigiiiint lidiiied that her assistance and 
co-operation can be secui-ed for anj' move- 
nu'ut that tends to ameliorate the hard con- 
ditions of life or uplift her fellowmen, and 
thus she has won the love and respect of the 
rich and poor, the young and old. 



NATHAX DICKINSON. 

Among the early settlers who figured 
prominently in i)ublie atVairs and business 
life in Macomb rouiit.\ during the fii'st half 
of the nineteenth centui-\- was Nathan Dick- 
inson, who died at his home in Romeo, April 
4, 1861, after a residence of over twenty-five 
years. He had come to JIacomb county in 
1836 and was thereaftei- closely associated 
with its material development until his life's 
labors were ended. He was born in Amherst, 
:\Iassachusetts, :\larch 21, 1799. His father, 
fjzekiel Dickinson, was likewise a native of 
the Old Bay state and was of English lineage, 
his ancestors having come from England and 
settled in Massachusetts when it was one of 
the colonial j)ossessions of Great Britain. 

Nathan Dickinson was reared and educated 
in the place of his nativity. He chose as a 
companion and helpmate for life's journey 
Miss JIary Ann Taylor, their marriage being 
celebrated in Westfield, JMassachusetts, Sep- 
tember 6, 1828. She, too, was born in that 
state, a daughter of Roland Taylor, of West- 
field, who was nmrried there to IMiss ]\Iercy 
Bancroft. Nathan Dickinson was a self-edu- 
cated as well as a .self-made man. His ad- 
vantages in early life were few, but he made 
the most of his opportunities and as the years 
passed he gained a broad, practical knowl- 
edge and ac(iuired through his earnest eft'ort 
and pei-sistency of jturpose a competence that 
luuubered him with the substantial residents 
of his adopted state. He left home when only 
ten years of age and afterward learned the 
trade of a jeweler and silversmith, it requir- 
ing six years to master the latter pursuit. He 
aftei'ward started in business on his own ac- 
count in Ainhei'st and was identified with 
commercial interests there for a few years. 
In 1836 he came to Michigan, locating at 
Romeo. Here he followed surveying and lo- 
cating lands, first in the vicinity of Grand 
Rapids and later in Tva])eer and .Macomb coun- 
lies. He made a ix'i'nianent location in Ro- 
meo in 1838 and in 1840 sent for his family 
to join him in Michigjin. As the years passed 
he became an extensive landowner, having 
proix'i-ty in various parts of the state. His 



33« 



PAST AND PRESENT OF 3L\C0.MB COUNTY 



savings were thus placed in the safest of all 
investments and he realized a good return 
from his property. He likewise engaged in 
merchandizing in Romeo, the firm being orig- 
inalh' Dickinson, Giddings & Newbury. They 
carried a large general stock of goods, con- 
ducting an immense business for some years. 
In 1838 Mr. Dickinson established a supply 
store and also engaged in the manufacture of 
lumber in Lapeer county. He continued in 
active business until 18-4(3, when, having pros- 
pered in his undertakings, he withdrew from 
connnercial and industrial pursuits to enjo.y 
a well-earned rest. 

Mr. Dickinson was one of the prominent 
and influential men of his county, piiblic- 
spirited and progressive, and his influence 
and means a.ssisted materially in the upbuild- 
ing of this section of the state. He was a lib- 
eral contributor to the various churches of 
the town and also a firm supi)orter of an 
academy conducted upon New England prin- 
ciples, known as the Romeo Academy, but 
afterward the name was changed to the Dick- 
inson Institute. Some years later this school 
was merged into the Romeo high school. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson were the parents 
of three sons and four daughters, but the eld- 
est son, James, died in infancy, in Amher.st, 
Massachusetts, and James Taylor also died 
in infancy in Amherst, while Nathan T. died 
in childhood, in Honieo. The daughters were 
as follows: Sarah reached mature years and 
became the wife of Darwin L. Gillette. They 
resided at Westfleld, where both died. ]\Iary 
Ann died at the old home in Romeo, December 
26, 1902. Clarissa Taylor died in Romeo in 
1866. Elizabctli Bancroft Dickinson is now 
the only survivor of the family. 

Politically Mr. Dickinson was a stanch re- 
publican, but never aspired to or wanted of- 
fice. He was a devout and earnest worker 
in the Congregational church and gave lil)er- 
ally of his time and means toward the work 
and the support of tlic church ;ind its vari- 
ous activities. 

Mr. Dickinson passed away April 4, 1861, 
and the conununity mourned the lo.ss of one 
whom it had come to look upon as a bene- 
factor, whose efforts for public progress and 
im{)n)vement were far-reaching. To his fam- 
ily he left not only a veiy desirable prop- 
erty but also an untarnished name, and his 
example is well worthy of emulation and 
should incite others to deeds of valor and 
business activity, for his history proved that 
success and an honorable name are the sure 
awards of character and of indefatigable en- 



ergy. Following the death of Jlr. Dickinson 
his widow and daughters went to Europe, 
traveling for a number of years. They also 
visited California and the Pacific coast, after 
which they made their home for some time in 
Westfield, i\Iassaehusetts, where ilrs. Dickin- 
son spent her last days. She passed away 
April 25, 1878, and her remains were brought 
back to Romeo and laid to rest by the side of 
her husband in the cemetery here. 

Jliss Elizabeth B. Dickinson and her sister, 
]\Iary, returned to Romeo in 1885, and this 
has been the home of the fir.st-named con- 
tinuoaslj- since. She is one of the active and 
devoted members of the Congregational 
church and is a liberal contributor to the dif- 
ferent branches of church work, while in the 
community she is known as a most kind, be- 
nevolent. Christian lady, much beloved by 
manv who know her. 



CAPTAIN GILBERT LA CROIX. 

Captain Gilbert LaCroix, of Mount Clem- 
ens, was born on the shore of Clinton river, 
^lacomb county, January 22, 1846. As far 
back as can be traced the LaCroix family 
lived in ]\lontre;d, Canada, but litfle is 
known concerning the ancestral history, as 
the paternal grandfather. Captain LaCroix, 
died during the early youth of the latter. 
His parents wei-e Joseph and Irene (Pach- 
ette) LaCroix and the maternal grandfather 
was Nicholas Pacliette, who owned a farm on 
Clinton river and there reared liis family. 
He was originally from .Montreal, Canada, 
and died at the age of eighty years. Joseph 
LaCroix and his wife were both American 
born, his biitli occurring in Detroit, while 
her native place was on the St. Clair river. 
Joseph LaCroix si)ent much of his tiiiH' on 
the Detroit river and Lake Erie as a sailor, 
being at different times connected with the 
.Vlbion ami Ariel as pilot. These W(>i-e side- 
wheelers which ran up the river. His last 
boat was the scow Dan Tucker, fi'om Detroit 
to Toledo. In eai'ly life he was employed in 
the mills as a .saw filer and he worked at Al- 
gonac, ^Michigan, in Daniels mills. His d(>ath 
occui'red when his son (iilbert was only eleven 
years of age and to his widow was left the 
care of their eight children, namely: Joseph, 
deceased: Nicholas, who is now an engineer 
of Blount Clemens; Gilbert; Sophia, the wife 
of Wilber Fox, of Mount Clemens; .Mary, 
the wife of Fred Server, of Standish, Michi- 
gan; Susan, the deceased wife of Theodore 




MRS. GILBERT LA CROIX 




CAPTAIN (ilLHKirr LA CROIX. 



PAST AND PRESENT (W MACOiMB COUNTY 



343 



Firman; Alife, the wil'e of Peter LaForge, ol' 
New Baltimore; and Louis W.. who is em- 
ph)yi'd ill the filass works at Waliaeelmri;'. 
Ontario. 

Captain LaCroix reeeiveil Imt limited etlu- 
cational j)rivileges, i'or at the age of foui-- 
teen years lie began sailing on the river and 
lakes, first as eook and eabin boy. He eon- 
tiuued as a sailor until January, 186-1-, when 
he enlisted in Coiiij)any C, Fifth Michigan 
Infantry, being mustered in at Pontiae. this 
state. He was with the army for a year and 
a half and was then mustered out at Jeffer- 
sonville, Indiana. He participated in all of 
the engagements in his command from the 
battle of the Wilderness, in May, 1864, until 
the surrender of General Lee, in April, ISf),"). 

After being honorably discharged at De- 
troit, Captain LaCroix resumed sailing and 
in 1867 became master of the Wild Flower, 
a small sail boat owned by Josejjh Bailor. 
The following year he sailed the little scow 
]Money I\Iaker, owned b.v i\Iike Peltier and 
John "otto, and from 186!) to 1872 sailed the 
scow Frances, owiietl by Oliver Chapotoii. 
after which he and Louis Charbeneau built 
the scow Matilda, of which he was master for 
one season. In 1873 the.y built the little 
steamer Morning Star, of which Captain La- 
Croix was master for two ,vears. and in 1875 
the same parties built the steamer Louis (iil- 
bert. each sailing her one season. In 1877 
Captain LaCroix sailed the steamer Florence, 
owned by Oliver Chapoton, and in partner- 
ship with that gentleman he built the 
steamer City of ilount Clemens in 1879, sail- 
ing her fonr years, when she was sold on 
Lake Su])erior. In 1883 the same company 
bought the steamer S. II. .John.son and ownea 
her two years. Later they built the City of 
ilount Clemens (No. 2). which Captain La- 
Croix sailed for sixteen years, and then sold 
her to Detroit parties, buying the steamer 
Kiehard Martini in 1895 and selling her in 
1898. In 1899 he bought the steamer A. D. 
Ilayward. of which he is still the owner. He 
n^tired from sailing for two years and then 
i"iUL:lit the i)assenger steamer Mascotte, of 
which he is the present owner and master, 
with liis son Louis ;is mate and clerk. He 
is well known at vai'ious river and lake points 
and is a popular captain, having gained many 
friends during his trij^s. He has a nice home 
in .Mount Clemens, in which his winter days 
are passed. In business affairs he has Ijeen 
successful and is now a stockholder in the 
Citizens Savings Bank of Mount Clemens. 
Captain LaCroix has (>xtensive interests in 



various other enterprises, among them being 
the Eagle .Mining Coiiiiiany of Arkansas. He 
was also a stockholder in the beet sugar fac- 
tory at .Mount Clemens and owns consider- 
alile valuable rciil estate, owning about lif- 
teen dwelling houses which he rents, lie is 
also owner of a farm of one hundred and 
seven acres in Harrison townshii). 

Captain [jaCroix has been twice married, 
his first wife being Clemeiice Kobertoy. a 
daughtei- of Peter and Mary (Thomas) Kob- 
ertoy. They were married in 1S67 and she 
died three .years later. In January, 1870, 
Captain LaCroix wetkled .Matilda Charbe- 
neau, a daughter of Captain Louis and Ma- 
tilda (.Aloore) Charbeneau, of Jlount Clem- 
enee. They have a son. Louis (J. LaCroix, 
who is now a sailing eapt;iin on one of his 
father's boats and has followed that pursuit 

since his boyh 1 da.vs. They lost five sons 

in infancy. ^Irs. LaCroix 's father. Captain 
Charbeneau, was a lake captain for fort.v 
years, but is now living retired in Mount 
Clemens, where he married and settled fifty- 
two .vears ago. In his family are nine chil- 
dren, namely: Mrs. LaCroix; John; Louis: 
Julia, the wife of William Ormsby : AVilliam : 
l^avid; Gilbert; ilaude, the wife of Captain 
William Jock; and Joseph. All are residents 
of ]\Iount Clemens. 

Cai)tain and IMrs. LaCroix hold member- 
ship in St. Peter's Catholic church and he 
belongs to the Catholic ^lutual Benevolent 
Association, while socially he is associated 
with Blount Clemens Club. He is a member 
of the Knights of Cohinibus; II. D. Terrv 
Post, No. 216, G. A. R.; and the Lumber 
Carrying Association. He has always m;ide 
his home in ^Macomb county, where he en.joys 
to the full the respect and confidence of busi- 
ness associates and those whom he has met 
in other wavs. 



LOUIS SHUMAKER. 



Louis Shnmaker, living on section 4. Clin- 
ton township, is devoting his attention and 
energies to stock-raising and dairying iipou 
a fai'iii of eighty acres. He has been a resi- 
dent of ilichigan since 1873 and of Macomb 
county since 1875, and is among the repre- 
sentative citizens that (Jerman.v has furnished 
to this state. His birth occurred in the fath- 
erland. November 22. 1849, and he was reared 
to manhood tliei'e, ac(iuiring a good education 
in the German language. Ilis knowledge of 
English, however, has been self-acquired. He 



344 



PAST A\D I'KESEXT OF :\L\COMB COUNTY 



eniigrated to the new world in 1873, when 
about twenty-four years of age. believing that 
better business opportunities might be en- 
joyed in this country. He took ship at Ham- 
burg, engaging his pa.ssage on the steamer Se- 
lasia, carrying fourteen hundred people. On 
the 20th of ilay, 1873, he landed at New 
York city, and having some knowledge of 
Michigan he made his way at once to this 
-state, joining some (ierman friends at Kala- 
mazoo. He was fir.st employed as a railroad 
section man for one year and afterward went 
to Grosse Isle and to Trenton, where he con- 
tinued in railroad work for the second year. 

In 1875 he came to I\Iaeomb eount.v and 
with the capital he liad ae([uired through his 
industry and economy lie purchased a farm in 
Macomb township, beginning with seventy 
acres of raw land, from which he chopped 
awa.v the timber and cleared awa.y the brush 
until he had prepared the soil for cultiva- 
tion. He erected buildings thei'e and con- 
tinurd his farming at that place for four 
years. In 1880, however, he sold tliat prop- 
erty and purchased, where he now resides, on 
section 4, Clinton township. He is to-day the 
owner of a well-inii)r()ved farm here and its 
neat and attractive appearance is largely due 
to his untiring efforts and enterprise. He 
raises good grades of stock, inchuling hor.ses 
and cattle, and he carries on a daii'y business, 
milking some eight or nine cows. He also 
makes butter f(n- private customers in De- 
troit, finding a reail,v sale for this product. 
He is s.ystematie and methodical in all that he 
does and his well-directed efforts guided by 
sound business judgment have formed tlie ba- 
sis of his prospei'ity. 

On the 22nd of Api-il, 187(). in iMacoml) 
eount.y, Mr. Shinnaker was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Louise (ilad.v. a native of Ger- 
many, in which country she was reared. There 
are seven children by this marriage: Ida, 
the wife of Ed Sawitzky, of Mount Clemens: 
William, who died in 1900, at the age of nine- 
teen yeai's: ^lary, Eiinna. Edward. Minnie 
and -Julia, ail at lionii'. 

In his political adherenci' .Mr. Slmmaker is 
a democrat, and liis fellow-townsmen, recog- 
nizing his worth and abilit.v, called him to the 
office of justice of the peace of Clinton town- 
ship, in which ca])acity he served for two 
years. He and his wife hold membei-ship in 
tlie (ici'iiian Evangelical chureh and have a 
wide circle of friends in Macomb comity. Mr. 
Shumaker commenced life in the new world 
a poor young man. and from the position of 
railroad section man he bas worked his way 



steadily upward, securing through his ovm 
labors, and the assistance of his estimable 
wife, a good property, which classes him with 
the substantial agriculturists of his adopted 
county. 



ALLEN McKAY. 



Allen ;\IcKay, living on section 21, Wash- 
ington township, where a farm of one hun- 
dred and twent.v acres yields good crops 
in return for the care and labor he bestows 
upon the fields, is a native son of Macomb 
eount.v, his birth having occurred in Bruflfe 
township. May 24, 1871. He is a son of Rob- 
ert and Caroline (Day) ^McKay. who are men- 
tioned in connection witli the sketch of John 
and Harriet J. ^IcKay on another page of 
this work. Allen Mclva\' was reared in the 
township of his nativity and pursued a com- 
mon school education. In his youth he worked 
in the fields when not occupied with the du- 
ties of the schoolroom and continued to as- 
sist liis father until the lattei-"s death. Later 
he and his lirother opei-ated the farm for one 
j'ear and he has always devoted his energies 
to agricultural pursuits. He keeps his resi- 
dence and barns in excellent condition, the 
work of repair and improvement being car- 
ried on continuously. His home is surround- 
ed by a neat and well-ke])t lawn, and 'Sir. ^Ic- 
Ka.y is regarded as a capable farmer, being 
successful both as a stock-raiser and general 
agriculturist. He keeps some high-grade 
short-horn cattle and pure-blooded sheep and 
all of his stock is of good grade. 

On the 2nd of Fel)ruary, 18!»7, .Mr. :\IcKay 
was married in Washington to iliss Eliza 
Crissman. a daughter of Frank Crissman. also 
a native of this eount.v and a prominent farm- 
er here. Her mother bore the maiden name 
of Emma Smith and was a native of this 
eount.v. Mr. Crissman reared his famil.v and 
spent his entire life here, passing awa.v about 
188!t. His wife survives him and has been 
married a second time. ^Irs. McKa.v was born, 
reared and educated in this eount.v. Follow- 
ing their mai-i'iage 'Sir. McKa.v purchased the 
farm where he now resides, and locating here 
he began tlie development and cultivation of 
bis land. He feneiMl the jilaee, erected good 
buildings and to-da.v has an excellent farm 
pi-opert.v. The Page woven wire fencing is 
used to suri'oimd his fai-m and divide it into 
fields of convenient size. H(> <dso raises high 
grades of cattle and hogs. 

I'nto ^Ir. and Mrs. .McKay was born one 
chilli. Florence Eliza, but they l(«t this 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rAr()MB <'(»r.\TY 



345 



daughter wlieu she was only seven weeks old. 
Politically ilr. ^IcKay is a stanch republi- 
can, always giving his support to the party 
at election times, yet never seeking or desir- 
ing office for himself. He is a stockholder 
and one of the directors of the Citizens' Na- 
tional Bank of Komeo, and is a member of 
the "Washington Farmers' Club. Hi' '''ife be- 
longs to the Jlcthodist Episcopal church and 
Ml*. ]\IeKay contributes to its support. He is 
a young man whose enterprise and energy 
constitute the basis of his success and whose 
fui'thei' advani-ement is assured by reason of 
the fact that a strong purpose and laudable 
ambitidH are salient fcalures of his character. 



niKA:\r d. atwood. 

Among the citizens of IMacomli county who 
in former years were prominent and active 
in business affairs and who have been called 
from life's labors was Hiram Douglas At- 
wood, who was born near Mount Clemens, 
November 29, 1838, while his death occurred 
December M. 1881. His iiaternal great- 
grandfather, Jonathan Atwood, held a cap- 
tain's commission under the king. In 1754 
he served in the French and Indian war iin- 
der Lieutenant Josiali Willard and Colonel 
Blauchard, and later became captain of the 
minutemen at Weare, Ne^v Hampshire. Es- 
pousing the cause of the colonists he signed 
the association test and turned out at the 
Lexington alarm. He was a member of the 
conunittee of safet.y of 1776 and as captain 
took part in the expedition again.st Crown 
Point after the battle of Lake Champlain. 

Our .subject's grandfather, Peter Atwood, 
was born in New England and became one 
of the early settlers of ^Michigan, arriving in 
this state in 1817. He secured land from the 
government and develojied a wild tract into 
richly ]n-oductive fields, nuiking his home 
thereon until his death. He assisted materi- 
ally in the earl,y development of this part of 
the state, his effoi'ts proving effective in re- 
claiming the wild district for thr ])urposes 
of civilization. 

Ilirairi .Vtwood, Sr., our subject's father, 
was born in Vermont, and when nineteen 
years of age arrived in Clintim township, ila- 
eomb countv, J\Iichigan, where he, too, entered 
land from the government, his deed being 
signed by President James Monroe. Taking 
U|) his abode upon this li'act he here spent his 
remaining days, devoting his energies to gen- 
eral farming. He passed away in 1872 at 



the age of seventy-one years, and at that time 
was one of the oldest residents of the county, 
having lived within its borders since 1817. 
He was a man of unimpeaciiable character, 
his life being actuated by high and manly 
jH'inciples. He was twice mari'ied, his first 
union being with Fannie Cook. He after- 
ward married Aurilla Douglas, a native of 
Vermont. He had four children l)y the first 
marriage: Adeline, the wife of Jonathan 
Widrig and a resident of Mount Clemens; 
and Alonzo, Chai'les and Sylvester, all now 
deceased. The children of the second mar- 
riage ai'c : AVilliam, who resides in Peoria, 
Illinois; Hiram D. ; and Phoebe, the wife of 
George Caldwell, of Flint, ^Michigan, now de- 
ceased. 

Hiram D. Atwood of this review was born 
ui)on his father's farm in Clinton township 
and there spent his entire life. He j)ursued 
his education in the district schools of the 
neighborhood, becoming familiar with the 
connnon branches of learning, which qualified 
him for the practical and responsible duties 
that afterward devolved upon him. He was 
early trained to the work of the fields and 
thus became familiar with the best methods 
of caring for the crops and the stock. He 
saw no reason to change his occupation as 
he attained manhood but continued upon the 
old homestead and there devoted his time and 
energies to general farming. He led a bus.y 
and useful life and one that was crowned 
by successful accomplishment. 

On the 22d of February, 1S(U. Mr. At- 
wood was married to ;\liss Allic M. Watter- 
son, a daughter of Robert and ]\Iai"garet (Van 
Eps) Watterson, both of whom were natives 
of Vernon, New York. On the maternal side 
she traces her ancestry back to Abraham Van 
Eps, who was born ^larch 9, 1759, and was 
captain of militia in 1778. When ]\Irs. At- 
wood was five years of age her parents re- 
moved to Shebo.vgan, Wisconsin, where they 
remained for sixteen years, coming thence to 
Blichigan. They located in INTount Clemens, 
where they spent their remaining da.vs. Mr. 
Watterson was a carpenter and joiner, fol- 
lowing that pursuit throughout his business 
career. He was born February 21, 181(), and 
departed this life .May 20, 1891, while his 
wife, who was born March 19, 1818, died 
]\Tarch 8, 1878. Mrs. Atwood was born June 
17, 1841, and was one of four- children, the 
othei' jiiembers of the family being: Ade- 
laide C., a resident of Mount Clemens; Susan, 
the wife of Martin Keelcr, of .Mount Cl(>mens; 
and Kate, the widow of William McCausland, 



346 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



of Detroit. Unto 'Sir. and Mrs. Atwood were 
born three children : ^lary C, l)oru Novem- 
ber 22, 18G5, is now the wife of ;\Iiehael 
Smith of ilount Clemens. Agnes C, born 
August -4, 1870, is the wife of Franklin J. 
Hole, of Blount Clemens, and they liave three 
children: Margaret A., boi'ii December 12, 
189(5 : Katharine A., born May 27. 1901 -, and 
Elmer Franklin, born Julv 28, 1904. Lou A., 
born July 29, 1874, is the wife of A. II. 
Kent, and they have two childi'cn : (Jloria 
J., born April' 16, 1900; and Hugh B., born 
October 27, 1903. 

Mr. Atwood gave his political allegiance to 
the republican party, but never sought or de- 
sired office as a reward for party fealty. He 
belonged to the Independent Older of Odd 
Fellows and enjoyed in a marked degree the 
friendship of his associates in that fraternity. 
He was a man of light heart and cheerful 
disposition, kindly .spirit and charitable pur- 
pose and many poor and needy ones found in 
him a true friend. He was never ostentatious 
in manner, but his genuine worth of character 
was i-ecognized and called forth higli regard 
and warm frieiulship, so that his death was 
deeply deplored by many who knew him out- 
side of his immediate familv. 



MARTIN L. SKILLMAN. 

Martin L. Skilhnan is descended from one 
of the old American families. His grand- 
father, Jacob Skillman, was born in New 
Jersey, August 20, 1765, and wedded Mary 
Hagaman, who was born, March 13, 1767, 
in what was then New^ Amsterdam, but is 
now New York city. His death occurred 
April 13. 1854. while his wife ])assed awa.v 
October 25, 1840. Their son, Aaron J. Skill- 
man, was a native of New Jersey and after 
arriving at years of maturity he was married 
there to Eliza Van Xoi'stand, also a native 
of the same state. In 1852 they came to the 
west, settling in Harrison township. ]\Iacomb 
county, ilichigan, where the fathei- followed 
the oecu])ation of farming, devoting his en- 
tire life to agricultui'al pursuits. He died 
August 21, ]8t)9, his l)irth having occurred 
June 25, 1810, while his wife, who was born 
Al.ril (1. 1812, died Decend>er 1, 1896. In 
their tauiily were ten children, of whoin 
Martin L. was the foiirlh in order of birth. 
Those living ai-e: ( 'atliai'ine. the wife of 
John P. Hart, of Adair. Michigan: Mary, 
the widow of (ieoi'ge Heal, of Lansing, Mich- 
igan: .Martin L. ; lsaa<-. of (ii'and Rapids, 



this state; George Washington, of Sandusky, 
Ohio: and Delphi, the widow of Albert 
Walkei-, of National City, California. Those 
deceased are : Abram, who was born Sep- 
tember 9, 1833, and died February 17, 1885; 
Georgiana, w'ho was born April 26, 1840, be- 
came the wife of James Bell, her death oc- 
curi'ing August 21, 1865 ; Anna Eliza, who 
was born x\in-il 15, 1844, and died July 3. 
1876 : and Peter VauDoru. who was born 
Decendier 18. 1851. and died November 4, 
1874. 

^lartin L. Skilhnan was born near New 
Brunswick, New Jersey, August 21, 1838, and 
pursued his education in the schools of his 
native state. With his parents he came to 
^Michigan in 1852 and worked upon the home 
farm in Harrison township for a time. Later 
he was employed in a nursery owned by 
Henry Huntington, of Blount Clemen.s, and 
after four seasons he went to Vermilion, 
Ohio, where, in eoniiecti(m with his brother 
Alii-am, he rented six hundred acres of land, 
continuing its cultivation and improvement 
until after the outbreak of the Civil war. 
His patriotic spirit being aroused by the at- 
tempt of the soTith to overthrow the Union, 
he enlisted, in Juiu", 1862, as a member of 
(^^mpany G, One Ilinidred and Twenty-third 
Ohio Infantry, and was nnistered in at San- 
dusky. He served as sergeant of his com- 
pany and went at once to the front, partici- 
pating in twenty-seven important engage- 
ments. He was in front of Petersburg when 
Lee surrendered and at one time he was cap- 
tured and held at Libby prison for three 
months, but becoming ill. he was released. 
On the 16th of June, 1865, he was mustered 
out at Cohnnbus, Ohio, having a most credit- 
able military reeoi-d. for h.e was a brave and 
loyal soldier. 

Mr. Skillman returned at once to Ver- 
milion. Ohio, and because of impaired health 
he sailed upon the (Jrc^at Lnk-es for four 
seasons, being much improved thereby. He 
then became express nu'ssenger for the 
United States Express Comi)any on the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, filling that position 
for four years. He afterward had a barge 
which made the ports of Colundius and Chi- 
cago, and following his marriage he turned 
his attention to farming in Clinton township, 
this county, whei-e h(> conducted agricultural 
pursuits initil 1S77. On the 8th of June, 
1871. Mr. Skillman was married to ]\riss 
Fannie High, a daughter of Joseph C. and 
J^ar^■ Ann (Oles) High, of Mount Clemens. 
Their childi-en arc : Charles J., of Cleveland, 




.MAKTIX \j. SKILL:\IAX. 



PAST AND PRESENT OB' MACOMB COUNTY 



349 



Oliiii; Walter II., of Los Angeles, Califoruia; 
Mai'.v Ann; and Harry, -who ilii'il in iiiTaney, 
in 1S87. 

ill-. Skillinan lias been a ineinber of the 
ludepeiideut Order of Odd Fellows since 
1870 and he also belongs to the Knights 
of the ^Maccabees. He has been very prom- 
inent in Grand xVrniy circles and holds iiieiii- 
bership in H. D,. Terry Post, No. 21(5. He 
served as its adjutant for sixteen years, 
was commander for two years and was senior 
vice deputy commander, while on several 
occasions he has been representative to the 
national encampments. He has also held all 
of the offices in the Odd Fellows lodge, of 
which he is now secretary. For twenty years 
he has been a member of the Soldiers Relief 
l)()ard. In jjolities he is a republican and his 
lirst presidential vote was cast for Abraham 
Lincoln. He has been successful in business, 
is a man of fine traits of character and is 
highly respected, enjoying the warm regard 
of all witli whom he has come in contact. 
His labors in connection with the Grand 
Army of the Republic have made him widely 
known in its circles, and in citizenship he 
is as loyal to-day as he was when he wore 
the blue uniform of the nation and followed 
the .starry banner on southern battle-fields. 



MARTIN SACHS. 



ilartin Sachs is active in community af- 
fairs and is interested in all matters pertain- 
ing to general progress and improvement, 
while in his l)usiness career he has mani- 
fested an imlustry and perseverance which 
constitute the basis of all success in life. His 
life ivcord began November 7, 1840, the place 
of his birth being Hessen, Germany. His par- 
ents, Peter and JMartha (Eberhart) Sachs, 
were also natives of Germany and in the year 
1848 the father brought his" family to .Michi- 
gan, spending thirteen weeks and three days 
on the water between Havre and New York. 
He remained for three weeks in the metropolis 
of the east and then contimied his journey to 
Detroit, where he arrived in the fall of 1848. 
The following year he removed to Macomb 
count}' and purchased forty acres of state 
laml on section 24, "Warren township. It was 
covered with heavy timber and the difficul- 
ties of clearing the land were great, while 
near the pioneer home was the danger of at- 
tack of wolves and bears. After long days 
of toil and the enduring of many privations 
and trials of life, ]\Ir. Sachs made for him- 



self and family a eonil'iirtable home, prosper- 
ing in his undertakings. There he resided 
until his death, which was occasioned by an 
accident on the (jraiid Trunk Railroad, he 
being struck by an engine at the crossing on 
section 24 while returning from Detroit in 
1885. His wife survived him until 1891. 
There were three sous and three daughters in 
their family: ;\Iartin; Eliza, the wife of 
Fred Houslen, of Erin township; ]\Iary, the 
wife of William Bottomly, of Koseville, Mich- 
igan; Louise, the wife of Wiinmial Stein, of 
Warren township; John, of W^arren township, 
now deceased; and Jacob, who died in 1862, 

Martin Sachs was educated in district 
school No. 4 and early became familiar with 
the work incident to the cultivation of the 
fields and the care of the stock. In 1862, 
when twenty-two years of age, he started out 
in life on his own account, coming to Sagi- 
naw, ilichigan, where he was employed in a 
sawmill until 1867. He then returned to 
Warren township and purchased eighty acres 
of unimproved land on section 13, from 
Joshua Dickson, of Mount Clemens. There 
he spent many years in arduous toil in the 
development of his farm and the establish- 
ment of his present comfortable home. He 
has performed other work aside from farm- 
ing, for in 1858-9 he assisted in building the 
Grand Trunk Railroad, hewing the timber 
for ties and cattle-guards on the land lie- 
tween .sections 12 and 24, after which he built 
the fence on the east side of the track, receiv- 
ing nine cents per rod, which was considered 
good pay in those early days. 

Mr. Sachs was fir.st married August 12, 
1861, when ]\Iiss .Maria Foster, a daughter of 
Thomas Foster, of Erin township, became his 
wife. Unto them were l)orn the following 
named: William, who is living on the grand- 
father's homestead; Eliza, the wife of Fred- 
rick Bloom, of Roseville; Annie, the wife of 
Christ Kaiser, of Warren township ; and Car- 
rie, the wife of Nicholas Troinbly, of De- 
troit. The wife and mother died June 11, 
1901, and on the 17th of October, 1904, Mr. 
Sachs was again married, in Cleveland, Ohio, 
to 'Sirs. Jennie ]\IcFarlane, a daughter of 
Henry Odette of that city. Her father was 
born in Detroit and is one of the oldest ma- 
rine engineers on fresh water. He was engi- 
neer on the Susan AVard, Forest Queen and 
Meteor, and the last-named was burned. He 
has now quit the lakes and is acting as en- 
gineer at the Forest City Spring Works at 
Cleveland. While living in Detroit he was 
a member of the first volunteer fire depart- 



350 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IMACOMB COUNTY 



ment. ]Mrs. Sachs is the eldest of a family of 
six children, namely: Rose, the wife of 
Charles Boneufant, of Canada; ^Mrs. Emnxa 
Stephenson, of Cleveland; Charles, of Cleve- 
land, a marine engineer, running from Lake 
Erie to Lake Superior; Harry, a machinist, 
of Cleveland ; and 'Sirs. ^lelvin Holmes, of the 
same city. 

The cause of education has always found in 
Jlr. Sachs a warm friend and he has taken 
an active and helpful interest in school and 
township matters. He was justice of the 
peace for thi'ee years, being elected in 1885. 
He has served on many .juries, having been one 
of the last jurymen in the old courthouse un- 
der Judge Stevens and one of the first in the 
new courthouse under Judge Canfield. He has 
aLso served ou the jury under Judges Eld- 
ridge and Tucker. He was elected treasurer 
of school district No. 4 and tilled that office 
for many years, acting at the time the new 
sehoolhouse was built, and on his retirement 
from that position he was moderator for ten 
or twelve years. During the years which he 
spent in Saginaw he was a member of Com- 
pany No. 2 of the volunteer fire department. 
He holds membership in the Evangelical Lu- 
theran church near Hand in Wayne coun- 
ty, a church which his father helped to 
t)nild in 1849, and of which he was one of the 
first wardens. Mr. Sachs of this review has 
been one of the trustees of the church and 
cemetery. In 1900, owing to the illness of his 
wife, he rented his farm and devoted his time 
to her care and comfort. The year follow- 
ing her death he traveled to some extent, vis- 
itiug St. Louis, Cleveland, and many lake 
l)orts in ]\liehigan. In the fall he returned to 
his home on the farm and he is now enjoy- 
ing the comforts of life brought to him by 
liis earnest labor and unremitting diligence. 



JAMES H. ST. JOHN. 

flames II. St. John, a dealer in grain, coal 
and lumber at Utica, was born December 1, 
1848, in Troy township, Oakland county, his 
parents being James B. and Alalinda (Sum- 
mers) St. John. In the i)aterual line the an- 
cestry can be traced back to a very remote 
jjcriod when repi'escntatives of the name went 
to England witli William the Couquei'oi-, tlie 
progenitor of the famil.v having been in 
ehai'ge of the carriages and annnunition and 
acting as supervisor of artillery. The motto 
on the St. John coat of arms is "nee quarrere 
nee spirnere honorem," the literal translation 



of whicli is, "neither seek nor despise honor." 
The father was a native of Rensselaer county. 
New Yoi-k, born in 1810, and in 1828 he came 
to this state, settling near Utica. He followed 
farming until 1856 and then entered mercan- 
tile circles in Utica, conducting a general 
store there until 18(J6, when he retired from 
active business. Upon his arrival in this 
count.N' he pre-empted eighty acres of govern- 
ment land and he afterward owned several 
farms, which he sold, usually realizing a good 
financial return on his investment. The 
Summers family came from New Jersey to 
Macomb county, settling near the Oakland 
county line, subsequent to the arrival of the 
St. John family. They also owned several 
hundred acres of land, a part of which is 
still in po.ssession of their descendants. Unto 
Mr. and ]\Irs. James B. St. John were born 
four children, of whom Byron died in in- 
fancy. Samuel P., who died in 1895, was 
serving at that time as register of deeds in 
Macomb county, having filled the office for 
two terms. He married and has a daughter, 
who is the wife of ex-Senator Davis. His 
widow resides in Detroit. Elizabeth St. John 
became the wife of A. G. Westbrook, who 
was a business man, speculator and mer- 
chant at ]\Iarine City, but botli are now de- 
ceased. Their four chiklren. however, are 
still living. 

James H. St. John, having pursued his 
early education in the graded and high 
schooLs of Utica, afterward completed a 
course in Eastnmn's Business College, at 
Poughkeepsie. New York, at which college 
he was graduated. When seventeen years of 
age he entered upon his business career as a 
clerk for his father and later went to ^la- 
rine Citj'. He engaged in business for him- 
self as a general merchant at Lapeer, ilichi- 
gan, for three years and then went upon the 
road, traveling for a Detroit maiuifacturing 
house for seven years. After leaving the 
I'oad he tui-iied his attention to the grain aiul 
huiibci' business at Utica, being associated in 
this enterprise with his brother Sanniel for 
three years. He was afterwai-d alone in busi- 
ne.ss until he formed his present association 
with Calvin D. t'hnrch. They deal in grain, 
coal, liunber and fertilizers and have a lib- 
ei'al patronage, the business having grown to 
extensive and profitable proi)ortions. 

In December, 1882, Mr. St. John was mar- 
ried to Sylvia Church, a daughter of Ilaswell 
Homer Church, and a native of Macomb coun- 
ty, pursuing her education at ;\Tount Clemens 
and Davis. Slie sui'vived hrr iii;n'i'iage for 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



351 



less than two yeai-s and on the 14th of Janu- 
ary, 1902, 'Sir. St. John wedded Emma E. 
Fuller, a daughter of Lyman and Helen 
(Iloji;) Fuller, who removed from New York 
to Michigan. The l'\iller family is of English 
lineage. ^Ir. St. John became a Mason when 
twenty-one years of age. Like others of the 
family he has always given his support to 
the democracy, but has never sought or de- 
sired office, preferring to concentrate his en- 
ergies upon his Inisiness affairs. lie has been 
successful in his undertakings and in addi- 
tion to his mercantile interests he owns to- 
day two hundred and fifty acres of farm 
land, a part of which lies within the corporate 
limits of Utica. He has always lived in ^lich- 
igan and the attractiveness of this state as a 
place of residence is indicated by the fact 
that many of her native sons yet continue 
within her borders. He has found here the 
business opportunities he sought — which, by 
the way, are always open to the ambitious, en- 
ergetic man — and making the best of these 
he has steadily worked his way upward. 



CHARLES STEFFENS. 

Charles Steffens has conducted varied busi- 
ness interests with keen discrimination and 
imfaltering purpose, working steadily for- 
ward to the result that he has desired, and 
findiug that persistent labor and careful 
management constitute an excellent founda- 
tion upon which to rear the superstructure of 
success. He was born on the River Rhine, 
July 12, 1835, his parents being Adolph and 
Anna Maggie (Isherlandej Steffens, who were 
likewise natives of Germany. The father came 
to Michigan in 1857 in company with his fam- 
ily and settled in Grosse Pointe township, 
Wayne count}', where he followed the trade of 
carpentering Tuitil his death. Both he and 
his wife have now passed away. 

Charles Steffens, the eldest in their family 
of five children, came to Michigan in 1854, 
locating first in Detroit, where he followed 
the carpenter's trade for two years. He 
afterward removed to Grosse Pointe, where 
he lived for sixteen years and on the expira- 
tion of that period he took up his abode at 
Mount Clemens, where he w-as identified with 
building operations until 1875. Wliile in that 
city he driUed the first mineral well there — 
a well now owned by the Avery House. Re- 
moving to Erin township lie built the stave 
and heading mill at Fraser, being connected 
in this enterprise with Charles Knorr, un- 



der the firm name of Steffens & Knorr. In 
1S85 they built the sawmill and in 1889 ^Mr. 
Steffens purchased his partner's interest and 
has since added a planing mill and feedmill. 
Here, in connection with the manufacture of 
lumlier and grinding feed, he is also engaged 
ill t)ie luaiiufactiire of the Steff'ens piano. He 
also has a coal and wood yard in connection 
with the mills and thus his business aft'airs 
cover a wide field of activity. He has like- 
wise done a great deal of building in Fraser 
and at present he owns one store and five 
(hvi'llings. In 1895 he erected the handsome 
brick block called the Commercial Imilding, in 
wliich he has his office. The remainder of 
the ground floor is occupied by the grocery 
and .saloon conducted by Andrew Steffens, 
his son. This building is modern in every 
respect and is a credit to the town of Fraser. 
Mr. Steffens has also devoted much time to 
agricultural [lursuits and is at present oper- 
ating two fine farms, comprising two hundred 
and forty acres in Erin and Clinton town- 
ships, which he has hewed out from the for- 
est. Through his earnest labor these farms 
have been cleared and are now among the 
most productive in the county, being 
equipped with modern accessories, while the 
fields are under a high state of cultivation. 
Among the other industrial pursuits with 
which he is connected is a stave and head- 
ing mill in Romeo and he owns real estate 
in Blount Clemens, Romeo and Saginaw. He 
was president and vice-president of the Far- 
mers' ^lutual Fire Insurance Company for 
nine years, and when he severed his con- 
nection therewith in 1896 he was elected pres- 
ident of the German-American Mutual Fire 
Insurance Company, with headquarters at 
Mount Clemens. 

On the 28tli of June, 1864, Mr. Steff'ens 
was married to Fredericka Arning. a daugh- 
ter of Bernard Arning. who was born in Hol- 
land and is now living in Erin township. By 
this marriage there were six children, of 
whom three ai-e living, namely: !\Iatilda, the 
wife of William Heisuer. of Erin township; 
George W., who is manager of the mill ; and 
Amelia, the wife of John Swink, of Detroit. 
]\lrs. Steff'ens died in 1874 and on the 27th of 
November, 1875, he wedded ^liss Caroline 
llofmeyer. a daughter of Henry Hofmeyer, 
i)f Hoseville. Tliere were eleven children 
bum of this union, of whom nine ai'e living: 
Clara, now in Colorado Springs. Colorado; 
Andrew, Lillian, AValter, Olive, "Otillia, Carl, 
James and Jeaniiette, all at home. 

i'dlitieally Mr. Stel'l'eiis is a stanch republi- 



352 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



can and for sixteen years served as justice of 
the peace, liis decisions beinj;' strictly fair and 
impartial. He was also postmaster of Era- 
ser for many years. In 189.), in co-operation 
with the late Edward Weeks, he was instru- 
mental in ineorporatinp the village and was 
elected president, which office he has filled 
continuously since. He is also commissioner 
of the poor of ;\Iacomb county. Socially he is 
connected with ilount Clemens lodge. No. ti, 
A. F. & A. ^L, and he has been a member 
of the German Evangelical church at Fraser 
since its organization and is now one of its 
trustees. He has long been recognized as a 
prosperous, thoroughgoing business man and 
is much respected by those in the conniiunity 
and all with whom he has come in contact. 
Although he is now seventy years of age he 
is still very active and can be found each 
day looking after his business interests. He 
is an excellent example of the self-made man, 
for he started out on his business career 
when twenty-one years of age with only sixty- 
five cents in his pocket. His name is now an 
honored one on commercial paper and his 
present position indicates his financial abil- 
ity. He has favored every movement for 
the public good and his endorsement thereof 
furnishes an example that others should fol- 
low. His wealth has been so honoi'ably won 
that the most envious cannot grudge him his 
success and he stands as a sjjlendid type of 
the American citizen, who in the utilization 
of opportunity and the strength of his man- 
hood conquers an adverse environment and 
is respected and honored b(>cause of his yiros- 
l)erity. 



THOMAS SCOTT. 

Thomas Scott is now living a retired life 
in the village of Davis, but for forty years 
was an active and substantial farmer of Jla- 
eomb county, owning a tract of land of 
eighty acres on section 2, ;\lacomb townshi|). 
He was born in Lower Canada, .May l(j, 1845, 
his father, Archibald Scott, however, being 
a native of Ireland, wlieiic(> he crossed the 
Atlantic in early life to Canada. He was 
married there to IMiss Jane Busl)y, also a 
native of Ireland, and for some .vears follow- 
ing his marriage he devoted his time and 
energies to agricultural pursuits in Canada. 
In 1852 he removed with bis family to ^la- 
comb county, settliiiL: in Hay townshij), 
where he ()urchased wild land, wbirb lie 
cleared and impi'oved, devcldpin^ a fai-iii 
which was ef|uip])<'(l with iriDdcrii conven- 



iences and accessories. Later, however, he 
sold this farm and returned to Canada, 
where he again resided for a few years. He 
then came once more to ilichigan, settling in 
Sanilac county, where he opened up another 
farm, upon which his remaining days were 
passed, his death occurring June 9, 1900, 
when he had reached the ripe old age of 
eighty-six years. His wife survives him and 
is now eighty years of age. 

Thomas Scott was one of a family of 
twelve children, eleven of whom reached 
adult age, while ten are now living and have 
become heads of families. He was reared 
and educated in his home locality, remaining 
upon the home farm until he had attained 
his ma.iority. He afterwards worked by the 
month for several years, thus gaining a start 
in business life. Following his marriage he 
located on a farm of forty acres, which at 
that time was wild land, no improvements 
having been made thereon. He had to clear 
away the trees before he coidd plow the land 
and jilant crops, but for four years he lived 
there, giving his attention in unremitting 
maimer to the development of the property. 
He then sold the farm and removed to the 
townshi]) of Jlacomb, where he purchased 
eighty acres of which a small tract had been 
cleared and upon this a log cabin had been 
built. For twent.v-seven yeai's he lived there 
and a wonderful transformation was 
wrought in the appearance of the place. He 
erected a neat, snljstantial residence and 
good barns, planted fruit trees, built fences 
and tiled the place, and altogether developed 
a valuable farm, which was pleasantly and 
conveniently located within nine miles of 
Mount Clemens. There he carried on general 
agricultui'al pursuits until 1898, when he 
sold that projierty and jiurchased a neat 
home in Davis, where he has since lived re- 
tired in the en.ioyment of the fruits of his 
former toil. 

ilr. Scott was married in Perth county, 
Canada, February 19. ISfiS, to Miss Jane 
Patterson, a native of that count.v and a 
(laughter of Walter Patterson, a native of 
Scotland. They occupy their ]>lcasant home 
in Davis and enjoy the warm friendship of 
many with whom they have become ac- 
fiuainted during their long residence here. 
Politically Mr. Scott is a republican, easting 
his first i)residential vote for Putherford B. 
Ilaycs. He was elected and served as high- 
way commissioner for three .years and has 
always taken an active part in local politics. 
He is interested in the local work of his 




MR. AND MRS THOMAS SCOTT 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



355 



party and is in hearty sympathy with the 
great political i)rinc'iples Avhieh tend to ad- 
vance the welfare of the nation. He has 
alreadj- improved and operated three farms 
in this county and thus his work has been of 
benefit in reclaiming the wild land for the 
purposes of civilization and transforming 
Macomb county from a district of swamp 
and forest into a splendidlj' improved local- 
ity, having all of the advantages of the older 
east. In his business aflPairs he has ever been 
found straightforward, being a man of his 
word and one who enjoys the trust and good 
will of those with whom he has been asso- 
ciated. 



LEVI B. DAVIS. 



Levi B. Davis, the oldest traveling sales- 
man in point of continuous service in ]\Iichi- 
gan, is a native of Macomb county and a resi- 
dent of Mount Clemens. Although he has 
passed the Psalmist's span of three score 
years and ten he is still active in the affairs 
of life, and in spirit and interests seems yet 
in his prime. Such a career should put to 
shame many a man of much younger years, 
who, having grown weary of the cares and 
responsibilities which he should bear, would 
relegate his duties to others. 

'Sir. Davis was born :\Iarch 12, 1830, his 
parents being Calvin and Sylvia (Beards- 
ley) Davis, the former a native of Worces- 
ter county, Massachusetts, and the latter of 
Genesee county. New York. Hon. Calvin Da- 
vis became a distinguished citizen of Michi- 
gan, whose career reflected credit and honor 
upon the state which honored him. He was 
born in Hubbardstown, Massachusetts, April 
27. 1793, and at the age of eleven years he 
went to the wilds of western New York, with 
his widowed mother, settling at Covington. 
There he resided until 1815, when he mar- 
ried Miss Sylvia Beardsley. this being the 
first wedding of a white couple in that town. 
In 1824 they removed to Macomb county, 
Michigan, settling in Shelby township, as pio- 
neer residents of tliis portion of the state, 
where few improvements had been made and 
the greater part of the land was in posses- 
sion of the government. Mr. Davis purchased 
a farm and began its development and 
improvement. His worth of character and 
ability soon attracted attention and in 1826 
he was appointed by Governor Lewis Cass. 
associate .iustice of the county court, which 



liositiiin lie held until the court was abol- 
ished a few years hiter. In 1S32 he removed 
to Macoiiil) townshij). where he purchased 
a large and heavily timbered farm. There 
were few settlers in this part of the county, 
lie having hardly any neighbors nearer 
than ilount Clemens, ten miles away. In 
1838 Judge Davis was elected sheriff of Ma- 
comb county, being selected tirst for that 
piisition under the state constitution. In 
1841 he was elected to the state legislature 
and was actively engaged in many early im- 
portant measures having bearing upon the 
history of the commonwealth. He also held 
the office of postmaster for twenty -three years 
and for twenty-four years was justice of the 
peace, filling the latter position for six years 
under appointment of Governor Steven T. 
;\lason and George B. Porter. Few men of 
eastern ]\Iiehigan ever became more closely 
identified with interests of the state than he, 
and none were more favorably known. He 
possessed superior judgment and strong in- 
tellectuality and was a most zealous worker 
in behalf of the cause of education. His re- 
ligious faith was that of the Methodist church 
and liis life was in consistent harmony with its 
principles. He became a Mason in 1824, and 
in 1856 he left the ranks of the democratic 
party and became a strong advocate of repub- 
lican principles. He died February 11, 1870. 
Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct, stain- 
less in reputation — such Avas his life record. 
His scholarly attainments, his statesmanship, 
his reliable judgment and his charming pow- 
ers of conversation would have enabled him 
to ably fill and grace any position, however 
exalted, and he was no less honored in public 
life than loved in private life. 

In the family of Judge Davis were ten chil- 
dren but only two are now living, Levi B. 
and Victoria, who was the j-oungest of the 
family and who is now the widow of Dr. F. 
M. Reasouer, who died in California. Those 
deceased are: George "W.. who was born in 
181f) and died in 1843: Sarah Lavancha, who 
was born in 1818 and died in 1901; Smith, 
who died in 1856, at the age of thirty-six 
years; Eunice, who died in 1854; Jonathan 
E., who was born in 1828 and engaged in the 
practice of medicine until his death in 1873; 
Mary Ann, who was born in 1828; Calvin, 
wlio was born in 1852 and died in 1895; and 
Svlvia ilarie, who was born in 1835 and died 
in 1902. 

Levi B. Davis, who was the second member 
of the family, spent his early life on the home 
farm, where he remained until twenty years 



356 



?AST AXI) 1 'RESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



of age. He only atteiuleti school for al)out 
three months eaeh year, and the selioolhouse 
in which lie pursued his studies was l)uilt of 
logs. He afterward enjoyed a year's instrue- 
tion in Disco Aeatleiiiy when about twenty 
year.s of age. He early developed his nnisi- 
cal talents, however, and he entered upon his 
business eai-eer as a traveling salesman, repre- 
senting a house which dealt in musical mer- 
chandise, pianos, organs and music-l)oxes. He 
also engaged in teaching' music and foi' twelve 
years he continuously held musical conven- 
tions. In the year 1868-9 he was i)rofessor 
of music in Monmouth CoUegt, at .Monmouth. 
Illinois. Later he again went upon the road 
as commercial ti-avelei' and has continued in 
this work for fift\--tw() years. He is yet upon 
the road, representing the Keliable Paint & 
Oil Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, his terri- 
tory being eastern ]\lichigan. He is still ac- 
tive and is the oldest traveling salesman in 
point of service in ilichigan. He is also the 
oldest native resident of IMacomb county 
belonging to the ^Methodist church. He has 
been identified with this church since 1847, 
joining the congregation which had its house 
of wor-ship on a part of his father's farm. He 
organized the choir, in which he sang, and his 
own musical talent is indicated by the fact 
that he was the only singer from the state 
of Michigan chosen to take part in the musi- 
cal service at the funeral of President Lin- 
coln. 

Mr. Davis became a membei' of the Odd 
Fellows Societ.v in 1865, joining Kochestei' 
lodge, at Rochester, Michigan, and he is now 
a member of Lodge No. 10, in ^Mount Plea.s- 
ant, Iowa, where he made his home for ten 
yeai's. He then returned to Macomb count.v 
and for six years lived at I'tica. while since 
1890 he has been a resident of Mount Clem- 
ens. 

On the 2nd of March, 1869, Mr. Davis was 
married to Miss Laura Root, a daughter of 
Hiram and Laura (Meeker) Root. Her father 
was a native of Vermont and her mother of 
New York, and the.v spent their married life 
largely at Akron, Ohio. Her father was a 
stonemason and ran a line of canal boats from 
Akron to Cleveland, Ohio, while later he gave 
his attention to farming. He died in Kent, 
Ohio, forty-six years ago, when fifty-seven 
years of age, and his wife i)assed away at 
Delhi, Iowa, in 1885, at the age of eighty-two 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two children, 
Grace E. and Calvin, the latter a resident of 
Mount Clemens. The daughter is the wife of 
Ceorge McOinnis, of Beaver. I'ennsylvnnia. 



who is assistant auditor for the American 
Sheet Steel & Tin Plate Company. 

Mr. Davis has a very wide acquaintance 
not only in Jlacoiub county, where he has 
spent the greater part of his life, but also at 
many points along the road over which he has 
traveled in his business career. He makes 
friends wherever he goes and those who know 
him ai)preciate his visits because of his genial 
manner, unfailing eoui'tesy, his cheerful dis- 
|)ositi()n and his licnuine worth. His life has 
ever been honoi'able and upright and he has 
made his name a respected one in the various 
localities to which business or social relations 
have taken him. 



LEONARD H. WILSON, D. D. S. 

Leonanl 11. Wilson, who in the practice of 
dentistry has shown his familiarity with 
modern improved methods and his capability 
in the performance of the mechanical work 
connected with the i)rofessiou, has justly 
won the re]nitation which he is now enjoy- 
ing. He was born in llalton count.v, On- 
tario, December 11, 1867, and is a son of 
Thonuis and Jane (Taylor) Wilson. The 
father was born in Durham county, Eng- 
land, in 1841, and was taken to Canada in 
1846. He is a farmer by occupation and now* 
owns land which he jiurchased from a Mr. 
Hamshaw, who took up this land from the 
<;i)vei'nment. lie nun-rieil .Miss Ta.vlor, who 
was born in llalton count.v, Ontario, in 1842. 
They becanu^ the parents of nine children, of 
whom seven are yet living. 

Leonard II. AVilson. the eldest, was edu- 
cated in the district schools and afterward 
attended a collegiate institute in the city of 
(iuelph. There he continued his studies 
until he was graduated with the class of 1891 
and later he became a student in the Ohio 
College of Dental Surgery, at Cincinnati, 
and in the dental department of the Cincin- 
nali rniversit,v, where he prepared for his 
chosen profession, being graduated with the 
class of 1896, and on the 27th of June of that 
same ,vear he opened an office and entered 
upon practice in Armada where he has since 
riMuained, enjoying a constantl.v growing 
business. He has a well equipped ofifice and 
has kept in touch with the most modern 
methods of dentistry. His work has given 
excellent satisfaction to his patrons and his 
ability raidvs him with the leading dentists 
ol' this jiart of the state. 

In 1896 Di' Wilson was married to ]\Iiss 
Victoria A. i,aiiL;i-i]l, a daughter of William 




LEONARD H. WILSON, D. D. S. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOJIB COUNTV 



359 



and Eliza tllusbaiid) Laugrill, the former 
a native of Gauauotiue, Canada, and the lat- 
ter of Niagara Falls, Canada. Her father 
was a farmer by oecuptiou and both he and 
his wife have now passed away, the latter 
having died in March, 1905. Mrs. Wilson 
was educated in district No. 9 in Ilalton 
county, Ontario. She has become the mother 
of three children, but Clinton Eugene, born 
March U, 1897, died March 25, 1899. The 
othei-s are : Clifford Ehvvn, born July 29, 
19UU ; and Elva, born July 20, 1904. Dr. Wil- 
son is a Mason and Odd Fellow, having be- 
come identified with the former organization 
in Harmony lodge, No. 43, in Anuada, while 
his membership with the latter is in Armada 
lodge, Xo. 442, I. O. O. F. He is now serving 
as left support to the noble grand, has been 
treasurer and conductor and has held other 
offices. Both he and his wife belong to the 
Jlethodist church and in Armada they are 
widely and favorably known, their circle 
of friends being constantly extended as the 
circle of their acquaintance grows. 



GEORGE PALLISTER. 

George Pallister, living in the village of 
]\Ieade and owning ana controlling a farm of 
one hundred and forty aci-es in Kay town- 
ship, is numbered among the early settlers of 
this section of ^Michigan. He has resided in 
the state since 1850 and in Macomb county 
since 1860. He was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, January 2, 1830, his father being Wil- 
liam Pallister. also a native of Yorkshire, in 
which country he was reared and there mar- 
ried ^liss ;\Iary Conferth, a native of Eng- 
land. George Pallister remained a resident 
of England until twent.y years of age and pur- 
sued his education in the public schools of 
that country. The year 1850 witnessed his 
arrival in America. He took passage on a 
sailing vessel and made his way up the St. 
Lawrence river and on through the lakes to 
Detrt)it, joining two brothers who were liv- 
ing there. He settled near that city. Not 
long afterward he began work on a farm in 
Wayne county, Michigan, where he remained 
for seven years and for three years he was 
engaged in fishing on Lake Huron. He worked 
persistently and earnestly to gain a good start 
in life and thereby laid the foundation for 
his present prosperity. 

While living in Wayne county Mr. Pallis- 
ter was married, February 14, 1857, to ]\Iiss 
Ann TTiirlnnd, a native of Wavne eountv and 



a daughter id' Williaui llarland, who was 
born in England and became one of the early 
settlers of Wayne county, .Michigan. Mrs. 
Pallister died December 21, 1858, leaving a 
daughter, ilary Elizabeth, who was born 
January 5, 1858. ilr. Palli.ster was again 
married in Wayne county, October 27, 1859, 
his second union being with JIary Louisa 
Pretty, was was born and I'eared in that 
county and is of French and Polish descent. 

On the 1st of March, 1859, .Mr. Pallister re- 
moved with his family to Macomb county and 
purchased a farm on section 35 in the town 
of Ray. This property he still owns and oper- 
rates, it having now been in his posse.ssion 
for about lorty-tive years. It was wild and 
unimproved at the time of the purchase, but 
he cleared it and placed it under a high state 
of cultivation. He has also erected good build- 
ings and it is now a well-equipped farm prop- 
erty. He continued to reside thereon imtil 
March, 1893, when he removed from the farm 
to Richmond, where he lived until the 1st of 
April, 19111, when he moved to ileade, where 
he built a gooil residence and is now occupy- 
ing a comfortable and attractive home there. 

While living on the farm Mr. Pallister lost 
his second wife, who died November 1, 1891. 
Unto them were born four children : George 
Dewitt, born August 8, 1860, was married 
Novemljer 10, 1882, to Nellie E. Parker and 
follows farming in Ray township; Minerva, 
born December 27, 1861, was married Decem- 
ber 27, 1881, to Sidney W. Mathews, of Ma- 
comb township: Vinellie. born December 2, 
1864, was married December 18, 1889, to 
Cyler C. Warner; James Henry, born Janu- 
ary 9, 1871, was married .March 1, 1893, to 
Julia H. Warner and is a locomotive engi- 
neer, residing at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Mr. 
Pallister's oldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth, 
was married December 7, 1875, to W. C. Rich- 
ards, a farmer of Ray townsliip. He also 
has an adopted daughter, Jennie, who was 
born October 9, 1877, and became an inmate 
of his home when a small child. Mv. Pallis- 
ter was again married, January 12, 1893, his 
third union being with Mrs. Jane Castor, 
widow of William Castor, of Richmond. 

Politically Mr. Pallister does not hold him- 
self bound by party ties. He is a believer in 
temperance principles and the pi'ohibition of 
the liquor traffic. He is also an advocate of 
free trade. He and his wife are members of 
the Free i\rethodi.st church and their religious 
views permeate tlieir lives. ^Ir. Pallister has 
been a successful farmer and business man 
and is of genuine, sterliiiir character and 



360 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF ^rACOMB COUNTY 



worth, having tlie trust and good will of his 
friends and neighbors throughout the com- 
munity in which he has resided for more than 
four decades. 



CHARLES SCHAN'CK. 

Charles Sehauck. a thrifty and well-to- 
do farmer residing on section 19. Bruce town- 
ship, was born in that township on the 7th 
of August, 1843. and is a woi'thy representa- 
tive of an old and highly esteemed family of 
this county, his parents being David and Ellen 
(Sutphenj Schanck. both natives of the Em- 
pire state. The father was boi-u December 9, 
1798, reared and educated in .Monroe county, 
New York, and from there came to ilichigan 
in 1840. After two or three temporary loca- 
tions, he tinally settled in iMacomI) county 
about 1S42 or 1843. and in Bruce township 
he cleared and improved a farm, on which 
he spent the remainder of his life. He passed 
away January 21. 1866. On the 19th of May, 
1824, he married Ellen Sutphen. who was born 
October 6, 1807, and died November 17, 1876. 
In their family were four sons and sis daugh- 
ters, all (if whom reached manhood and wo- 
manhood, namely: John, who nuirried and 
died at the age of sixty-seven years; Henry, 
now a farmer of Lapeer couut.v, ilichigan; 
George, who married and died at the age of 
sixty-tive years ; Charles, of this review ; ^Irs. 
Jane Hosner; Elizabeth, who married and is 
now deceaseil : Mrs. ^lartha Groves, now a 
widow ; ]\Iaria. who married and is now de- 
ceased; Jlrs. Sarah Castle, a widow residing 
with our siU)jeet ; Lydia, wife of Richard 
Smith. This has been a long lived family, 
the youngest to die being fifty-five years of 
age at the time. 

Charles Sehanck passed the days of his boy- 
hood and yiiutli upon the old home farm and 
early became familiar with tlie arduous tasks 
of clearing the wild land and transforming 
it into a well cultivated farm. He had good 
connnon-school advantages and continued to 
assist his father in the operation of the farm 
until the latter 's death, when he purchased 
the interests of the other heii-s in tlie home 
place. He has since added to the i)ropei-ty 
and now luis one hundi'cd and ninet>'-tive acres 
of very valuable farming laiul which he has 
placed under a high state of cidtivation. The 
improvements arc neat and substantial and 
everything about the (ilace indicates the thrift 
and enterjjrise of the owner. In connection 



with general farming he is also engaged in 
the raising and feeding of stock. 

On the 1st of October, 1872, in Rochester, 
Oakland county, ^lichigan, was celebi-ated 
the marriage of ]Mr. Sehanck and Miss Celia 
Ketehujn. who was born in Connecticut but 
was brought to this state in early childhood 
and reared in Oakland county. She is a 
daughter of Joseph and Julia ( Lloyd) 
Keteluuii. Her father was born ilay 8. 1825, 
and is still living at Laiugsburg, Michigan, 
but her mother, who was born in 1828, died 
in 1865. ^Irs. Sehanck has one brother, 
Charles F., who is married and lives in Fort 
Worth. Texas.. ^Ir. and Mrs. Sehanck have 
two sons. David and Vernie. both at lioiiie. Imt 
k)st their only daugliter in infancy. 

On national is.sues ilr. Schanck supports 
the democratic party, but at local elections 
he votes for the men whom he considers best 
<iualified for oiifice regardless of party lines. 
His wife is a member of the Jletliodist Epis- 
copal church and he is ccmnected with the 
Royal Arcanuiii. He has led a busy, useful 
and npi'ight life, which has gained for him 
the confidence and respect of those with 
whom he has been brought in contact either in 
business or social relations, and it is safe to 
say that no man in the conuiinnity is held in 
higher regard than t_'harles Sclianck. 



SYLVESTER W. HAINES. 

With the farming ;ind stock-raising inter- 
ests of Wasliinutoii township Sylvester W. 
Haines is now actively identified, owning and 
operating a well-improved farm on section 
15. A native of ^lacomb county, he was born 
in Shelby township, on the 21st of February, 
1847, and is a .son of Alson Haines, who was 
born in New York, and came to Michigan 
in 1832, being joined by liis fathei' and the 
other members of the family the following 
year. The grandfather. Benjamin Haines, 
jnirchased the farm on which our subject now 
resides and cleared and iinpidved the place, 
converting the wild tract into a good farm. 
Alson Haines located in Shelby townshi]i and 
there opened up a farm, whicii continued to 
be his lu)me until life's labors were ended in 
death. He was twice married, liis second 
wife being Laui'a I. Ilodge, also a native of 
New York state and the mother of our sub- 
ject. She died some years ]irior to her Inis- 
band's death. To them were born four sons 
and one daughter and four of the number 
lived to become heads of families. 



PAST AND PKKSENT OF MACOilB COUNTY 



361 



During his boyliood Sylvt'stcr \V. Haines 
atteuded the district seliools near his home 
and as soon as okl enongii he began to aid 
in the development of the farm, thus acquir- 
ing a good, practical knowledge of agricul- 
tural pursuits. On leaving the parental roof 
he worked by the month for about six years, 
and in 1870 went to Harvey count}', Kan- 
sas, where he took up a homestead and broke 
foi-ty acres of land, raising one crop of wheat 
thereon. He then sold the place and returned 
to ]Macomb county. Here he was mari'ied in 
1883 to ^liss Mary Haines, a daughter of Eli 
Haines, formerly of Monroe county, New 
York. To them has been born a daughter, 
Ethel, who is at home with her parents. 

For some time after his mai'riage ]\Ir. 
Haines worked at anything which he could 
find to do and then removed to his grand- 
father's old homestead in Washington town- 
shijx where he has since resided. He pur- 
chased eighty aci'es of this property and his 
wife inherited a part of the jdace. so that 
they now have one hundi'cd and eighty-two 
acres, which he has j)laeed luuler a high state 
of cultivatii)n. He has erected a good resi- 
dence and siibstantial barn, has set out an 
orchard and made many other useful im- 
provements which add greatly to the value 
and attractive appearance of the farm. In 
connection with general farming he carries 
on stock-raising and in both branches of his 
business has met with well-nu'rited success. 

Since easting his fir.st ballot for (leneral 
U. S. Grant he has been an ardent supporter 
of the republican party and its principles, 
but he never sought otfice. He is a progres- 
sive, energetic man of sterling worth and he 
connuands the respect and confidence of all 
with whom he is brought in contact. 



L. E. BEDELL. 



L. E. Bedell, who figures prominently in 
financial circles in ]\Iacomb county as cash- 
ier of the Romeo Savings Bank, which posi- 
tion he has filled for ten years, dates his resi- 
dence in this part of the state from 1873. He 
was born in the town of Clyde, Wayne coun- 
ty. New York, :March 5, 18(i6. His fathei-, 
Levant Bedell, now a prominent business man 
of Komeo, was born in Albion. Orleans coun- 
ty, New York, in 1837, and was a son of Xor- 
man Bedell, also a native of the Empire state, 
while the great-grandfather of our subject 
was John Bedell, who was descended from 
English ancestrv and served his eouTiti-v as a 



.soUlier in the war of l,s]2. The family was 
estahlished in America in early ilays and the 
strong characteristics of the represejitatives 
of tlie name iiave been industry, perseverance 
and reliability. Levant Bedell was reared in 
the county of his nativity and there learned 
the trade of a jeweler and silversmith. As 
a companion and helpmate for life's jonrnej' 
he chose Miss Henrietta E. Child, also a na- 
tive of New York. For several years ilr. Be- 
dell was successfully and actively engaged in 
busin(>ss in the Empire state, but desiring to 
estal)lish bis home in the west he came to 
^Michigan in 1873, settling in Komeo, whei-e 
he opened a jewelry store which he has since 
conducted with a constantly growing jjatron- 
age. Throughout the third of a century that 
lias elapsed since his ari'ival he has not only 
been recognized as a wide-awake and progres- 
sive business man, but also one whose inter- 
est in public affairs has been manifest in tan- 
gible elfort for the general good. 

L. E. Bedell was a lad of seven sununers 
when he came with his parents to ^Michigan 
and was reared in Komeo, i)ursuing his edu- 
cation in the public schools until he had com- 
pleted the high school course, after which he 
became a student in the Detroit Commercial 
College and was thus well ([ualified by thor- 
ough training for the field of connnercial or 
financial activity. Li 1885 he entered the Ro- 
meo Bank as a clerk and bookkeeper and 
served in that capacity for six years, when in 
1892 he resigned and accepted the position of 
bookkeeper in the Tift't Iron Works at Buffalo, 
New York. He severed his eonnection with 
that firm, however, in 1893 to become liook- 
keeper in the City Bank of Buffalo, and there 
remained until 189ri, when he resigned in or- 
der to retui-n to the Roineo Savings Bank, 
which called him to the office of cashier. He 
is a stockholder and director in this institu- 
tion and for ten years has served as its cash- 
ier, being a competent and popular official. 
He is an excellent financier, thoi'oughly un- 
derstanding the business in eveiT depai'tment, 
and by his coui'teous treatment of the public, 
combined with his fidelity in business, he has 
secured many patrons and practically made 
the bank what it is to-day — one of the most 
successful savings instilulions in .Alacomli 
county. 

'Sir. Bedell was united in marriage in Ro- 
meo, in Novend)er, 1903, I0 iVIiss F. C. Dwin- 
elle, a native of Michigan, who was boi-n, 
i-eared and educated in Romeo, and is a 
ihiughter of Mrs. Florence Dwinelle, a widow 
now r(>sidinfr in Romeo. Tn bis poli1ir,-d views 



362 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ^lACOMB COUNTY 



Mr. Bedell is independent, supporting the 
candidates whom he regards as best qualified 
for otfiee without considering their party af- 
filiation, lie and his wife attend the Con- 
gregational church and he is serving as one 
of its board of trustees, ilr. Bedell now ranks 
with the leading and representative business 
men of Eomeo and owes his advancement and 
success entirely to his own efforts, for he 
stai'ted out in a humble capacity without any 
special pecuniary or family advantages to aid 
him. His success has come through the rec- 
ognition of his ability and trustworthiness. 
He has a high standing among the business 
men of Romeo and is popular socially. 



CHARLES F. VOLKENING. 

This well known farmer, residing on section 
9, Chesterfield township, was born in New 
York city in 1847 and is a son of George L. 
and Christine (Blydon) Volkeniug, both na- 
tives of Germany. The birth of the father 
occurred in Mendoii, (lermauy, in 1820, and 
in that country he grew to manhood. Emi- 
grating to America in 1847, lie made his home 
for three years in New York city and then 
came to ^laeomb county, jMichigan, buying 
the Tapkin farm on sections 34 and 35, Ma- 
comb township, where he lived until 1871, 
experiencing all the hardships and privations 
incident to pioneer life. In that year he sold 
his farm and retired to ilount Clemens, where 
he resided until his death in 18;)4. his wife 
dying the same year, leaving three children 
to mourn their loss. The oldest of these is 
Charles F., of this review. ]Mary is the wife 
of "William Price and lives in Canada. Wil- 
liam F. married Helen ]\IcLoney and makes 
Ids liome in Detroit. 

Charles F. Yolkening passed his boyhood 
and youth upon his father's farm and pursued 
his studies in the Atwood district .school. He 
aided his father in the labors of the farm until 
1870 and the following year operated it on 
sliai'es. He then purchased his present home, 
known as the Samuel Canfield farm, where he 
has now lived continuously for thirty-three 
years, devoting his entire time and attention 
to the improvement and cidtivation of the 
place. In ISSO he built his present comfort- 
able residence and in 1895 built one of his 
barns, the other being one of the old land- 
marks of the county, supposed to be one of 
the oldest on the Gratiot road. ^Ii-. Yolkeninir 
has always engaged in general farming and 



has i)ros{)ei'ed in his work, becoming quite 
well-to-do. 

Mr. Yolkening has been twice married, his 
first wife lieing ^liss Elizalieth Zander, a 
daughter of John Zaudei-, of .Macomb town- 
ship. By that luiion there were two children: 
Henry, who married Louise Kuhn, a daughter 
of Christian Kuhn, of Woodmere, Wayne 
eount.v, -Michigan, where they now reside; and 
Augu.st, a resident of Durand. The mother 
of these children died on the 1st of April, 
1876, and the following year Mr. Yolkening 
married iliss Alizza Stier. a daughter of 
Henry Stier, of Chesterfield township. Her 
parents were also natives of Germany and 
came to this county in 1856. For a number 
of years they lived in New Baltimore, wdiere 
they owned a home, and on selling that place 
liouglit a farm in Chesterfield township, where 
Mi-s. Stiei- is still living. The father died in 
1896. Their family consisted of four chil- 
dren: Louise, now Mrs. William Johnston; 
Alizza. wife of our subject: Ella, wife of Ed- 
ward Schraede: and Henry J., at home with 
his mother. By this second marriage ^Ir. 
\'olkening has five children : Emeline, now 
Mrs. Charles Ilourtienne. of Chesterfield town- 
ship : Julia, the wife of Joshua Clai'ke Par- 
ker, of the same township : and George L., Carl 
and William, all at home. 

^Ir. Yolkening is an active and consistent 
member of the German Lutheran church of 
New Haven, of which he was a trustee for 
six consecutive years. He is also a member 
of the Chesterfield and Lenox Townships Far- 
mers' Clubs. Those who know him best are 
numbered among his warmest friends and no 
citizen in Chesterfield township is more hon- 
ored or highly respected. 



BKNJA:\[IN RUSSELL IMcARTHUR. 

Benjamin Ru.ssell McArthur, w'ho for 
many years was connected with the Park 
Hotel as general manager, was born in the 
cit.v of San Francisco, California, June 20, 
1860. His parents were Major Joseph and 
Julia (Woodworth) ^leArthur, tlie former 
a native of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and the 
latter of San Francisco, California. Major 
;\IcArthur was a graduate of West Point 
and was stationed in San Francisco at the 
time of his marriage with Julia Woodworth. 
He was in the far west for many years, but 
early in the '70s moved to Chicago, Illinois, 
wluch was his home until his death, which 
occurred in 1902. 



gP -3% 




G(f99-^^yf7^ 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



365 



The subject of this sketch grew to man- 
hood in his native state, and after receiving 
his primary education he entered Santa 
Chira college, in Santa Clai-a county, Califor- 
nia, from which it is l)elieved he was grad- 
uated. Later he went to Germany, and spent 
three years in the celebrated university at 
Heidelberg and was there graduated. Re- 
turning to his native country Mr. ilcArthur 
made his home with his parents in Chicago, 
but spent some time in traveling. While at 
Niagara Falls, he met at his father's hotel 
in that city. Miss Julia C. Kietfer, daughter 
of John and ^Margi'ctha Kieffer, and on the 
10th of September, 188-1, they were united in 
marriage. By this union four children were 
born, two of whom are living, Ethel Wood- 
worth and Mildred Upton, who make their 
home with their mother in Mount Clemens. 

After spending about two years princi- 
pally in traveling. ^Ir. and Mrs. McArthur 
came to ilount Clemens, which was ever 
after his home and is still the home of Mrs 
McArthur. On his arrival here Mr. l\Ic- 
Arthiir went into business with Mrs. Kieffer, 
l)urchasing a half interest and taking charge 
of the old Central Park Hotel. They at 
once dropped the name Central and assumed 
the name of Park Hotel. The hotel at that 
time was an unpretentious two story frame 
structure with its name being printed in large 
letters clear across the front "Central Park 
Hotel." The building as it then stood bears 
no resemblance to the massive structure 
known as the Park Hotel, with a frontage of 
three hiuidred and fifteen feet, and which 
has a national reputation as being a model 
hotel, comparing favorably with the leading 
hotels of the country. 

Jlr. JIcArthur was never a robust num and 
sjicnt much time in traveling. Every year 
with his wife he made a trip east and to- 
gether they visited many points of intei'est. 
While at .Afackinac Island, where he was 
ordered by his physician, his death occurred 
June 20, 1899, the anniversary of his birth. 
His remains were brought back to IMount 
Clemens and interred in the cemetery at 
that place, the funeral being attended by a 
large circle of friends and ac(iuaintances, 
many of whom mourned his loss as that of 
a most intimate friend. 

Politii-ally Mr. IMcArthur was a democrat, 
hilt 111- liad no political aspirations and save 
as a commissioner of water works he held 
no public oftice. He was frequently solicited 
to lend the use of his name for the office of 
mayor of Mount ClenuMis, but the honor he 



steadfastly refused. Doubtless he would 
have been elected by a large majority as his 
public spirit was acknowledged by all. 

It was as a home man that ^Ir. McArthur 
was at his best. While he made friends 
easily and as landlord of the Park Hotel 
there were numy who esteenu'd him highly, 
he yd j)referretl the privacy of the home 
circle, although he took great pride in the 
management of the Park Hotel, and the 
great patronage built up spoke volumes in 
hi.s j)raise. He was a good, true man, one 
for whose living the world is made better. 

Yws. .McArthur makes her home in Blount 
ClenuMis and is a.ssociated with her mother 
in the nmnagement of the hotel. She is well 
known and held in the highest esteem. Like 
her husband, she enjoys traveling and an- 
nually spends some time at various eastern 
sununer resorts. With her mother she owns 
a hotel at Aiken, South Carolina, a three 
hundred room house used as a winter resort. 
The grounds comprise one hundred and 
fortv-five acres. 



PI 11 Id I' E. CUDWORTH. 

Philii) E. Cudworth, engaged in merchan- 
dising in Armada as a dealer in hardware, 
was born in Armada township, February 14, 
1882, and is a representative of one of the 
honored pioneer families of this part of the 
state. His father, Xenophon 0. Cudwoi-th, 
who is still interested in farming in this 
county, was born in Richmond township, 
April 10, 1837, and is a son of Philip C. and 
Tamson (Tubbs) Cudworth. Philip C. Cud- 
worth was born in Richmond, Ontario coun- 
ty, New Yoi'k, in 1811, and came to Michi- 
gan in 183."), locating on land which he ent(»red 
from the government. He cleared a small 
patch, built a cabin and then returned to the 
ea't, but -oon came again and was the first 
jcttler of Richiuond township. lie was also 
the first postmaster of Richmond and post- 
age at that time was twenty-five cents. He 
made (juarterly ti'ii)s to Detroit to settle up 
his accounts and on more than one occasion 
had to sell something he possessed in order to 
pay postage which w;is due him from the ])at- 
ro)is of the Richmond otTice. His wife's great- 
graiulfathei' was a Revolutionary soldier. 
T^nto Philip Cudworth and his wife were born 
si.K childi'cn : .X'eiiophon : Philip, who died 
at West Point, Iventucky, during the Civil 
war: Harriet, who died in Lenox, ^lichigan; 
Jerusha A., wife of Charles Chapman, pro- 



366 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



prietor of a hotel at Grand River, Iowa ; ilary. 
wife of Peter Scott, of Port Huron, ^Michigan, 
wlio, however, was in Ahiska for four years 
and is now superintendent of a mine in Mex- 
ico; and David S., a fanner of Lenox town- 
ship, ilaeomb county. 

Xenophou 0. Cudwortli well remember.s 
when the wolves could be heard howling 
around the cabins at night and he saw hiui- 
dreds oi Indians at a time, for they then 
lived all over the state. He was the first white 
child born in Richmond township and his en- 
vironment in youth was that of a pioneer 
localit.v. He was educated in a log sehool- 
liouse where there were only four or five pu- 
pils. The building stood on the present site 
of the Jjenox station and the seats were split 
logs while the desk was made of a board laid 
on pins around the room. The school was kept 
up bv the rate bill and the teachers "boarded 
round."" In the pioneer home custard was 
served "when com])an.v came," and the chil- 
dren therefore delighted in having company. 
Xenophou Cudwortli assisted in the opera- 
tion of the home farm in his youth. He was 



married Deeembei 



1858. to Martha, 



daughter of Abner Andrew and Eliza (Hul- 
bert) Jlicks. She was born June 23, 1839. 
Her father is yet living at the age of ninety- 
one and her niothei- at the age of eight.v-seven 
years. Mr. and ^Irs. Cudwortli have lived 
together for forty-six years and have three 
sons: Philip Elton is the eldest. Albert Bur- 
ton, born October 26, 1866, and living on the 
old homestead on section 36, Armada town- 
ship, married Fannie Wieman and has a 
daughter. Frank S., born February 21, 1868, 
married Nettie Fi-ances and lives on the Car- 
ter farm in Ai'uiada township. 

Xenophou Cudwortli is to-day the owner 
of one hundred and fifty acres of good land 
and formerly had other tracts, which he has 
since sold. He has been quite successful in 
life and now has a competence, honorabl.v 
earned. In politics he is a ri>publican and 
has .served as liiglnvay commissioner and dep- 
uty slieritf. His wife is a nicinlii'r of the Meth- 
odist church. 

Philip E. Ciiil\V(]rlli. cilucated in the district 
schools and in Ai-inada, I'dlldwed farming un- 
til 1890 and then tunii'il his attention to the 
hardware business, lie pun-luised the busi- 
ness projiei'ty. but afterward sustained a loss 
by fire. He has since, however, built a brick 
business bhtck in which lie conducts his store. 
He first handled boots and shoes, hats, caps, 
crockerv and hardwar(>, liut he closed out those 
lines and established his hardware store, with 



a stock valued at between two and three thou- 
sand dollai's, which has since been increased to 
about five thousand dollars, antl his energies 
are now concentrated upon the management 
of the store wherein he has secured a liberal 
I)atronage. 

On the 11th of February, 1885. ilr. Cud- 
worth was married to Miss Belle Hathawa.v, 
a daughter of O. Sheldon and Cordelia (Dun- 
ham) Hathaway. They have two children: 
(Irace, who was born December 15, 1886, and 
is a graduate of the Armada high school : and 
Floyd, born in 1 898 and now attending school. 

Mr. Cudwortli is a member of Harmony 
lodge, No. 143, A. F. & A. M., and a charter 
member of the Odd Fellows lodge. No. -492, 
of which he was treasurer for a nmuber of 
.vears. He and his wife are connected with 
the Daughters of Rebekah and she belongs to 
the ^Methodist church. In politics he is a 
stanch republican, infiuential in local circles 
of the party, and for fifteen years he served 
as a member of the village council, as village 
president five years and township treasurer 
for two terms. His devotion to the general 
good has been manifest in tangible efl'ort for 
the welfare and progress of the village and 
county, and his labors have proved far-reach- 
ing and beneficial. 



SPENCER BOOTIIE Rl'SSELL. 

Spencer B. Russell was born in Jerusalem, 
Yates county. New York, on the 24th of No- 
vember, 1846. His father, John Ru.ssell, was 
a native of Ireland and was about eighteen 
years of age when he came to America, set- 
tling in New York state, where he died in 1851. 
He married Mrs. Ruth Ann (Andrus) Bur- 
ton, her ancestors lieing among the Puritans 
that came to America on the ^layfiower. After 
his marriage John Russell made his home in 
Jerusalem, New York, for sonu' years, but 
when our sub.ieet was quite small he took his 
family to Ontario county, that state, where he 
soon afterward died, leaving his widow with 
six children to support. In the fall of 1853 
she decided to come to the west and took up 
her abode in New Baltimore, Jlacoinb county, 
ilichigan, liiit she passeil away in the spring 
of 1855. 

Spencer B. Russell was only eight years of 
age at the time of his mother's death. How- 
ever, he soon found a good home with Abbott 
Van Horn, who had recently settled in the 
woods in the noi-theastern jnirt of Chesterfield 
township and who agreeil to give .Mr. Kus- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rArOMB COrXTV 



367 



sell a home and what advaiitnaes the district 
school att'orded \iiitil he was eijihteeu yeai-s of 
age. In return for this our subject promised 
to stay the required term of yeai-s and to as- 
sist in the labors of the farm during tlie snm- 
mer and out of seliool liours duriiit;- tlie re- 
mainder of the year. There was no eonti'act 
signed, but their aiirccmriit was never vio- 
lated on either side. 

For a few years after leaving Mw \'an Horn 
l\Ir. Hnssell devoted his time ijriiieipally to ae- 
qniriug a better education, receiving private 
instructions at ]\[ount Clemens. In the spring 
of 18()6 he began the study of law under the 
direction of Ilutibard & Cnickei" and remained 
with that tinn initil his admission to the Itar 
of IMacomb county in August, 1868, although 
in the meantime he had taught in the district 
schools during the winter months in order to 
earn the uioney to defray his expenses. His 
examination for the bar was pronoimced to 
be one of the best in the liistory of the cir- 
cuit. 

Like so many others, 'Sir. Russell became im- 
bued with the desire to go west and according- 
ly, on the 9th of ^lay, 1869, took np his abode 
in Omaha, Nebraska, but he did not renuiin 
long in that city, however, and the following 
January began the practice of law at Fort 
Scott. Kansas. In the fall of 1870 he came to 
western ^lichigan. Two years later he re- 
tiirned to ]\Iount Clemens, where he has since 
made his home. 

In the sjn-ing of 1873 he was elected coun- 
ty superintendent of schools and entered upon 
the duties of that i)osition on the 1st of ilay, 
also assuming the editorial management of 
The Press. After two years of this dual occu- 
pation the superintendency law was repealed 
and he then devoted his entire attention to 
newspaper work, his brother becoming asso- 
ciated with him in the business in 1878. The 
I\Iount Clemens Press was established under 
the name of the .Macomb Consei'vative Press 
in 1864 by William Longstatf and James B. 
Eldredge, who continued its publication luitil 
1868, when they were succeeded by John 
Trevidick. lie conducted the papei' until 
1872, when it was temporarily suspended, the 
office being closed from December, 1872, until 
]\Iay 1. 187.'i at which time Mi-. Russell re- 
sumed its (lublieation under its i)resent title, 
which wa-s adopted by his predecessor. He 
sold out in 1890 to J. A. Keith. He has been 
interested in n niuiiber of business enterprises 
whieli havi' iiroved of great benefit to the 
city: was secretary of the ^loimt Clemens 
Bath Company, and one of the originatoi's of 



the .Medea Hotel and Bath House, the former 
being publicly opened by him June 6, 1904. 

Mr. Russell has always taken an active and 
prominent part in local |iolitics and besides 
lioltling several minor ofiices in the village and 
city was ejeeted mayor of the city in the 
s]n-ing of 1881 over a formidable opponent. 
The story of his subseciuent removal by the 
governor on purely technical grounds, liis re- 
nomination and re-election as given elsewhere 
in this volume, is a fair and impai'tial recital 
of the facts. The legal technicality upon 
which the govei'uor based the I'emoval was the 
allegi'd interest of Mayor Russell in a con- 
tract for i)rinting between the city and the 
firm of S. B. & II. E. Russell, whieli, as shown 
in the testimony, amounted to less than forty- 
five dollars per year, and was entered into for 
the sole benefit of II. E. Russell. The case at- 
tracted the attention of the jiress throughout 
the state and never was the official act of any 
executive more severely ci'itieised and impar- 
tially condemned. Public sympathy was all 
in favor of Mv. Russell and his re-aecession to 
the mayoralty was a sub.ieet of congratulation 
for months afterward. Instead of the stain 
which a few jiolitical enemies had confidently 
hojied to bi'ing upon his public record, it 
jH'oved one of the happiest triuui])hs of his 
whole life. Among the many handsome trib- 
utes paid to Mr. Russell by the pi'css at this 
time we cpiote the following written by (ieorge 
F. Lewis, then managing editoi' of the Bay 
City Morning Call: "^Ii'. Russell is a man 
of no small individuality, a elevei- nuin of 
some means, decidedly good financial ability, 
undemonstrative even to reticence, but square 
and conscientious, if w^e know what is what in 
this direction. He is far from that morbid 
sensibility w'hieh magnifies every trifling 
troulJe into a threatened disaster, and satis- 
fied in his conscience that he meant to be fair 
and honoi'able, he paid very little attention 
to the proceedings which were taken f(n' his 
removal." 

For several years .Mi-. Russell has served as 
director of the Mount Clemens school board, 
which iiosition he still holds. But the part 
which he has taken in the development of edu- 
cational interests is specially noteworthy in 
his long and faithful service as commissioner 
of schools for .Macomb county, and which 
has im|)ressed his name indelibly upon its 
records. His genial, pleasant manner has 
made him quite popular in both business and 
.social circles, and as a public-spirited, enter- 
prising man he ever stands ready to disehai'ge 
any duty devolving ui)on him. 



368 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



ilr. Russell was married January 23, 1883, 
to Miss JIarie H. Van Eps, a daughter of 
George B. and Matilda (Fitch) Van Eps, of 
Blount Clemens. 



ROBERT MeKAY. 



Robert McKay, deceased, was born in the 
village of Johnston, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 
ilarch 4, 1813, and was a son of John and 
Jane (Allen) McKay. John ^McKay, the 
father, was born June 9, 1793, and was the 
son of John and Jlary McKay. Jane Allen, 
the mother, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, 
March 4, 1790, and was the daughter of Jo- 
seph and .Alary Allen. The parents of Rob- 
ei't McKay reiuoved from their native land 
to Ballentoy, County Antrim, Ireland, in 
1819, and there remained until 1836, when 
with their family they came to America and 
settled near Oakwood, Oakland county, Michi- 
gan, where he i)urch;ised a large tract of wild 
land, and on a part of this land they lived 
until the time of their deaths, which occurred 
as follows: John McKay, July 9, 1861, and 
his wife. Jane (Allen) McKay, March 4. 1859. 
They were the parents of six .sons and three 
daughters, all of whom are now deceased. 

Kiibert .McKay left the parental home at the 
age of seventeen to make his own way in the 
world and came to America for the purpose 
of partici[)ating in the opportunities that the 
new world offered to the young and ambitious. 
After a sea voyage of thirteen weeks he land- 
ed at the city of Baltimore. Maryland, in 
1830. and secured employment with a mer- 
cantile iiDusi', where he remained until 1833, 
when he accepted a position offered him in 
a publishing house at Nashville, Tennessee, 
which he held until 1836, when he resigned 
to return to his parents for the i)urpose of 
assisting them in coming to America. 

On his jirrival in America with his father's 
family he hiiulcd at the city of New York 
and proceeded at once to Oakwood, Oakland 
county. -Michigan, by way of the Erie canal 
and Lake Ei'ie, where he purchased wild land 
near his father's plact' and there he remained 
until 1841, when he sold this farm and re- 
moved to Bi'uce township. Maconil) county, 
and purchased the farm upon which he spent 
the remaindei' of his life. He made a spe- 
cialty of raising wiicat and wool and was very 
successful, ke<'ping hctwi'cii Jive and six hun- 
di'ed sIkh'I). Through his euergv and thi-ift 



he prospered and added to his original farm 
of one hundred and sixty acres, so that at 
the time of his death he was owner of one 
thousand acres of choice lands, with good 
dwellings and outbuildings in -Macomb and 
adjoining counties. 

Decend)er 16, 1841, Robert McKay was 
united in marriage to Jean C4ray, daughter 
of Neil and ^lary (Wiley) Gray, residents of 
Bi'uce, aiul natives of Ayrshire, Scotland. 
^Irs. JlcKay was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, 
August 25, 1811, and died January 24, 1862. 
From this marriage there were five children, 
as follows: John, born August 16, 1843; 
^lary, born February 1, 1845; Robert N., born 
October 15, 1847; Annie; and Jane, born 
Jaiuuiry 20, 1852, all of whom are now liv- 
ing except I\Iary, who was the wife of Dr. 
William Greenshields, of Romeo, and who 
died ^March 15, 1903; and Jane, who died 
February 21, 1878. 

On April 24, 1865, Robert :\IcKay married 
Caroline il. Day, daughter of Uriel and Olive 
(Sperry) Day, of Armada, a sketch of whom 
ajipears in another portion of this work. ^Irs. 
ilcKay was boi'n December 16, 1839, in Ar- 
mada, and is the descendant of Robert and 
^lary Day, who emigrated to America from 
England in 1834, and settled at Cambridge, 
ilassachusi'tts. The children by this marri- 
age were: Henry J., born Februar\- 21, 1866; 
Rose, horn March 16, 1867: James, born Jan- 
uary 25, 1869: Allen, born :\Iay 24, 1871; Jo- 
seph, born JMarcli 14. 1877 ; and Grace Ruth, 
boi'u June 30, 1880, all of whom are now liv- 
ing. 

Robei't McKay, the sult.jcct of this sketch, 
died Fel)iMun-y 1. 189(). and about two years 
after his death Mrs. .McKay removed from 

the farm to li eo. where she now resides. 

lie was a fluent spejiker, a man of strcmg and 
unwavering convictions regarding religion, 
temperance, morality and the freedom and up- 
lifting of the coloi'ed num. It was (>arly in 
his life, while living south of "Mason and 
Dixon's line." that he became impressed with 
liie inipnrtanee of these nuitters and actively 
inteiesteil himself in them. It was while liv- 
ing in the south that he became imbued with 
the principles of Christianity and united with 
the Cumberland Presliytei'ian ehuivh of .\ash- 
ville. Tennessee. .\ fti'i- he settled in .Michi- 
gan he did not identify himself particularly 
with any <lenominatiou but was a zealous 
W(U'ker in Sunday-schools and at various 
times gave reliizious discourses. lie was a 
foi'ceful and untiring worker for the cause of 
teinpei'ance, and in earlv life would often 




ROBERT :\rcKAY. 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF .AIACO.MH roiXTV 



371 



walk twi'iity miles In assist in a iin't'tiiiK of 
yive a t<Miip('raiice U'cturo. 

While livinu in the south he saw his fellow 
beings in hoiuhige. saw them sold as chattels 
at auction and families separated forever. 
These aud other facts conviuced him of the 
inhumanity, the injustice and the depredation 
of slavery and moved liini to do all within 
liis power for its abolition and the improve- 
ment of the condition of the slave. 

Politically he was a republican through life 
and cast his first vote for the abolition of 
slavery iu 1842, when there was only one other 
vote cast in the township for the cause. He 
was connected with the organization known 
as the "T'nderground Railway." and shel- 
tei'ed and assisted nuiny a poor slave to the 
shores of Canada, to enjoy that freedom 
which man has a common right to enjoy. 

It was iu 1854, the year of the birth of 
the republican party under the oaks at Jack- 
son, Michigan, that he was elected justice of 
the peace in Bruce township, which office he 
held continuously until the time of his death. 
He was once the choice of his party for the 
office of .state senator, but was defeated owing 
to the district being overwhelmingly demo- 
cratic. He was one of the organizers of the 
Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 
of IMacomb county, ^Michigan, and at a meet- 
ing of the incorporators held August 22, 1875, 
he was elected president of the company and 
held the office continuously until February 
10, 1894, when he resigned, owing to age and 
poor health, and the board of directors upon 
accepting his resignation, as a mark of respect 
and confidence, elected liim a director. lie was 
one of the organizers of the Citizens National 
Bank, of Romeo, ^Michigan, and at the first 
meeting of the stockholders was elected a di- 
rector, which office he held until his death. 

Mr. ilcKay was one of the county's most 
valuable citizens. He was public-spirited and 
did all in his power for the advancement and 
general welfare of its religious, moral and po- 
litical interests. 



HENRY HALMICH. 



Ilt'ury Ilalmich, one of the wide-awake, en- 
ergetic aud i)i-actical j"oung farmers of War- 
reu township, living on section 9, represents 
one of the old families of Macomb county. His 
paternal grandfather, .\mendis Ilalmich, was 
born in Prussia ami came to Macomb county 
in 1851, accompanied by his wife, Johanna, 
He settled first on section 17. Warren town- 



.sliip, purchasing tlie Dennison |)roi)ci'ty, 
which he fai'med aud improved until his death 
in iSdO. lie left a widow and si.K chiklren, 
namely : Flora, a resident of ^lissouri ; Tracy, 
of Wari'cn township; Caroline, the wife of 
Charles Bretner, of Sterling township: Jo- 
hanna, the wife of John .Miller, of Detroit; 
William; and Dora, who is living in Pi-us- 
sia. 

Of this family, William llaliriich, the father 
of Henry Ilalmich, is also a nalive of Prus- 
sia aud in the .schools of that country he be- 
gan his education, which he continued in the 
district schools of ilacomb county. He 
always renuiined at home, assisting his father 
iu the development of the land. In 18ti4 his 
mother sold the first homestead and purchased 
the Stephens farm of sixty acres on .section 9, 
Warren township, to which they removed and 
for which he received a deed upon the di-ath 
of his mother in 1873. Removing to a farm 
of about thirty acres he at once made further 
improvements there, building barns, remod- 
eling the house and clearing and improving 
more land. In 1883 he purchased an adjoin- 
ing tract of forty acres, on which he built a 
new barn and added other modern accessories. 
Whatever tended to the practical improve- 
ment and development of the place received 
his earnest attention and he continued farm- 
ing with success until 1901, when he deeded 
the place to his son Henry, with whom he is 
still living. There is a lesson to be learned 
from his life work, a lesson illustrating the 
value of frugality and diligence as important 
factors iu winning prosjierity. He has always 
been interested in the cause of education, has 
served as a member of the board of directors 
of the school aud is treasurer of district No. 
fi. He is a member of the Warren branch of 
the (ierman Arbeiter and belongs to St. Clem- 
ens church aud St. Clemens Society at Cen- 
ter Line. He was married on the 12th of 
April, 1864, to Miss ilary Wolff, a daughter 
of Peter Joseph and ]\Iary ^lagdaleue Wolff. 
of St. Clair county. They became the parents 
of twelve children, of whom eight are living, 
as follows: Lena, of St. Joseph, .Michigan; 
Johanna, the wife of Anthony Wolff, of War- 
ren ; Charles, who is living iu Oakland county, 
Michigan; Henry, of this review; Annie, who 
is living with her brother Ileiu-y: Katie, the 
wife of ]\lichael Cutchey; .Mary of Detroit; 
and Ida, M'ho is teaching in district No. 4 in 
Warren township. 

Mrs. William Ihdmich was a native of 
Michigan, but her parents were born on the 
River Riiine. iu Cei-mauv. ComiTig to tin's .state 



372 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :MAC0:\IB COUNTY 



in 1852, they settling in Detroit, and after two 
and a half years removed to St. Clair town- 
ship, St. Clair eounty, where they remained 
until the father's death in 1887. Three years 
later the mother went to live with her daugh- 
ter. .Mrs. Halmich, and died at her home June 
3, 1894, her remains being interred in St. 
Clemens cemetery. Charles Bretner, the hus- 
band of Caroline Halmich, sister of "William 
Halmich, was in the Second ^Michigan Cavalry 
in the Civil war and enlisted in 18(i"2. Imt 
after fifteen months was honorably discharged 
on account of ill-health. 

No event of special impoi'tanee occurred to 
vary the routine of farm life for Henry Hal- 
mich in his boyhood and youth. He attended 
the disti-ict schools and in the summer mouths 
worked in the fields and with the exception of 
four wintei's sjjcnt in the lumber woods of 
the uppei- i)eninsula he has always remained 
at home, doing a large .share of the hard work 
on the farm but receiving his reward in 1901. 
when his father gave him a deed to the old 
homestead. What he undertakes he carries 
forward to successful completion and in his 
farm work he follows progressive methods 
which are very Tinlike those which were in 
vogue at the time the family home was estab- 
lished in Macomb county. Everything about 
his place, imder his careful supervision, is 
Icept in an excellent condition, the fields being 
well tilled, the buildings in good n-pair. while 
the stock is of high grade. 

^Ir. Ilalinich is a member of St. Clemens 
church and also of St. Clemens Society. He 
belongs to Wai'ren branch of the German Ar- 
beiter, to "Warren Grange and also holds a 
polic.y in the New York Life Insurance Com- 
pany. In the spring of 1904 he was elected 
school director of Warren township. He is 
now carrying forwai'd the work instituted b.y 
his grandfather and continued by his father, 
and in its different generations the family has 
been found loyal to the general good, assist- 
ing materially where the welfare and progress 
(if the conunimitv have been involved. 



BT'RTON NYE. 



Among Ijusiuess and professional men none 
are more closely identified with the growth 
and best interests of New Haven than Bur- 
ton Nye. who has made his home here for a 
number of yeai's and is now identified with 
its eommercial interests as a dealer in hard- 
ware, while his coniiei'tion with jiublic affairs 
has been manifest in his capable administra- 



tion of the duties of various offices that have 
been intrusted to him. He is one of Ma- 
comb county's native .sons, his birth having 
occurred in Washington township, ilay, 25, 
1857, his parents being ^Morgan and Harriet 
(Bates) Nye. His father was also born in 
Washington township and was a son of Al- 
vin Nye, a native of New York, who came 
to JIacomb county in 1825, settling in Wash- 
ington township, where he entered laud from 
the government. He was not long permitted 
to enjoy his new home, however, for his 
death occurred soon after. He was survived 
l)y his widow and two children : 'iNIiltou Nye, 
now deceased, and ilorgan Nye. The latter 
spent his early days upon the home farm 
and when a young man began teaching in 
Roseville, Erin township, while later he be- 
gan government surveying, working in the 
upper peninsula and in Minnesota and Da- 
kota. He located a great amount of land for 
the Soo Canal Company but after a num- 
ber of years he gave up surveying and re- 
turned to the farm, where he remained until 
18fi2. when he took up his abode in Lenox 
township and purchased the old Rich farm. 
Three years later he sold that property and 
became a resident of New Haven, where he 
engaged in general merchandising with Tol- 
cot Bates, this connection being prosperous- 
ly continued until 1885, when ]\Ir. Nye re- 
tired from business life. He always took an 
active interest in the public welfare and his 
aid and co-operation could be counted upon 
to further any movement for the general 
good. He was elected vice president of the 
village and afterward president, and he also 
served as director of the school board. He 
died in ^larch. 190:?. leaving a widow and 
one son. 

Burton Nye. the only son of Jlorgan and 
Harriet (Bates) Nye, acquired a district- 
school education, and in 1880 went witli his 
father and uncle on a government surveying 
trip into Dakota, where he spent about two 
3-ears. Tie then returned to New Haven, 
whei'e he soon afterward opened up a gen- 
eral hardware store and to-day he is carry- 
ing a large and well selected line of goods. 
He has built up an extensive trade and is 
rcgai-ded as one of the reliable, enterprising 
and i)rogressive business men of the town. 

In February, 1887, he married Adeline E. 
Robinson, a daughter of David Robinson, of 
.\lleyany county. New York. They are 
prominent socially, and in local politicaJ 
circles ^fi'. Nye is regarded as a leader, 
giving his support to the republican party. 



PAST AND PRESENT (»F :\rACOMB COIXTV 



373 



I'lJOii his ticket \\v was I'lcctiMl presi- 
dent uf the villatre, also viUafre clerk, ami 
has been assessor and director of the 
New Haven school board. Tln' interests 
wliicii liave laid claim ii])on his time and 
attention have been varied, for anythintr 
which tends to the betterment of conditions 
for mankind, for the stinmlus of material 
pi-ofjrress or the impi-ovement of his villat;e 
and county receives his endorsement and 
assistance. 



•TOTTX K. DEXT(1X. 



John K. Denton, who is conductinij a mar- 
ble and uranite business in IJiehmoud. was 
boi-n June 23, 1858. in Richmond townshii), 
Macond) county, his parents being' Darius 
and Alecia (Lvnch) Denton, both natives of 
Pratt's Hollow. New York. The Deutons 
were of old Puritan stock and Darius Den- 
ton came to ^liehigan in 1837, settling in 
Richmond townshij), when only four families 
lived within its boi-ders. He purchased a 
government allotment on section 12 and at 
once began to clear and cultivate the farm, 
which remained in possession of the familj' 
until two .vears ago. He carried on general 
agricultural pursuits throughout his active 
business career and was also the first to en- 
gage in hop-raising in this eouut.y. having 
been a successful hop-raiser in the east. He 
died at the age of sevent.v-four j-ears, while 
his wife passed away at the age of seventy- 
three .veai's. The.v were the parents of eight 
sons : Albert, who enlisted in the Fifth 
^lichigan Cavalry, died in Andersonville 
prison. Ira C. of the First ^Michigan In- 
fantry, was shot at Fair Oaks. Robert, also 
a loyal defender of the Union cause, was 
made a prisoner at the same time Albert 
was captured and he, too, died in Anderson- 
ville prison. Terrence L. was drafted for 
the army, at which time he was working in 
the woods and was unaware of what had oc- 
curred until it was too late to rejiort to his 
comi)any to avoid being arrested as a de- 
serter, so he changed his nanu> to Charles 
T. and enlisted in another regiment, serving 
until his horse was shot from under him 
and he was in.jured. subse(|upnt to which 
time he returned home and his death oc- 
curred in ^Michigan in IflOl, four children 
being left to mourn his loss. James S. is 
now living in Denver, Colorado. Oliver 
served throughout the war with the Seventh 
^richicran Infantry and died at P>ig Rapiils. 



.Mic-liigaii, in ISST. iviward .M.. who served 
for three terms as count.v clerk in Sanilac 
cDunt.v, ^Michigan, is now engaged in the real 
estate business in Los Angeles, California. 

John K. Denton, the eighth mtMuber of the 
family, sjxMit his boyhood days in Richmond 
township and remained on the homestead 
farm until 18!l(). becoming the owner of one 
lunulred and twenty acres of land there. He 
tiien reuKU'cd to ,Mem])his. where he en- 
gaged in nn'rchandising and in the liverv 
business for two years. On selling out there 
he removed to Ricliiiii>nd, where he has since 
been engaged in the manufacture of marble 
and granite nuniumciits, and in this line he 
has pros])ered, having secured a large pa- 
ti-onage because of the excellence of his 
work, his reasonable prices and his straight- 
forward business dealing. 

;\Ir. Denton was married on the 22d of 
Januarv. 1889, to ^fiss Abbie Sprowl, of 
Lexington, Michigan, a daughter of John 
Sjn'owl, and their children are: J. Kearn. 
Terrence L., Irene. Georgia and Edwin. 

.Mr. Denton has never sought or desired 
political preferment but has given his undi- 
vided attention to his business affairs, in 
which he has met with signal success. He 
belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees 
and the Woodmen of the World. He has al- 
ways lived in IMaccnnb count.\'. where he has 
so directed his efforts that he has gained the 
l)rospprit.v which is the sure reward of earn- 
est, persistent labor. 



HER.MAX 11. ORPITS. 

IL^rman II. Oibits. who is now so accept- 
ably filling the ]iosition of chief engineer and 
superintendent of the Mount Clemens water- 
works, was born in Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, November 14. 1849. his parents being 
Lewis and Elizabeth Orbits, natives of Spain 
and Geraiauy, res]iectively. Py trade the 
father was a shoemaker. It was about 18311 
that he left Spain and came 1o tlu' Tiiited 
Slates, landing in Xew \'oi'k city. Subse- 
(pientl.v he went to (lainesville. Fiiiritla. but 
was living in Charleston. South Carolina, at 
the birth of our sub.iect. In 1863. during the 
dark da.vs of the Civil war. he aided the Union 
forces in blockading the ^Mexican coast, and 
wlii]<' in the service Ids family removed to 
Cl(>veland. Ohio, where he .joined them at the 
close of the war. lie died in that city at the 
age of sixty-Keven years and the death of his 
wife occurred at the sanii> p]n<-o whcm she 



374 



PAST AND PKESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



was sixty-five years of age. In their family 
were three ehildreu : Addie, the deceased wife 
of Joseph Deitsch, of Cleveland; George, who 
has been foreman of the Lake Shore car shops 
ill that city for thirty-five years; and Her- 
man H., of this review. 

Herman II. Orbits received only a limited 
education during- his boyhood and at the age 
of thirteen years commenced work in a roll- 
ing miU in Cleveland, where he was employed 
for a few mouths. Later he was employed 
as clerk in a miUinery store and devoted two 
years to the tinsmith's trade. During the fol- 
lowing seven years he learned the business 
of .steamfitting and plumbing with the well- 
known firm of C. Riehl, oi Cleveland, and at 
the end of his apprenticeship went to Detroit, 
where he was employed at his trade for a year. 
For eleven years he was engaged in business 
on his own account, having a steamfitting and 
lilumbing .shop at No. 280 ]\Iichigan avenue, 
Detroit, and in 1887 came to ]\[ount Clemens, 
being chief engineer for E. R. Egnew at the 
Avery House for three years. For one season 
he was also in the employ of R. C. Ullrich as 
a plumber, and at the end of that time ac- 
cepted his present position as chief engineer 
and superintendent of the Mount Clemens 
waterworks. This city has one of the finest 
systems of artesian wells of any city of its 
size in the state of Michigan, having twenty- 
two wells in operation, and its new sy.stem is 
due to the suggestions and energy of Mr. Or- 
bits, who has proved a most competent man 
for the place which he is now so creditalily 
filling. This plant has cost the city about 
ninety thousand dollars and as the pumping 
station is surrounded by a beautiful and well- 
kept lawn it is an ornament to the city. 

On the 11th of February, 1875, :\rr." Orbits 
married ]Mi.ss Julia Kohn, a daughter of Lud- 
M'ig Kohn, of Cleveland, Ohio, and to them 
have been born eight children, five of whom 
are living: Lewis, now a plumber, of Chicago: 
Joseph, who is assistant city engineer at 
Jlouiit Clemens: and Belle, Rachel and .\ngus, 
all i-csidents of this city. 

Although quite young, .Mr. Orl)its entered 
the service of his country during the Civil 
war. becoming a member of the One Hundred 
and Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is 
a member of the Knights of the ^Iaecabe(>s, 
the .Modern AVoodiiien of America, and the 
Bankers' Association of Iowa, and is the hon- 
oretl i)re«ident of the National Association of 
Stationary Engineers. He is also a jiromi- 
nent meinbei- and treasure)- of the Twentieth 
Centurv Chih ol' Mmiiil Cleinens ami he 



stands deservedly high in the esteem of his 
fellow-citizens. In politics he is a democrat 
but at local elections supports the men whom 
he believes best Ciualified for office, regardless 
of party ties. 



HENRY J. :\IeK^?LY. 



Henry J. ]\IcKay, a legal practitioner, rep- 
resents one of the old families of ilacomb 
county, being a son of Robert and Caroline 
(Day) McKay, whose sketch appears in an- 
other portion of this work. The birth of 
their son, Ileni'y J. ilcKay, occuri'ed on the 
homestead farm in Bruce township, ]\Iaconib 
county, February 21, 1866, and thei'c he was 
reared, early becoming familiar with the 
duties and labors that fall to the lot of the 
agriculturist. He pursued his preliminary 
education in the public schools and after- 
ward became a student in the law depart- 
ment of the State University at Ann Arbor, 
jireparatory to entering upn the active work 
of his chosen profession. He comi)leted his 
course tliei'e by graduation witli tlie class 
of 1895 and in 1898 he opened a law office 
in Romeo, where he has since prospered in 
the practice of his profession, en.ioying an 
excellent clientage. He has practiced in the 
various courts of ^Michigan and has built 
up a good business. He is a man of high 
character and occupies a prominent position 
in his profession. ]Mr. McKay is now vice 
president and attorney of the Citizens' Na- 
tional Bank of Romeo, an institution which 
his father assisted in organizing. He is the 
owner of a fine farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres two miles north and east of 
Romeo in Bruce townshi]i, with first class 
improvements thereon, has a fine residence 
property in Romeo, while his wife owns an 
interest in her father's old home property 
of two hundred and thirty-two acres acl- 
joining Ronieo, and sixty acres of tinib(M-laud 
west of the town. 

It was on the 14th of December. 1898, that 
.Mr. JIcKay was united in marriage in this 
county to Miss Hattie H. Sikes, a daughter 
of Andrew J. and Sarah (Crisman) Sikes, 
dl' Kiimeo. She was born ^larch 7, 1872, and 
was i-eared and educated in this county. By 
their mari-iagc there was one son, Ral])h S., 
boi'ii .\ugiist 2(i, 1901, died December 6. 1901. 
Ml'. McKay is an exemplary Mason, belong- 
ing to the lodge. eha]iter and eonunandery 
at Komeo, and in his life exemplifies the 
beneticent spirit of 1lie cral't. He \'otcs with 




e%i4/^-f£mijda/^,'^0{goii 




^J^-ft^S^' 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IMACOMB COUNTY 



377 



tlie republican iiarty and takes an active 
and lielpfiil intei'est in local politics. He has 
served as eireiiit court commissioner for six 
years and is now president of the village 
board, serving his secoud term, to which po- 
sition he M'as called by popular ballot. A 
youns' man of strong' intellectuality and 
laudable ambition, he has already attained 
enviable success and his qualities are such 
as insure a bright future. 



ALBERT HOVEY. 



Albert Hovey, who for a half century 
was one of the active and successful far- 
mers of ]\Iacomb county, is uow living a 
retired life in Romeo. His old homestead 
place of one hundred and eighty-five acres 
is situated in the town of Bruce and is a 
Avell improved and valuable property, con- 
veniently located about two miles from 
Romeo. :\Ir. Hovey is one of the few re- 
maining early settlers of the county, dating 
his residence here from 1826. He was but 
three and one-half years of age at the time 
of his arrival, his birth having occurred in 
Wyoming count.y. New York, October 10, 
1822. His father, Sewell Hovey, was born 
in New Hampshire and was a son of Josiah 
Hovey, a native of England, who became 
one of the early settlers of the old Granite 
state, taking up his abode there when a 
young man of nineteen years. Sewell Hovey 
was reared in that state and in earl.y man- 
hood removed to New York, settling in Wy- 
onung county. There he met and married 
]\Iiss Lncinda Holmes, who was a native of 
Vermont and was of Scotch ancestry. IMr. 
Hovey carried on farming in Wyoming coun- 
ty for a number of years and three of their 
children were born unto them there. Re- 
solving to try his fortune in the west, how- 
ever, he came to ^Michigan in 1826, settling 
in the township of Bruce. ^lacomb county, 
where he entered land from the government, 
securing part of the tract that is now in 
po.ssession of Albert Hove.y. Not a furrow 
had been turned nor an improvement made 
upon the place. In fact the farm was all 
covered with timber and it was necessary to 
clear away the trees and brush before any 
plowing could be done. 'Slv. Hovey at once 
began the work of improvement and culti- 
vation, and as the years passed develo])ed 
an excellent farm whose productive fields 
returned him golden harvests. Upon the 
place he spent his remaining days, there 



passing away in 187:i, when he had reached 
the age of eighty-eight years. His wife sur- 
vived him and died in 1876. He had served 
his country as a soldier in the war of 1812 
and was afterward granted a pension in 
recognition of his meritorious aid when the 
country was engaged in hostilities with Eng- 
land for the second time. 

Albert Hovey was the second in order of 
birth in a family of three children. His 
bi'other George was married and died when 
al)out sixty years of age. His sister, ]Mrs. 
Betsy W'estbrook, is now a widow living 
in Romeo. 

Albert Hovey was ri'arcd \ip(iii the old 
home farm and attended tile first school ever 
taught in Romeo. Thei-e were four houses 
in the town when the family home was es- 
tablished in ]Maeomb county and the Hovey 
farm was at the extreme end of the road 
in the midst of an unbroken wilderness. 
Albert Hovey remained with his father dur- 
ing his early manhood and later the father 
lived with him until his death. He pur- 
chased the old homestead and there he con- 
tinned agricultural i)ursnits, placing the 
fields under a high state of cultivation and 
adding many modern improvements. He 
bought more land from time to time as his 
financial resources increased, erected good 
Iniildings, planted an orchard and made a 
most valuable property. He was actively 
identified with farming interests until 1899, 
when he left the old home in care of his 
sou and removed to Romeo, where he has 
since lived retired. 

'Slv. Hovey was married in Lapeer county, 
ilichigan, in ^lay, 1856, to ]\[iss Eliza A. 
Carpenter, a native of Armada township, 
^Faeomb county, and a daughter of Samuel 
Carpenter, who was one of the early settlei-s 
of this locality, coming here from Vermont, 
his native state, in 1836. He afterward re- 
moved to Lapeer county. ^Ir. and Mrs. 
Hovey have become the parents of four 
children: Carson P., a farmer of Lapeer 
county, is married and has two children — 
Mildred E. and Harold. Elmer is operating 
the old homestead farm. Cora B. is the wife 
of George Grover, living on a farm in La- 
peer c(nin1y. ^Fyrtle I. is the wife of Cassiiis 
"SI. Inmnii. ;i farmer of ^Macomb county. They 
also lost three childi'en: Tjcna S., who died 
at the age of twenty months; Emma, at the 
age of foin- years; and Samuel, who died 
unmarried at the age of twenty-five years. 
Eiiiicr Hovey has three children — ^Forris. 
(iracc and .Mbert X. '^Fl•. and Mrs. Grover 



378 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



have six children — Lena S., Arthur E., Rob- 
ert, Flo3^d, Ruth and George. ]\Ir. and ^Irs. 
luman have one daughter — Berniee L. 

When age gave to him the right of fran- 
chise iMr. Hovey became a whig, supporting 
that party until its dissolution, when in 1856 
he voted for John C. Fremont and has since 
supported each republican nominee. He 
was a member of the school board for thirty 
years though he has never been an office 
seeker. He has deep interest, however, in 
the welfare and progress of his county and 
as a private citizen does all in his power for 
its improvement and upbuilding. He and 
his wife are meml)ers of the ^lethodist Epis- 
copal church and he is serving on the official 
board, while for thirty years he has been 
a trustee and his wife is an active member 
of the Ladies' Aid Society. Few residents 
of ilacomb county have longer remained 
within its borders than has Albert Hovey, 
who for seventy-nine years has witnessed 
the wonderful transformation that has oc- 
curred here. He has seen the country 
change from a wildei'ness and swamp to a 
highly productive region of farms and gar- 
dens with thriving towns and villages here 
and there, with churches and schoolhonses 
and in fact with all the advantages and 
privileges known to the older east. He has 
ever been a man of strong purpose and has 
lived a useful and exemplary life. He has 
now reached the age of eighty-three years, 
but he receives the veneration and respect 
which should ever be accorded those whose 
course on life's journey has been li(inoi';ibli' 
and straightforward. 



(iEOR(;E TIXCKNELL. 

Ceorge Tincknell resides on section 8, Wash- 
ington townsliip, where he is engaged in the 
raising of grain and stock. He dales his resi- 
dence in ^Michigan from 1870, in which year 
he arrived in ilacoml) county. He is a native 
of England, his i)irth luiving occurred in Som- 
ersetshire, April 1:5. 18()(). He and his brothei'. 
Simon Tincknell. emigrated to the new world 
in ISTO. inakini;- their way direct to IMacoiiib 
eciiinty, .Miciiigan, where Ihey joined their 
two older brothers, John and William Tinck- 
nell, who had ei-ossed the Atlantic some years 
l)(>fore. (icoi'ge TincUneli i-esided with his 
bi-othcr for ai)out a ye;ii' and then starteil out 
in life for himself, although but a >'()Uiig man. 
He drove a team in Homeo foi- a inimber of 
veai's ami llie iieeessit\' (iT earniui;' liis own 



living limited his educational privileges, but 
I'eading, oliservation and experience in later 
yeai's have greatly broadened his knowledge. 
Later he worked upon a farm, renting land 
subsequently in order that he might carry on 
agricultural pursuits on his own account. 

It was in 1880, in the town of Washington, 
that Mr. Tincknell, then twenty years of age, 
was united in mari-iage to iliss Maggie Casey, 
who was boi'n in Romeo, ^Michigan, a daughter 
of David Casey, one of tlie early settlers of 
that locality. After their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Tincknell located in Ray township, where 
he rented land which he farmed for three 
years. He then removed to Clinton, where he 
carried on general farming for three j'ears, 
after which he took up his aliode on another 
tract of land, operating the Elisha Smith farm 
for three years. In 1890 he came to the place 
where he now resides and after renting for 
several years he bonght the farm in 1904. Here 
he owns and operates two hundred acres of 
rich and araltle land on section 8, Washing- 
ton township, and in eoiniection with the rais- 
ing of the cereals liest adapted to soil and 
climate he also raises, feeds and sells stock, 
his business att'airs being so carefully directed 
that his income has annually increased. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Tincknell have four children : 
Julia, who is engaged in teaching in the home 
•school ; Cass, who assists in the operation of 
the home farm ; Charles, at home ; and How- 
ard, who is attending the Romeo high school. 
Politically Mr. Tincknell has been an earnest 
republican since casting his first presidential 
li;dlot for James A. (Jarfield. He is serving 
on the school board and does all in his power 
to advance the cause of education and to em- 
])loy competent teachers. Aside from this he 
lias never sought or held office, preferi'ing to 
give his undivided attention to his business 
affairs, which have been so carefully and hon- 
orably managed that his success has made him 
one of the substantial residents of his adopted 
(•(Hintv. 



FREDERICK W. C.XRTWRKillT. 

Frederick \V. Cartwi'ight, interested in l)oth 
merchandising and farming, and manifesting 
in his life the qualities of keen ])erception 
and strong purpose which idtimatel.v bring 
success, was boi'u in I'tica, ^Michigan, June fi, 
1S4:1 His parents, John Byron and Mary 
.hi lie (Tyson) ('artwrighl, were botli natives 
of England. The fafhei-, boi'n in Tjittle Steep- 
ing, Lincolnshire, November 22, 1810, was a 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :MAC0MB COUNTY 



379 



sdii of Willitiin Miul Susan (_';u-t\vri|4iit, fariu- 
iiii;- pcojilc of that locality. Tlie graiuiratlicr 
tlii'il before his sou was two yeai's ohl and the 
hitter weut to live with his iineli'. Fred Nor- 
ton, of Tnuuby, ]jiiieoliishiiH'. There lie after- 
ward learned the business of a nialster and 
brewer under his uncle, who followed those 
pursuits. He was married at HIvton, Eng- 
land. :\Iarch 22, 1842, by the Kev. Robert 
Cheseiiorou<;h, to ]\Iiss ifary Jane Tyson, a 
native of WainHeet. Lineolnshii'e. and in 1S4:? 
they sailed for America, landiiiii' at New York 
on the 2d of ]\Iay of that year. They i)ro- 
eeeded at once to Utica, Macomb county, 
where lived a brother of Mm. Cartwright, who 
was a farmer, llr. Cartwright reached Utica 
on the 26th of Ma.y with only seven cents in 
his pocket. He had no alternative but to be- 
come a laborer and at once hired to Ira II. 
Butterfield. of Sterling township, and after- 
ward to Payne K. Leech, of the same township. 
When two years had passed he purchased 
from ]Mr. Leech eighty acres of land on sec- 
tion 28, Sterling township, for two hundred 
dollai's. At the close of his first year on the 
farm he had saved up one hundred and nine 
dollars and six cents, with which he made 
payment on the property and he was to have 
four years in which to pay the balance, but 
about that time his wife became ill and he 
gi'ew very discouraged. He attempted to sell 
the farm to its former owner. Jlr. Leech, who 
refused, however, to take the property back. 
After making several attempts Mr. t'art- 
wi-ight finally disposed of the farm to (jeorge 
Palls, taking in exchange five dozen brooms, 
which six months afterward he took to De- 
troit and .sold for three dollars, of which sum 
he paid two dollars and ninety-seven cents 
for arrearages in taxes. Thus ended disas- 
trously his first attempt to become a land 
owner in America. He afterward woi-ked land 
on shares, thus operating the farm of William 
Lester, of Sterling townshiii. In the iriean- 
time his hope was I'enewed and at the end 
of two years he purchased sixty aci't^s of tim- 
bei' land in that township. He siient the suc- 
ceeding four years in cutting down trees and 
eleai'ing thii'fy acres of this farm, and then 
sold out to Washington Stanley, after which 
lie removed to Troy township in Oakland 
county, where he purclia-eil eighty acres of 
land from Albert Sprague and twenty acivs 
adjoining from NeNon Phy. and forty acres 
each fi'oin Tracy Habeock and Joshua Fay. 
making in all a farm of one hundred and 
eighty acres. In the conduct and iinprove- 
ment of this place he j)rosi)ered and linally he 



rented it on shares to his son Frederick W. 
in 18(52 he I'evisited Englaiul, leaving Detroit 
on the 1st of May and returning on the 14th 
of August of that year, more satisfied with his 
American home than he had ever been before. 
In 1864 he decided to retire from the farm, 
and, .selling it to his sou, removed to the vil- 
lage of Birmingham, where he purchased a 
small tract of land of twelve and three-quar- 
ter acres, on which stood a little building. In 
181)6 he erected his handsome residence, in 
which he and his wife lived for many years, 
enjoying in comfort the fruits of their for- 
mer toil. In this home he died in March, 1893, 
respected and honored by all who knew him. 
His widow afterward nuirried again, but stir- 
vived her second iiuiri-iage for only a brief 
period. They wei'c the i)arents of five chil- 
dren, of whom only two are now living: Fred- 
ei'ick W. and Melissa A. The latter, born 
October 3, 1846, is the wife of John Truesdell, 
of Detroit. The decca.sed cliildren are : Myron 
]\I., who was born May 4, 1849, and died No- 
vember 2, 1860: JIary Evangeline, who was 
born July 2, 1854, and died Novend)er 29, 
1860: and an infant son, who died February 
IS, 18r)8. 

Frederick W. ("arlwright was I'eared under 
the parental roof and while still upon his 
father's farm he entered upon his business 
career at the age of seventeen years by buying, 
selling and trading horses. At the age of 
twenty years he began operating the farm on 
shares and after thi-ee yeai's he rented it and 
continued its cultivation in that way thrcuigh 
the three succeediiig yeai-s. He then jiur- 
chased the property atid made it his home 
until 1882, when he removed to the village of 
Warren, where in jtarlnershi]) with William 
Murthum he opened a meat market, which 
they conducted for three years, when ^Mr. 
Cartwright purchased his ])artner's interest, 
contintiing the business in his own name. La- 
ter he established a general store in a frame 
building on the site of w'hich stands the brick 
building now occupi<'(l by Mr. Brooks. He 
trad(>d his stock of mei'chamlise later for two 
huiidivd acres of land neai' Ypsilanti and 
still owns that far'ni. He then bought the 
John Aims gi'oeer.\- store and removed to the 
building in which be was conducting his meat 
mark'et. but afterward sold this store to Oliver 
Barton and again opene<l a meat market and 
grocei'v store in the building which he first 
occupied in the village of Warren. Here he 
has since I'emained and his earnest desire to 
please his patrons and his honorable business 
methods have brought him a good pati'onage. 



380 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



Although he has beeu actively engaged in 
merchandising, lie has never abandoned his 
farming operations and continued the man- 
agement of his home place of one hundred and 
eighty acres until about six years ago, when 
he rented the property. He continues farm- 
ing, however, on forty acres of land in War- 
ren township, just outside the village, and he 
owns eleven and a half acres within the cor- 
poration limits and has built thereon a beau- 
tiful residence which he now occupies. 

On the 19th of February, 1864, Mr. Cart- 
wright was married to jMiss Emma Proctor, a 
daughter of John and Ann Proctor, of Royal 
Oak, ^Michigan. Her parents were natives of 
England and came to this state in 1851, set- 
tling in Dearborn, Wayne county, where her 
father carried on farming until 1856, when he 
removed to Royal Oak and operated a rented 
farm until 1868. He then again removed to 
Wayne county, where liotli he and his wife 
spent their remaining da.ys. His death oc- 
curred in June, 1898, while his wife passed 
away in March, 1905. He left nine children, 
of whom Mrs. Cartwi-ight is the eldest, the 
others being: Mrs. 'Slavy Ann Strong and 
Francis John, both of Detroit; ilrs. Abbie 
Jane Phelps, of Plymouth, ^Michigan; Mrs. 
Elizabeth Wi'ight, of Leech, ^fichigan ; Mrs. 
p]valinc Hatliborn, of Livonia, ^Michigan; Mrs. 
Edna Murray, of Saline, Michigan; George, 
of Tonquish, Wayne county ; and Mrs. Flor- 
ence ilcDermie, of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cartwright had two children, but both are 
now deceased : JNIinnie Ann, who became the 
wife of William ^lurthum, of Warren, and 
died in 1884; and John Frederick. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cartwright are widely and favorably 
known and their own home is justly celebrated 
for its warm-hearted and gracious hospitality. 
He is a rejiresentative of our best type of 
American manhood and chivalry. By pei-se- 
verance, determination and honorable effort 
he has ovci-thrown the obstacles that have 
barred his |)ath to success and reached the goal 
of prospci'ity, while his genuine worth, broad 
mind and public spirit have made him a di- 
rector of ])ublic thought and action in his 
locality. 



I\Iount Clemens Press, was born near Ur- 
bana, Ohio, October 10, 1867. his parents 
being Jacob S. and Mary Ellen Price. Hav- 
ing completed a course of instruction in the 
jjublic schools of his native county he en- 
tered the Ohio University at Athens and in 
adilition to the classical course devoted two 
years to a special course in electrical en- 
gineering. He was graduated in 1891 with 
the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and for a 
number of years in his eai'lier manhood Mr. 
Price was engaged in teaching school. He 
tilled the position of principal of the Mount 
Clemens high school from September, 1892, 
until ]\Iarch, 1895, when he was made super- 
intendent of the citj' schools, so acting until 
November, 1900, when he resigned in order 
to become publisher of the Mount Clemens 
Press. In the spring of 1901 he purchased 
the i\Iount Clemens Daily Leader and is 
now engaged in newspaper work. 

.Mr. Price was married, August 10, 1893, 
at Sabot Hill, Goochland county, Virginia, 
to Miss Frances Johnson Norton, a daiighter 
of Augustus and Sarah (Putnam) Norton, 
the latter a direct descendant of General Israel 
Putnam, of Revolutionary war fame. One 
son was born to them at Sabot Hill, July 8, 
1896, to whom they gave the name of Nor- 
ton Price. I\Ir. Price is a member of the Phi 
Delta Theta, a college fraternity, and also 
of the ^Methodist Episcopal church, while in 
the Masonic fraternity he has attained the 
Knight Templar degree and is also connected 
with the ^Mystic Shrine. The concensus of 
])ublic opinion regarding his school work was 
most favorable and under his guidance the 
Mount Clemens Daily Leader and the Mount 
Clemens Press have become journals credit- 
able alike to their publisher and to the pub- 
lic. 



FRANK PARKER. 



SAMUEL CHENEY PRICE. 

Sanuiel Cheney Price, who since the fall 
of 1900 has been a representative of journal- 
ism in Mount Clemens as owiier and editor 
of the I\Iount Clemens Daily Leader, and the 



Frank I'arkcr, identilicd with agricultural 
pursuils ill Ronico, whei-e he is known as a 
praclical iiici-liaiiic and good business man. 
having for the i)ast fourteen years been en- 
gaged in conti'acting and Iniilding here, was 
boi'n in Ray townshij). Felnuary 10, 1857. 
His ])aternal grandfather. Squire Harvey 
I'arker, was one of the first settlers of i\Iichi- 
gan, locating here in ]830 when its popula- 
tion was vci'y s])arse and when land could be 
seoired almost for the asldng. His son, Zarah 
Parkci-, was born Februarv 12, 1832, in this 




FRANK PARKER. 




MRS. FRANK PARKER 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COrXTY 



3«5 



state and was reared to manhood near Detroit. 
After reaching mature years he married Han- 
nah Schnltz. a native of Germany, and a 
daughter of John A. and ]Maria A. Schiiltz. 
About 184(i he established his home in Ma- 
comb county, settling in Kay township, where 
he purchased land and opened up a farm. 
In August, 1862, he joined the boys in blue, 
becoming a member of the Twenty-second 
Michigan Volunteer Infantiy. with which he 
went south and there he gave up his life 
upon the ahar of his country, iteiug killed in 
the battle of Chickamauga in 18(33. He had 
been promoted on the field there and was 
known as a brave and loyal soldier, never fal- 
tering in the performance of any duty. Mrs. 
Parker survived her hi;sband and devoted her- 
self to rearing their children. Two sons and 
a daughter are yet living, the brother being 
Harvey, who now resides in Columbia Falls. 
^lontana, while the sister. Ida. is the wife of 
Simeon Cole, a representative farmer of Ray 
township, living on the Cole homestead. 

Frank Parker, the other member of the 
family, pursued his education in the schools 
of Romeo and was reared in the usual manner 
of farmer lads. He afterward bought out the 
interests of the other heirs and succeeded to 
the ownership of the old home property which 
he farmed for a number of years, placing his 
fields under a high state of cultivation and 
annually harvesting rich crops therefrom. 
The farm liecame valuable owing to the im- 
provements which he placed upon it. He built 
a good Ijarn, divided the place by well kept 
fences and continued the work of progressive, 
practical farming until 1891, when he re- 
moved to Romeo and here built a residence. 
He then became connected with a stave mill, 
purchasing the plant known as the Armada 
stave mill, w'hich he conducted for three years. 
He has since engaged in contracting and 
l)uilding. erecting a number of good residences 
and he has also done repair work and taken 
contracts for putting in electric light wires. 
He has also built cement walks i;nder contract 
and is well known here as a general con- 
tractoi'. doing a good business. He owns seven 
sul)stantial residences in town and his prop- 
erty is the visible evidence of his life of en- 
terprise and thrift. He is now making ar- 
rangements to erect a store building of cement 
blocks, which will be the first structure of the 
kind in this part of the state. ;\Ir. Parker 
owns the machine with which he is maiuifac- 
turing the l)l()cks. Tlie liuikiing is to be two 
stories in height, fifty feet front and seventy- 
five feet deep. The lower floor will be divided 



iiitd two stiiiT rooms and the upper into lodge 
iMKims i'or the ^Masonic order. 

On the 8th of May, 1881, in Romeo, Frank 
i'arker was married to Jane (iriffiu, who was 
born in IMarcngo, Illinois. ;\lay Ki, 1857, and 
came to ;\Iacomb county when a maiden of 
seven years, her father being Lyman Griffin, 
\\ho was a native of New York and when a 
young man went to Illinois, being married in 
Marengo to IMiss Ruth Nickerson. a native of 
that city. The other children in the Griffin 
family were James, who was killed while serv- 
ing his counti-y in the Civil war; Charles, 
horn ilay 2(), 18.j1, and John, born November 
16, 1854. The father removed with his family 
to ]iliehigan, .settling in the township of Wash- 
ington, IMacomb comity. The home of Mr. 
and ;\lrs. Parker has been blessed with four 
children: Arthur J., born August 8, 1882; 
Eva S., born December 5, 1884; Clarence F., 
born February 11. 1887: and Frank, born 
November 10. 1888. 

;\Irs. Parker is a nicmhcr of the Congrega- 
tional church and although ilr. Parker is not 
identified with any religious organization he 
contributes to the support of the church and 
is liberal in upholding every measure that he 
believes will lie of lienefit to his locality. He 
belongs to Romeo lodge. A. F. & A. M.. and 
with his wife and daughter is connected with 
the Order of the Eastern Star. In local politi- 
cal interests he is independent, but where na- 
tional issues are involved gives an unfaltering 
suppoi't to the i'c])nl)lican party. He is a man 
of firm pni-pose. who forms his plans re;idily 
and is determined in their execution. He 
l)ossesses great enei-gy and foi-ce of character 
that enables him to accomplish whatever he 
undertakes and as a general contractor he has 
become well known in the business circles of 
Romeo. His name is honored on commercial 
paper and in all trade ti'ansactions his word 
lias ever been found as good as any liond 
solemnized by signature or seal. 



ALEXANDER GUNN, M. D. 

Alexander Gunn, a capable practitioner 
of medicine and surgery in New Haven, 
whose labors, aside from his profession, have 
also been of material benefit to the town — 
for lie has worked persi.stently and efficiently 
lo lieilci- siiiiihiiy eoiidilions here — was born 
in Nova Scotia. January 13. 1833. His 
father. Alexander (iunu, was a native of Ar- 
gyleshire, Scotland, and when a youth of 
fifteen years crossed the Atlantic to the new 



386 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



wDi'lil, living for some tiiiK' in Nova Scotia, 
where lie foriiied the ae(inaintance of and mar- 
ried Jliss Mehitable Baine, who was born 
in Digby county, Nova Scotia. They re- 
moved to iliddlesex county, Ontario, where 
the death of the husband occurred about 
1850. His widow survived him until 1868. 
In his family were thirteen children, of 
whom eleven grew to maturity. Dr. (iunn 
is indebted to the imblie schools of 
Elgin county, Ontario, for the educational 
advantages he enjoyed along literary lines. 
Early in life he began to study medicine, 
spending two years under the preceptorship 
of Dr. M. B. ":McCausland. of Ingersol, On- 
tario. He then entered the medical depart- 
ment of the University ot :\Iiehigan, from 
which he was graduated in 18(i-i. and he 
spent the succeeding year in Ontario. He 
then returned to the United States and be- 
gan the practice of his chosen profession in 
Eichmond, ilacomb county, where he became 
acquainted with Dr. D. G. Gleason, who per- 
suaded him to take up his practice in Ches- 
tei-field township. He removed from Rich- 
mond to Dr. Gleason 's residence near the 
Congregational church on the Gratiot road, 
and there he continued in practice until 1871, 
when he became a resident of New Haven, 
^lichigan. where he has since remained, be- 
ing one of the oldest practitioners in the east- 
ern part of ;\Iacoml) county at this wi-iting. 
He was a member of the Northeastern ]\Iedi- 
cal Association, serving for one term as 
vice president and one term as president. 
He is now a member of the ]\Iaeomb County 
^ledical Association and the ]\Iichigan State 
Medical Society and thi-ougli the interchange 
of thought, experience and ideas in these 
organizations, as well as by private reading 
and study, he keeps in touch with the ad- 
vanced methods in the science of medicine, 
utilizing every new method which he be- 
lieves will prove of ])ractical benetit, yet 
slow to discard the old and time-tried prac- 
tices, the utility of which has been jiroven. 

Dr. Gunn's former ])receptor. Dr. Mc- 
Causland, was a ])i'ominent surgeon in the 
United States Army dui-ing the Civil war 
and from exposui'e and hardships endured 
on the field of liattle he i-etui'iied home at 
the clo.se of hostilities with greatly impaired 
health. He died soon afterward, leaving two 
small eliildi-en. Dr. (Junn. who had not for- 
gotten his old precei)tor in liis kindness, 
took one of the sons ami reared him as 
though lie had been his own child, and when 
the boy grew up and derided to study medi- 



cine Dr. (iunn acted as his preceptor an<l 
afterward met the expense of his college 
course in the University of ^Michigan from 
which he was graduated in 1901. He served 
during the first year after his graduation 
as interne in the University hospital and 
Dr. Gunn is now somewhat repaid for his 
former kindness and generosity by the sat- 
isfaction of seeing the boy, to whom in his 
childhootl he had extended the hand of 
friendshij) and protection, now making for 
himself a place as a leading physician in 
the western part of the state, for Dr. if. B. 
ilcCausland. is now well known as a capable 
practitioner of Covei-t and Van Buren 
county. 

Dr. Gunn has also taken a deei) interest 
in bettering the sanitary conditions of his 
locality and for a number of years was 
health inspector of New Haven and Lenox 
township and while president of the village 
was very active in obtaining better sani- 
tary conditions by having the village 
drained. He has always been deeply inter- 
ested in educational work and progress, and 
for a number of years did effective and 
beneficial service as a member of the school 
board. He belongs to the Congregational 
church. 

In October, 1858, Dr. Gunn was married 
to Miss Laura ]\IcCausland. of Alymer, On- 
tario, a sister of his former preceptor. By 
this marriage there were three children, but 
only one is now living — Edwin J. of Hanna, 
Wyoming, Avhere he is engaged in sheep 
raising. ]Mrs. Gunn tiled Fehruaiw 18, 1890, 
and Di-. Gunn was married November 17, 
1891. to Ellen J. Clark, of Ansonia, Con- 
necticut. For many years he has been 
known for his sterling qualities, his capa- 
bility ill his ]>rofession and his champion- 
ship of progressive measures. His career 
in the medical fraternity has been one of 
honor and he has given some of the best 
efforts of his life for the public good. 



CASSH'S W. THORINGTON. 

The 'riioringtoii t;inn. which is the home 
of the subject of this review, has been in 
jiossession of the family through three suc- 
cessive generations, having been entered 
from the government by the grandfather of C. 
W. Thorington. Klijnli Tliorington was one 
of the first settlers of Macomb county, com- 
ing to this state when it was largely an un- 
d(>veloped wildiM'uess. He secured the land 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COIXTV 



387 



as a claim and l)t'i;aii tlic (Irveltiinnciit nf a 
farm, which in turn came into jjosscssion of 
his son. Georgo \V. Thorington. wlio was 
boni and reared upon tliat place. Later he 
was married and upou the okl liomestead, 
on the 13th of August, 1S78. his sou, Cassius 
W. Thorington. was horn. Tliere were also 
two dau.uhters: Lydia. now the wife of 
Charles Sykes. a ])i-ominent dairynum of tlic 
township of Komeo ; and I^iela. at home. 

C. AV. Thorington was reared ujion the old 
homestead in the usual manner of farmer 
lads and when he had mastered the branches 
of learning taught in the public schools he 
attended the Komeo high school. He as- 
sisted in the imjirovement. opei'ation and 
management of the old home farm until l!l():i, 
when his father retired from active business 
life and removed to Romeo and the son took 
charge of the farm which he now manages. 
He is recognized as one of the enterprising 
and energetic young farmers of the locality 
and his labors are attended with gratifying 
re.sults. The place is well stocked and in 
connection with general farming and stock- 
raising ^Ir, Thorington has for the |)ast six 
years acted as agent for the Page woven 
wire fence. 

On the 18th of :\Iarch. 1903. :\Ir. Thoring- 
ton was united in marriage to iliss Ijillian 
Hulett. who was born February 19, 1881. in 
Armada townshij). ilacomb county, and 
spent her girlhood days there and in Romeo 
townshi]i. There is one daughter by this 
union. Mildi-ed. born June 30. 190-1. 

Politically .Mr. Thorington is a .stalwart 
advocate of democratic ]iriuci]iles. but with- 
out aspiration for office, his time and ener- 
gies being concentrated uj)on the upliuild- 
ing of a profitalile business. He is, however. 
never remiss in the duties of citizenship and 
endorses every movement for the gi'uera! 
good. He belongs to Romeo (4range and is 
deeply interested in all that pertains to agri- 
cultural progress. He stands for advance- 
ment in all walks of life and is a typical 
representative of the great and urowing west. 



HHV. .ioiix F. kra:\ier. 

Rev. Jiiliii F. Kramer, in charge ol' the 
Catholic church at Center Line, was l)oni 
in Deti'oit, February 2(i. 18(il. His paternal 
grandfathiM', Ferdinand Kraniei', saw many 
yeai's of active service under Napoleon 
Bonaparte :ind was with him at liis downfall. 
Edward Krai;e'r, llie t'alhei-. was born at 



Westphalia, on tiie ixhine. in (Jermany, and 
his wife, who bore the maidin name of Eliza- 
beth Von Kampmann was a native of the 
same j)lace. They became residents of 
.Michigan in 18(i(), settling in St. Joseph par- 
ish, Detroit, and tliei-e .Mrs. Kramer died 
.March 1, 18(5(1. .Mr. Kranu'r oi)tained em- 
ployment in the wholesale clothing house of 
Schloss Brothi'is, where he remained a 
trusted employi' for twenty-six years, living 
a (|uiet, peaceable life, which commended 
him to the trust and resjiect of all. He dieil 
August 11, 1896, leaving four children by 
his first wife : Joseph F., a resident of De- 
troit; Mrs. Peter Pinger, of Detroit: Cath- 
ei-ine, a si.ster of Christian chai'ity in the 
Holy Family Convent at Dansville. Peini- 
sylvania. and John F. 

Mov. Kramei' began his education in St. 
Josejih's school in 1866 and was graduated 
therefrom in 1871, after which he obtained 
a position in Schloss Brothers' office as ship- 
ping clerk. While thus employed he at- 
tended night school and also engaged the 
services of pi'ivate tutors. In 1877 he en- 
tered Detroit College, on Jetl'ersou aveuiu', 
from which institution he was graduated 
with honors in 1884 and then, to prepare for 
the priesthood, nuitrieulated in St. Mary's 
Fuiversity. at Baltinuire, ^Maryland, taking 
up the study of theology. He was ordaiuecl 
March 20. 1887, and entei-etl upon a life of 
consecrated devotion to his holy calling, in 
which his labors have not been denied the 
full harvest. His hr.st charge was at Dow- 
agiac, Michigan, where he had occasion to 
study the Indians and their habits, language, 
etc. He renuiined there until August 14, 
1890. when he was called to his present 
charge — St. Clemens ehureh. at Center Line, 
where his fifteen years of untiring service 
have been crowned with success. 

St. Clemens church was organized in 1853 
and was conducted as a missionaiy church 
under Rev. A. Vanden l)ries(dH'. Rev. Ed- 
nunid Dumont, Rev. Leo Bawlowski and Rev. 
Peter Andre until 18r)8, when Rev. Henry 
Meufels took chargi' in June, there continu- 
ing until 1868, after which Kev. William 
Hendrix was in charge until 1882. Dtn-ing 
that time the original church — a frame 
structure — was sold and removed and the 
jircsent brick ehureh was begun in 1880. 
Rev. Francis J. Brockman was in cliai-ge 
from 1882 until L884 and diu-ing his pas- 
torate a pai't of the school house was built. 
The Rev. John M. Schreiber was then pastor 
until succeeded b\- Rev. John F. Kramei", 



388 



PAST AND PRP:SENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



will) at once began the completion of the 
church, which was accomplished in 1892. 
In 189t) the parish residence was built and 
in 1898 the schoolhouse was completely re- 
built, with three large schoolrooms for the 
grades and a large assemblj' hall on the top 
floor with a seating capacity of seven hun- 
dred. The school is under the charge of 
the sisters of St. Dominic and has eight 
grades. The pupils, on completing the grade 
work, are qualified to take the teachers' 
examination. In 1902 a magnificent home 
was built for the sisters. The buildings 
throughout are modern, all being heated by 
steam, and in the near future an electric 
light plant will be installed. A large and 
beautiful cemetery, bearing the name of the 
church, is connected with the property, 
which is valued at more than seventy-five 
thdusand dollars. 

Father Kramer has by his untiring efforts 
in his parish, which covers a radius of five 
miles, increased the membership of the 
church to two hundred and sixty-seven fam- 
ilies, including many of the oldest and most 
l)roininent families of the locality and whose 
representatives are connected with St. Clem- 
ens Aid Society and St. IMary's Society. 
His efforts have been far-reaching and ef- 
fective, and under his guidance the influence 
and growth of the church has been extended. 
He is not only known but respected by all, 
irrespective of party or belief, and he is 
always I'cady to assi.st and advise all. 



FRANK W. WRTOTIT 



Frank W. Wri;iht. whose liome is on section 
26, Ray township, is one of the thrifty farm- 
ers and dairymen whose realization of busi- 
ness responsibility and oppoilunif ies has led 
to the direction of his energies into cIkuuu'Is 
whereby he has gained in course of time the 
iiierited and desii'ed i-eward of labor. He was 
born in IJay township in the house which he 
still occupies, his natal day being March 26, 
1855. He is a son of the Rev. William Wright, 
whose birtli oecuiTcd in Greene county. New 
York, in 181:3. Th(>re the father was reared 
and educated and became a minister in the 
Baptist cliurch. lie was united in marriage to 
.Miss Elvii'a Bristol, also a native of New York, 
and on I'emoving westward to iMichigan they 
settled at Port Huron. Rev. Wright became 
the pioihir minister of the Baptist church at 
tli;it piiinl. Abdul 184.') lie purchased land 
anil . 'atcd on the farm wliere his son Fi'aiik 



now resides. Here he bought about three 
hundred acres which was luiimproved, but 
with characteristic energy he began to clear 
and cultivate this tract, building houses and 
barns, and in due course of time developing 
a good farm. He was also one of the pioneer 
educators of the county, engaging in teaching 
school through the winter months, while the 
summer seasons were devoted to the cultiva- 
tion of his fields. He always took a deep, ac- 
tive and helpful interest in the work of the 
Baptist cliurch and assisted in the establish- 
ment of a number of churches in this part 
of the state. He died about 1876, at the 
age of sixty-three years, respected by all who 
knew him, and his memory is yet cherished 
by those who came under his beneficent in- 
fluence. PHs wife survived him for about 
twenty years, passing away in 1895. Frank 
Wright is the only living son of a family 
of five chiklren. There are two daughters 
who also survive: ilarian, the wife of R. 
U. Robinson, of Romeo; and Alma, the wife 
of Henry De Graff, a farmer of Ray town- 
ship. One son, Judson, enli.sted for ser- 
vice in the war of the Rebellion, joining the 
Eighth Jlichigan Cavalry, and died in the 
service, thus giving his life in defense of the 
connti-y. Gary died when al)iiiit three years 
of age. 

Frank W. Wi'ight was reared upon the old 
home farm and obtained his education in the 
schools of the neighborhood. He remained 
witli his father until his death and succeeded 
to a part of the old homestead through in- 
heritance. He then purchased the interest of 
the other heirs in the property and has con- 
tinued the work of repair and improvement 
until the place is well fenced and the fai-m is 
highly cultivated. In connection with the 
tilling of the soil he carries on the dairy busi- 
ness and keeps high gi'ade stock, making a 
specialty of Durham short horn cattle and 
Shropshire sheep. Mv. Wright also owns and 
operates a steam threshiim' machine, having 
continued in this line of business for about 
twenty years. He does woi'k as a thresher for 
miles around and even in adjoining counties, 
having many regular patrons wlio employ him 
annually. 

^Ir. Wright was maiTJed in Kay township. 
May 4. 187:i. to ^liss Julia Scouten. a mitive 
of Canada, who came to Michigan when a 
young girl of thirteen years. Her father. 
Richard Scouten, was a native of Canada, 
and there inari'ied .Miss Hannah .\lswiirth, a 
native (if tliat country. Tliev removed to 
.Mii'hiean. settling in St. Clair countv, where 




MR. AND MRS. F. \V. WRIGHT 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COl'XTY 



391 



tlie father followed fiiriiiiiiu' and reared his 
family. I'lito Mr. and IMrs. Wright have been 
horn three ehildren : .hidsou, who is a 
iiieeiianie and resides in .Maeomh township 
with his wife ami two ehildren, ( )ra and Don- 
alilson; Claud, a nierehant of Davis, Miehi- 
fran. who is married and has one son, Carroll; 
and IMyrtie, the wife of Hart Jones of Maeomh 
township, hy wlioiii she has a daughter, 
Lorena. 

I'olitieall.v ill'. Wrii;ht is a staneh reiiulili- 
ean i)ut lias never been an office seeker. He 
and his wife are members of the ilethodist 
Episcopal church and are interested in all 
that pertains to the intellectual and moral de- 
velopment of the community. .Mr. Wright is 
a most progressive farmer, keeping in touch 
with modern advancement along all lines of 
his work and he is the owner of the only auto- 
mobile in Kay township, having purchased a 
very fine machine in 1904. He is well and 
favorabl.v known in Mount Clemens aud ila- 
comb county and his warmest friends are 
those who have known him from his youth to 
the present time. 



JOHN C. STONE. 



John C. Stone, who until i-ecently was ac- 
tively engaged in general farming on section 
27, Washington townshij), but is now living 
retired in Washington, is a native sou of Ma- 
comb county, his birth having occurred in 
Washington townshij), Decemlier 1^ 1856. Ilis 
father, Emulous Stone, was born in Genesee 
county, New York, in 1820, a son of Aaron 
Stone, whose birthplace was also the Empire 
state. The latter removed with his famil.v 
to Michigan about 1880 and located in Wash- 
ington township, ]Macomb county, where he 
purchased land and cleared and developed a 
farm. Upon that place Emulous Stone spent 
much of his youth, and, having attained man- 
hood, he was married to Aurilla Bates, a na- 
tive of this county and a daughter of Conley 
'SI. Bates, one of the early settlers of Michi- 
gan, who came to this county from (lenesec 
eount.v. New York. Mi-. Stone purchased land 
and became the owiirr of two good farms. 
Tie spent his life in this locality as one of 
its enterprising, progressive agriculturists, 
and died here in 1884. llis wife survived him 
for about ten years, ])assing away in 189.'). In 
their family were three sons and a dangbler 
who reached mature years, but .\delbert died 
ill cai'h' iiiaiiliood and Eva dicil when twentv- 



one years of age. while Frank, who was mar- 
ried, died in 1904. 

John C. Stone was reared upon the old 
homestead, pursuing his I'diication in the 
W'i'.j-hington school, and to his father he gave 
the beiietit of his services until the hitter's 
death. When a .voung man he engaged in 
merchandising at Washington, where he car- 
ried on a general stori>, conducting the busi- 
ness for ten or twelve years, lie also served 
as [)ostmaster for ten years of that time, and 
was thus closely idciililied with the pulilic in- 
terests of the town. 

Mr. Stone was married in Washington 
township November 26, 1884, to Elma L. Da- 
vis, a daughter of Charles Davis, a native of 
New York, and a brother of Homer Davis, 
who is represented elsewhere in this work. Her 
mother, who bore the maiden name of Jane 
Caufield, was a native of Connecticut and 
married Charles Davis at Chesterfield, Michi- 
gan, November 16, 1856. They lived on the 
old home farm in Ra.v township for fifteen 
years, moving to Evart in 1871, where he 
was engaged in lumbering, and returning to 
Washington in the fall of 1872, where they 
resided until his death, which occurred ilay 
26, 1896. His wife survived him three years, 
dying February 11, 1899. There were six 
childi-en in their family: Clara, the wife of 
Thomas Loclovood, of Portland, Michigan; 
l\[rs. Stone; Dwight, a business man of Los 
Angeles, California; Fisk C. of Dryden, 
Michigan: Park, of Redlands, California; and 
Grace J., who is stud.ving music in New York 
city. 

After their marriage Mr. and INlrs. Stone 
resided in Washington for live years. He 
then sold his stoi-e and i-i'iiiii\i'(l to the old 
home farm, which he at once began to put in 
good condition for the successful operation 
which would lead to desired results. He has 
built a good basement barn, has put up fences 
and in fact has worked changes that have 
made this one of the best improved proper- 
tics ill I he township. Ilis fields in season are 
green with jiromise of coming harvests, and 
each fall sees his barns and sheds well stocked 
with the crops that reward the .vear's labor, 
lie raises good stock in atklition to cereals and 
he owns a valuable residence property in the 
village of Washington. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stone have three sons: Da.y- 
ton T).. a student in thi> Romeo high seliool : 
Halph C. and Harold J. The jiarenls are 
ineiiibei's of the Methodist Kpiseopal church at 
Wa^hinulon and Mr. Stone bi'iongs to the ifa- 
ismic fralernil v and lias lilled :i niniiber of 



392 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



offices in ilacomb lodge. He is also affiliated 
with the Knights of the :\Iaeeabees. Politi- 
cally he is an earnest republican and has 
served as a delegate to ninuerous conventions, 
taking a deep interest in the success of the 
party, although never an aspirant for office. 
He is successful in business, a man of integ- 
rity and reliability and neglectful of no duty 
of citizenship. 



CHARLES HOURTIEN-NE. 

Charles Hourtienne, who is engaged in gen- 
eral farming on section 8, Chesterfield town- 
ship, claims Germany as the land of his birth, 
being born in Badenburg. January 17, 1843, 
a son of ]\Iichael Hourtieuue, also a native of 
that country. Coming to the United States in 
1852. he spent one year in New York, and at 
the end of that time removed to ]\Iaeomb coun- 
ty. Michigan, first locating in Clinton town- 
ship, where he purchased a part of the Palms 
estate and turned his attention to farming. 
After residing there for thirty-three years he 
sold that farm and purchased the A. D. Rice 
place on section 8, Chesterfield to\vnship, 
which at that time was in a very bad condi- 
tion, but he has since made many improve- 
ments thereon and converted it into a very 
productive and valuable farm. In 1890 he 
biiilt a good barn and two years later erected 
his present comfortable residence. He has al- 
ways followed general farming and has met 
with well deserved success in his chosen occu- 
pation. 

^Ir. Hourtienne manifested his love for his 
adopted comitry during the Civil war by his 
enlistment in the Twenty-second ^Michigan 
Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Wisner. 
He participated in the engagement at Chicka- 
mauga and many skirmishes, but owing to ill 
health he was sent to St. Mary's hospital in 
Detroit, where he was discharged for disabil- 
ity in 1863. Two years later, however, he re- 
enlisted, this time becoming a member of the 
First JMichigan Cavalry, but as the war was 
drawing to a close he was not in any severe 
engagements, though he participated in sev- 
eral skirmishes while his regiment was doing 
guard duty in the Slieuandoah Valley, which 
they patrolled to keep the guerillas in subjec- 
tion. After the grand review at Washington. 
D. C, his command boarded a tiain on the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for Parkersburg, 
West Vii'ginia, and from there proceeded by 
boat down the Oliio and up the ^Mississippi 
and ^Missouri rivers to Fort Leavenworth, 



Kansas, whence they marched across the 
plains through Kansas, Colorado, Dakota and 
what is now Wyoming, to Fort Halleck. Later 
ilr. Houi-tienne was in a detachment that was 
ordered back to Fort Leavenworth, where he 
was finally mustered out in December, 1865, 
and returned to his ilichigan home to resume 
the more quiet pursuits of fai-m life. 

In P"'ebruary. 1871, ]\Ir. Hourtienne led to 
the marriage altar ]\Iiss Louise Kulm, a 
daughter of Frederick Kuhn and a native of 
Germany. She came to Macomb county with 
an uncle about 1868 and made her home with 
him in Shelby township until her marriage. 
She has only one lu'other living, John, a resi- 
dent of Detroit. Unto 3Ir. and ]\Irs. Hour- 
tienne have been born four children, namely: 
Carl Frederick, at home: John, who is now 
living in Detroit, ilichigan : Annie, the wife 
of T. Wieso, of Mai-ine City; and Benjamin, 
at home. The family is quite prominent in 
the community where the.v reside and ilr. 
Hourtienne is recognized as a valued and use- 
ful citizen — one devoted to the interests of 
his adopted country in times of peace as well 
as in times of war. 



E. J. :\fILLER. .M. D. 



Dr. E. J. ^liller. who is a member of the 
medical fraternit.v and is aetivel.v and success- 
fully engaged in practice in Romeo, where he 
has directed his professional labors for five 
years, is a native son of ^Macomb county, hav- 
ing been born in the township of Washington, 
July 29, 1873. He is a son of F. C. Miller, 
a prominent farmer of Washington to^\^lship, 
represented elsewhere in this work. Dr. Miller 
was reared on his father's farm and pursued 
his i)rcliminary education in the Washington 
schools. Thinking to devote his time and en- 
ergies to the practice of medicine and surgery 
he began reading under the direction of a pre- 
ceptor and in 1895 entered upon his first 
course of lectures in the Detroit ]\Iedical Col- 
lege. He afterward returned to that institu- 
tion and completed his studies there with four 
full courses of lectures. He spent two years 
in study in the office of Dr. H. O. Walker, one 
of the leading physicians of Do^troit. He was 
irraduated with the cla.ss of 1900 and subse- 
quently si)ent one year in St. Mary's hospital, 
whei-e lie received furtlier instruction and 
gained the valued knowledge that comes from 
l)i-actical experience. Estalilishing an office in 
I\omeo he has continued in practice here to 
the present time, meeting -with gratif3'ing and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB COrNTY 



393 



constantly growing success. He has built up 
a nice practice and to-day stands as one of 
the successful physicians of the county. He 
belongs to the [Macomb County Medical So- 
ciety and also to the Nortlieastern Medical So- 
ciety and keeps constantly in touch with the 
progress that is made by tlie profession, read- 
ing broadly and adapting his knowledge to 
the immediate needs of his practice with the 
skill and ability that have resulted in bring- 
ing him a high measure of success. 

i)r. ;\Iiller was married in Washington, 
:\Iichigan. July 17, 1903, to :Miss Gertrude 
Norton, a native of this state, having been 
born and reared in Washington. The Doctor 
and his wife are widely and favorably known 
in their home town and in Romeo as well. He 
is a member of the ^la.souic fraternity, hold- 
ing relationship with Davis lodge, A. F. & 
A. 'SI., and is also a Royal Arch Mason of 
Romeo chapter. What he has already ac- 
complished in his profession argues well for 
future successes, and socially as well as pro- 
fessionally he is prominent in his adopted 
citv. 



FRANK E. NELLIS. 



Frank E. Nellis, editor of the Mount 
Clemens Monitor, the repiiblican organ of 
Macomb county, was born in Watertown 
township, Ontario. Canada, March 27, 1857. 
He is descended from Mohawk valley 
Dutch ancestry. His grandfather in the 
paternal line left New York at the time of 
the Revolutionary war, being a steadfast 
adherent of the king, and was given a large 
grant of land by the British government 
near where the city of Brantford now 
stands. In the maternal line Mr. Nellis 
comes of Welsh ancestors. His parents were 
John E. and Eleanore R. Nellis. The father 
was for twenty-five years senior member of 
the firm of J. E. Nellis & Son, publishers of 
the Blount Clemens ^lonitor. lie was a vet- 
eran newspaper man and one who was great- 
ly loved and highly respected. He came to 
[Michigan in 1865 and for a time was en- 
gaged in general business but not long af- 
terward entered the field of journalism and 
was connected with newspaper life until 
called to his final rest. He was a man of 
large capacity, prominent in his church, so- 
cial and business relations, and he died full 
of years and honors, Janiiary 20, 1904. 

Frank E. Nellis attended the common 
schools until fourteen vears of age, when he 



entered a printing office, and throughout 
his entire life has been connected with the 
business. He was a studious and industrious 
youth and from the time he entered the field 
of business activity he has left his impress 
upon the department of labor which he 
chose as a life work. He thoroughlj' learned 
the mechanical side of the printing business 
before the trade had reached its present 
specialized condition. A printer in those 
days could do anything in the office, whereas 
now there are few printers in the sense in- 
dicated. A man may now be a compositor, 
a machine operator, a job setter, a pressman 
or a proof reader, but in the old days he was 
commonly supposed to be all of those things 
and more, too, for he could do reportorial or 
editorial work as well. Mr. Nellis was employed 
as printer and local editor in Wyandotte, 
below Detroit, and afterward in Detroit, 
whence he came to [Mount Clemens in 1879. 
Here with his father he purchased the jMount 
Clemens [Monitor, the repiiblican organ of 
the county, and has since been closely asso- 
ciated with its publication, being to-day pro- 
prietor and editor. He likewise has other 
business interests, being the vice president 
of the [Mount Clemens Electric Company and 
a director of the Ullrich Savings bank, while 
his property interests represent no incon- 
siderable investment. 

Mr. Nellis has held no public offices ex- 
cept that of deputy collector of customs, in 
which capacity he served at Mount Clemens 
for a short time. He has nevertheless been 
one of the most influential citizens in politi- 
cal circles of the county. He has always been a 
republican and for twenty-six years has been 
a recognized party leader. For twenty- 
two years he has been secretary of the re- 
publican county central committee, being 
each time elected by acclamation and with- 
out opposition. He is an organization poli- 
tician and is charged by the opposition with 
being largely instrumental in upsetting their 
old time majority in the county and in hold- 
ing the county steadfastly for the republican 
party, while the representatives of republi- 
can ranks rejoice in what he has accom- 
]ili.shed in this direction. He is a man of 
firm convictions, unswerving in a course 
which he believes to be right and he is firmly 
convinced that the republican platform con- 
tains the best elements of good government. 

[\lr. Nellis joined the [Masonic fraternity 
in ISSO and is now a meml)er of [Mount Clem- 
ens lodge. [Mount Clemens Chapter, lyiount 
Clemens Council, the Order of the Eastern 



394 



PAST ANT) PKESEXT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



Star, Romeo CoiiinuuuliTy, K. T., aiid Mos- 
lem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He has 
been master iu the lodge and filled offices 
in other ;\Iasonie bodies and is thoroughly 
in sympathy -with the teachings and tenets 
of ^lasoury. He also has membership rela- 
tions with the ]\Ioderu Woodmen, ilr. Xel- 
lis has spent nuieli of his life in ^lacomb 
county and the qualities of a strong and 
sterling manhood have endeared him to his 
business associates and social acquaintances, 
while his fitness for leadership has made him 
a strong factor in journalistic and political 
circles in the state. 



JOHN KUHX. 



John K\ihn. whose business activity has 
been an important element in the commercial 
prosi)erity ut ;\Iount Clemens, was born in 
Niederwald, Hessen, Germany, November 30, 
1842. His father was Franz Kuhn. The son 
attended the common schools between the 
years 1848 and 1857 and afterward entered 
upon an apprenticeship in a book and .sta- 
tionery store in Mai-burg, where he remained 
for three years in that capacity, after which 
he was employed as a .salesman for ten years. 
On leaving ^larburg he went to Frankfort-on- 
the-;\Iaiii, where he entered a merchant tail- 
oring establishment as a salesman, spending 
three years there. lie next became faiiiilinr 
with till' banking business, becoming collectoi' 
for thf lianking house of Seligmaini & Com- 
pany, with which firm he remained until ISfJo, 
when attracted by the business opportunities 
and ])ossibilities of the new world, he crossed 
the Atbmtie to America, arriving at Detroit, 
-Miehisian, in the month of November. lie 
tln'u secured a position in tlie employ of (i. 
Hoelt/. & Brothers, with whom he continued 
as salesiiiiiTi for nine years and in 1874 he 
came to Mount Clemens, where he entered into 
partnership with his brother-in-law, P. Ull- 
rich, under the firm name of P. Ulli-ich & 
Conqiany. .\t a later date the relation was 
discontinued and .Mr. Kuhn has since carried 
on business alone, being jiroprietor of one of 
the best di-y-goods stores of ilouut Clemens. 
His stock is large and carefully selected and 
be receives a liberal initronage. His business 
methods are in keeping with advane(>d ideas 
of eonuiiei'eialism and I'ach year the tiusiness 
has expandcil until it is now one of the most 
im])()r1ant nierc;inlile entei-prises of the 
coiuitv. 



In l87l) ^Ir. Kuhn was united in marriage 
to iliss Catherine Elizabeth lllrich and unto 
them have been born four children: Franz 
C, John, Laura and Matilda. 'Slv. Kuhn has 
occupied many local offices and is always in- 
terested iu conununity affairs, his co-operation 
being a tangible factor in the public progress 
and improvement here. He is now a mem- 
ber of the board of trustees of the Lutheran 
church of Mount Clemens and has attained a 
high degree in ^Masonry, belonging to the 
lodge anil chapter at Jlouut Clemens and Ro- 
meo conuiiandery. No. 6, K. T. He is thor- 
oughly informed concerning the teachings of 
the craft and is in hearty sympathy with its 
fundamental principles. Thorough training 
in business methods in his native country in 
early life well e(iuipped him for the success- 
ful conduct of the enterprise whieh now 
claims his attention and he is to-day a leading 
representative of commercial interests, having 
a business record that any man might be 
proud to possess. He has the entire confi- 
dence of his associates and of the general pub- 
lic as well and his life is indicative of what 
may be accomplished through persistency of 
jiurpose and tlie exerci.se of sound judgment. 



REUBEN J. REMIX(;T0N. 

Reuben J. Remington, living im section 18, 
Ray township, was born in this locality. Feb- 
ruary 4, 1847. His father, Norman Rem- 
ington, was a native of New York, his hirth- 
l)lace being Niagara county and the date 1818. 
The family is of English lineage and was 
founded in America by three brothers of the 
name who came to the new woi-ld, one set- 
tling in Yermont : another in Massacluisetts; 
and the third. Daniel Remiug'ton. locating in 
Connecticut. He was the ancestoi' of our sub- 
ject and removed from Connecticut to New 
York. 

The grandfather, who l)oie the name of 
Norman Remington, became a resident of 
-Michigan, taking up his abode in Macomb 
county in 1825, at which tinu' he entered one 
hundred and sixty acres of land fi-om the 
govei'iiment. This he cleared of the tindjer 
upon it and began the development of a farm. 
Later he sold that property and purchased 
the tract of land upon which Reuben J. Rem- 
ington now resides. At that time only fifteen 
acres had been cleared and he broke the re- 
mainder of the land. er»>cted a loir house and 
furlhei- continued tlie improvement of the 
jdacc. He was a shoemaker by trade and fob 




lOIIX KTIIN. 



PAST AND PKESEXT OP AFACOMB COPNTV 



397 



lowed that pursuit to some extent, going from 
house to house nuiking boots and shoes for 
his neighbors in the early times. While liv- 
ing in New York he iiad followed tanning. 

His son, Nornuin Kemington, Jr,. was 
reared in this eounty and was married here 
to Polly <iass, who wiis born in Genesee eoxm- 
ty. New York, a daughter of Dunean Gass, one 
of the eai'ly settlers of Kay townsliip and its 
fir.st justice of the peace. Norman Reming- 
ton gave his attention to general agricultural 
pursuits and reared his family upon the old 
homestead. lie lost his wife about 187") and 
he ilied May 7, 1905, at his daughter's home 
in Lapeer eounty, Jlieliigan. In the famil.y 
were three sons and a daughter, the eldest 
being Reuben •!., of this review, while the 
other sons are: Rufus, who resides in Yale, 
St. Clair eounty. iliehigan : and Elmer, who 
is living in Deerfield, ^Michigan. 

Reuben .1. Remington was reared under 
the ])arental roof, obtaining his education in 
the houu^ school. He owiu'd a farm in 
Lapeer county at one tiiin'. clearing and 
cultivating tlii' laud, wliii-h he afterward 
sold. lie tluMi biiught his father's interest 
in the old home farm and has continued to 
cleai" and improve that place to the present 
time. lie has ;i large residence here which 
he has rebuilt and remodeled. He also has 
built one barn and now has two good barns 
and other substantial outbuildings upon the 
place. He has laid sevei-al hundred rods of 
tiling and in fact has utilized all the means 
that go to the improvement of a valuable 
and model farm of the twentieth century. 
He has a good orchard and fences divide 
the place into fields of convenient size. 
Everything is modern and attractive in ap- 
pearance, indicating the careful supervision 
of a progressive owner. 

Mr. Remington was nmrricd in Lapeer 
county. ^lichigan, Octolier 17. 1877. to Miss 
Ellen Cole, a daughter of Reiiben Cole, who 
was born in Erie county, New York, and 
served as a soldier of the war of 1812 under 
General Scott. In battle he was wounded in 
the neck. After the war he removed west- 
ward to ^liehigan, settling in Lapeer county, 
and it was there that ]\Irs. Remington was 
rear(>d. Five children have been born of 
this marriage: Nellie, who attended the 
Romeo high school and is now engaged in 
teaching; Hugh, who assists in the operation 
of the home farm; May, who was educated 
in Romeo and has followed teaching: and 
Lottie, who is attending the high school. 
They also lost one sou, Lerov, who was their 



first born and who died at the age of three 
years. 

'Slv. Remington has ever favored progress 
and improvement along all lines contribut- 
ing to the general welfare. He believes in 
good schools anil good i-oads. He and his wife 
are members of the Romeo Baptist church 
and he is identifii^d with the Knights of the 
]\Iaccabi'es. He proudly cast his first presi- 
dential ballot for General Grant in 1872 and 
has supported every presidential nominee of 
the republican party since that time. He 
knows not only the theory but the practice 
of nuiking a good farm and in his life work 
has met with a gratifying measure of pros- 
perity. 



ClIAULES F. SCHWANERECK. 

Charles F. Scliwaiieheek, a prtictical and 
enterprising agriculturist of Chesterfield 
townshij), is one of IMicliigan 's native sons, 
born in St. Clair county, February 14, 1863, 
his parents being William B. and Fried- 
ericka Schwanebeek. The father was born 
in Germany and emigrated to America in 
1858. Coming direct to Michigan, he spent 
three years in Detroit and then removed 
to St. Clair county, where he made his home 
for five years. After that he moved back to 
Detroit, sta.ying twelve years. At the end of 
that time he purchased the Heni-y De Grof 
farm in Ray township, ^lacomb county, and 
to the cultivation and improvement of that 
place devoted the remainder of his life. Dur- 
ing his early ex)ierience in farming in this 
state, especially in St. Claii- county, he had 
to overcome many natural disadvantages 
and from hardships and exposure at that 
time he contracted rheumatism, from which 
he suffered greatly during the last few years 
of his life. Hoping that he might be bene- 
fited by the baths of ;\lount Clemens his son 
Charles took him to the city for treatment, 
but his first bath jn-oved fatal. He soon be- 
came unconscious and was finally released 
from all suffering, ])assing peacefully away 
in the sl(H>p that knows no awakening on 
the first of September. 188(). His remains 
were taken in charge by his brother Odd 
Fellows at .Mount Clemens, who escorted 
them to his late farm, and also broke as gen- 
tly as possilile to his family the sad news 
which had come so unexpectedly. He was 
laid 1i> rest in .Meade cemetery, the Odd 
Fellows conducting the funeral services. He 
was coiuu^cted with Mount Clemens lodge. 



398 



PAST -WD PRP:sEXT of MACOMB COrXTY 



I. O. 0. F.. ami was a iiienibor of the (ierman 
Lutheran chureh of Lenox township. He 
had serveil as highway coniinissioner in Ray 
township, and was a man well known and 
hiifhly respected by the entire eomnnnnty. 
lie left one son and four daushters to mourn 
his loss, namely: Charles F.. of this review; 
^Minnie, tlu' wife of Osear Kries. of Detroit : 
Rachel, the wife of Henry ilaurer, of the 
same city : Louise, the «ife of Benjamin 
Lick, of ;Mount Clemens; and Emma, who 
died in lM!tL 

Durint; his boyhood Charles F. Sehwane- 
beck atteiuled the (ierman American Sem- 
inary of Detroit and aftei- acquiring a good 
practical education returned home, assist- 
ing his father in the operation of the farm 
for eight years. He was next engaged in the 
steampipe and boiler covering business in 
Detroit, but in LSiX) he resumed farming and 
nine years later i)urcliased the James Preu- 
sell farm on sections '.i and 10. Chesterfield 
township, where he now resides. He has 
since remodeled the residence and barns 
and made many other useful improvements 
which add greatly to the value and attrac- 
tive appearance of the place. In his farm- 
ing o])erations he has met with good suc- 
cess and is to-day quite well-to-do. 

On the 16th of October, 1890, Mr. 
Schwanebeek was uniterl in marriage to 
^liss Jlinnie Preusell. a daughtei' of James 
and Sophia (Trost) Preusell. of Chesterfield. 
Two children bless this union, Frank J. and 
Waldo K., both at home. Mr. Schwanebeek 
takes an active and cimimendable interest 
in public affairs and has ettii-iently served 
on the school board of district .XH. S. In 
1897 he was appointed deputy state oil in- 
spector by Governor Pingi-ee and so capably 
did he fill that position that lie was re-ap- 
poiuted by Governor Bliss, his territory 
covering what is known as the St. Clair. 
Sanilac. Huron and ^lacomb district. 



WHiLLV^M HENDERSON. 

William Hendei'son. following the occu- 
pation of farming on section 4, Richmond 
township, is a native of York eoiinty. On- 
tario, Canada, born Januaiy S. 1831. His 
parents were Daniel and .Mary Henderson. 
He spent the days of his boyhood and youth 
in the place of his nativity, aiul in 1854, 
when a young man of twenty-three years. 
arrived in .Macondi county, which bore littb' 



r 'sendjlance to the present improved dis- 
trict for many evidences of frontier life were 
then seen. He worked among the early set- 
tlers until 1857 and purchased the Henry 
Fuller farm, on which he still resides, it 
having been his home now f(u- almost a half 
century. At the time when the land came 
into his possession there was not even a 
house upon the place. He at once began to 
cut the timber into staves, bolts and cord- 
wood. The money which he received for 
these products he had to pay for provisions 
and other necessities of life, but by inu'e- 
mitting diligence and industry he has de- 
veloped a good farnnng proi)erty. which is 
pervaded by an air of neatness, thrift and 
prosperity. A part of the first house which 
he built is still standing, and he has added 
to it until he now has a valuable and commo- 
dious home. From early springtime until 
erojjs are harvested in the autumn his is a 
very active life, and, indeed, throughout the 
year business interests claim his attention, 
and being well managed have made him onie 
of the substantial residents of his coni- 
nnuiity. 

On the 3d of Xovend)er, 1S57. Mr. Hen- 
ders(Mi nuirried ^liss Lizzie Clagget't, a 
daughter of Richard and Frances Claggett, 
of .Macond) county, who were natives of Eng- 
huid and became pioneer residents of this 
pai-1 of the state, settling in Macomb town- 
shiji. Mrs. Ilentlerson has two sisters and 
a brother still living in this county, namely: 
;\Irs. James Powell and INIrs. James Rowley, 
of Lenox townshij); and Jaiin's Chiggett, a 
resident of Richmond. .Mr. ami .Mrs. Hen- 
derson have become the parents of five chil- 
dren : ^lary A., now the wife of David Tice, 
of St. Clair county; Frances J., the wife of 
Edward W. Smith, of Richmond township; 
II. Edith, at home; Lena V., who is teaching 
in ;\lount Clemens; and Omar ('.. at home. 

]Mr. Henderson has taken an active and 
helpful part in church work, assisting large- 
ly in building the first ]\Iethodist Episco]ial 
chur(di of .Memphis, to whi(di hi' donated 
labor, time and money. Hi' has been a 
mend)ei' of the school board of district X'o. 
1:^. and in i)oli1ics he has alwa.vs been a 
stanch republican and upon the part.y ticket 
was elected highway conunissioner for two 
\ears, while in the office of .justice of the 
peace he has served for several years. He 
stai'ted out in life in this county as a farm 
hand and when his frugality and diligence 
had lii-iiught him a sum sutllieient to justifv 
him in the imrchase of land he became own- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



399 



er of a farm wliicli lie has since iIovcIdiu'cI 
and improved until the place is an excellent 
])roperty and the owner is accounted one of 
the men of affluence in tliis ecu unity. 



IRA 1>. KIRKl'.M. 



Ira L. Kii-kuiH is a younji man of energy 
ami ability who has adopted a^^riculture as a 
life work and lias already met witli a fair 
degree of success in his chosen occupation. 
He was born October 4, 1879, on the home- 
stead in Chesterfield township, where he 
now resides, and is a representative of an old' 
ami honored family of this county. As early 
as 1881 his gi-andfather, Thomas Kirkum, 
came to this locality and settled in Chester- 
field towushii), where the following year he 
purchased the present homestead of the 
family, buying the land from the govern- 
ment. He cleared the first thirty acres bj- 
burning the logs, which etistom was quite 
ci)mm<)n at that early day, and he eneoxui- 
tered the usual exjjeriences and trials of life 
<ni the frontier. lie was a native of New 
Yoi'k state, as was also his wife, who bore 
the nuiideu name of Martha Hart. His death 
occurred in 1871. In his family were two 
sons and four (laughters, of whom the fol- 
lowing are still living: Ilattie, a resident 
of New Haven. Michigan: Phila. wife of 
Joseph La Croix, of the same place ; ilrs. 
John Gillett, also of New Haven : and James 
H., the father of our subject. The other 
son, Robert, .joined the Union army in 18B1 
and was killed in batth'. Ilepsia E. died 
in Novendjer, IDDl. 

James II. Kirkum was also born on the 
old homestead in Chesterfield township, first 
opening his eyes to the light of day Decem- 
ber 1. 185.5, and in the district schools of 
the neighborhood he obtained his education. 
Being the yo\uigest in the family of six chil- 
dren, he reiiiaiiied at home with his father, 
assisting in clearing the land and cultivating 
the fields as his age and strength ])ermitted. 
For six years after his father's death the 
farm was rented to John (iillett, but at the 
end of that time he tiiol< charge of the same, 
and when his mothei- died in 1894 he re- 
ceived forty acres as his shai'e of the i)rop- 
eity. He also had twenty acres which he 
had previousl\' ])Ui-cliased from the other 
heirs. He has cleared many an acre of tim- 
ber land and has cut a great deal of cord 
wood, which he hauled to New Baltimore 
and sold. The old house which his fathei' 



built upon the place in 1^57 is still standing, 
but in 1885 James II. Kii'kum erected a nu>i-e 
modern and convenient residence, which lie 
has since occupied. He has also put U|) other 
buildings and has made many useful and 
vahud)le improvements to the fai-m. The 
hardships and exposures which lu' was 
forced to endure in converting the land into 
a good farm resulted in breaking down his 
health and in the fall of 1904 he went to 
Sylvan Lake, Florida, where he was greatl.v 
benefited by the change, and is now at home, 
much improved in health. He is a member 
of Court George Washington, No. 1408, I. 
O. F., of New Haven, and also of New Haven 
lodge. No. 465, I. (). O. F. r])right and hon- 
oi-able in all the I'elatious of life, he has made 
many friends throughout ^Macondi county, 
and is held in high regard by all who know 
him. On the 25th of Deeendjer, 187fi, James 
H. Kirkum uuu-ried ]Miss Rosa Love, a 
daughter of William Love, of Livingston 
county, ^Michigan. She died March 3, 1895. 
The (udy child of this union was Ira L., 
whose name introduces this sketch. He 
pursued his studies in the district schools, 
and since completing his education has given 
his father the benefit of his labors in carry- 
ing on the home farm. He has proven a most 
woi-fhy son, his first care being always for 
his father and his comforts. 



fiOTFRIED SEE. 



(iotfried S(-e. who is living on s<'etion 14. 
in the township of Washington, is classi'd 
with the thi'ifty and iu-os])erous farmers and 
st<ick-r;iisers of Macomb county, and his 
well improved farm of eighty aci'cs is a vis- 
ible evidence of his life of activity and enter- 
prise. He was born in the town of Erin. 
Macomb counly. July 20. 1S()5. His father. 
Jacob See, was born in <lermany in 1S25. 
and after attaining his majority emiiirated 
to the new woi-ld in 1845. He located first 
in Niagara county. New Yoi-k, and in 1842 
came west to Jlichigan. settling first in the 
town of Erin, whei-e he joined two brothers 
and a sistei-. He lii-st purchased a small 
tract of land in cotniection with the l)rother, 
and they thus worked together foi- four 
years, after which they divided this pi-op- 
erty and ^Ir. See jmrchased other land. 
Sul)se(|uently he fnuled that i)rop<'i-ty for 
the eighty acre tract upoji which his 
son (iotfried now i-esides and to this jilace 
he I'emoveil. Iiikine' U|) his abo<le fhiu-e in 



400 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



1880. At once he Ijegan to farm the land 
and further improve the property, and he 
spent his remaining days here, passing away 
June 1, 1901. His wife died some years be- 
fore, departing this life about 1891. In their 
family were three ehildreu, of whom ]\Irs. 
]Mary Reek now resides in Washington. 
August See owns and operates a farm on 
section 13, Washington township, adjoining 
his lirother's i>roperty. 

(Idtfried See came to his present farm 
when a young man of sixteen years and as- 
sisted largely in developing and improving 
the place. He afterward purchased the 
property fi'om his father and has since erect- 
ed a good, neat residence. He has fenced 
and tiled the i)Iaee. has made an addition 
to the barn, and, in fact, has carried on the 
W(n'k of labor and improvement until his 
farm is well equipped with all modern ac- 
cessories and conveniences. He raises good 
grades of stoelc and annually harvests rich 
crops. 

In ^lay, 1S90, was celebrated the marriage 
of Mr. See and iliss Gustie Lange, who was 
boi'u in Ei'in township, a daughter of John 
Lauge, one of the early settlers of this lo- 
cality. Mr. and Mrs. See have five chil- 
dren: Eddie, Willie, Walter, Clarence and 
Edna. 'I'hey also lost one daughter, Ella, 
wlio (lied at the age of six years. 

I'olitically Mr. See was formerly a demo- 
crat and cast liis first presidential ballot for 
Grover Cleveland, but for several years he 
has given earnest support to the republican 
party and voted for Presidents McKinley 
and Roosevelt. Both he and his wife were 
reared in the Lutheran faith and are mem- 
bers of tlie church of that denomination at 
Romeo. ;\Ir. See has spent his entire life in 
the county and is well known as a thorough 
and successful farmer and stock-raiser as 
well MS a eili/.en of worth. 



TIIADDEUS HAZELTON. 

Tliaddeus Ilazelton, who carries on general 
fai-niing and stock-raising, is living on section 
25, Washington township, where his landed 
posses.sions aggi-egate one hundred and twenty 
acres. This tract comprises a valuable farm 
and its cultivation is not only a source of lal)oi- 
but also a source of pride to ]\Ir. Hazelton, 
who is an energetic farmer and keeps every- 
thing about his place in excellent coiulition. 
He was boi'ii in Ingham county, Michigan, 
June 25, 1844. and is a sou of Ransom Hazel- 



ton, whose birth occurred in ^ladison county, 
New York, in 1807. The grandfather removed 
with his family to Canada in 1816 and there 
the father was reared and educated, working 
at sui-h labor as claimed the attention of most 
youths at that period. He was married in 
1829 to Jliss Polly Whiting, a native of New- 
York, and they became the parents of eight 
children. 

Ransom Hazelton removed to Jlichigan in 
1837, rt'aching Detroit in time to participate 
in the celebration concerning the admi.ssion 
of the state into the Union. He settled in Ing- 
ham county, where he opened up and devel- 
oped a farm, and later he continued the devel- 
opment of his property until it was trans- 
formed from a wild tract into one of rich 
fertility. In 1849 he removed to Macomb 
county, settling in the town of Ray, and in 
1857 he became a resident of Clay county, 
Missouri, residing near Liberty until the time 
of the Civil war. He was a strong Union man 
and an advocate of the cause of his party. The 
suri'oundings, however, in ^Missouri made his 
location very uniileasant and he returned to 
Macomb county in 1862. The same year he 
enlisted for service with the army, .ioining 
the F'ifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry as a 
member of Company P, and went to the front 
with that regiment, but in February, 1863, he 
was honorably discharged on account of dis- 
ability. When he had somewhat recuperated 
his health he re-enlisted on the 6th of Novem- 
ber. 1S63, .joining the First Michigan Cavalry, 
with which he served until the close of the 
war, when he was honorably discharged, June 
19, 1865, at Cmnberland, Maryland. He took 
part in man.v important engagements and still 
carries several scars as evidences of the 
wounds which he sustained in battle. He 
spent his last years in .Macoinl) county, one of 
the honored veterans of the Civil war. one 
whose courage and valor stood as marked 
characteristics in his life record. In the fam- 
ily of liansom Hazelton were eight children. 
■ill of wlioiii rcMehed adult years and of this 
numlter three sons and a dauuhter are yet 
living. 

Tliaddeus Hazelton has lieeu ii residcMit of 
^lacomb county since 1849. He was reared 
and educated here and after attending the dis- 
trict school he continued his studies in the 
Baltimore high school. He remained at home 
until a young man of twenty y(>ars, when in 
1864 he joined the Third Michigan Infantry 
and wcTit south, serving with the Army of the 
Cuml)erhind. He pai'ticijiated in the liattle of 
Stone Kiver and in inanv skiniiishes ami at 





MR. AND MRS. THADDEUS HAZELTON 



I'AST AM) I'KKSI'A' 



Ol 



MACO.Mi; ('orXTV 



403 



lciit;lli was liiiiiiifalily ili-cliari:c(l at Kimx- 
ville, Tennessee, iii June. ISti"). Latei' lie re- 
turned lionie and it was after this time that 
lie pursued liis high school eourse. 

The t'ollowini;' season he engasied in i'anii- 
ing and as a eompanion and helpmate for 
life's journey he chose ^liss ilartha Dudley, 
their marriage being- celebrated in Washing- 
ton tciwiisliip. .Macoiiili county. Xoveiiiber 9, 
1871. The lady was born in this county 
I)eceiiii)er 11. 18.").'). and is a daughter of 
Oliver Dudley, whose birth occurred in the 
same county. Her mother bore the maiden 
name of ^lary Anderson and was also a native 
of Washington township and a daughter of 
Isaac Anderson, one of the tirst settlers oi 
this part of the state, ^ir. Dudley was a 
farmer by occui^atioii and followed that pur- 
suit and reared his family in Washington 
townshii). 

Following liis marriage ^Ir. Ilay.elton .uca- 
ted on a farm near Romeo, having there one 
hundred acres of land which he began to clear 
and improve. He continued to reside there 
for eight years and then sold that property 
and purchased another place. He has jiur- 
chased and improved land in various localities 
in Washington township and took up his 
abode on his present farm in 1898. Later, 
however, he removed elsewhere, but in 1902 re- 
turned to his present place and has since re- 
modeled and improved the house and made 
other substantial improvements. He built 
thi'ee good barns and all modern equipments 
are seen upon this farm. He operates the en- 
tire tract and now in addition to the cultiva- 
tion of the cereals best adapted to soil and 
climate he is also engaged in the raising and 
feeding of stock, making a specialty of sheep 
and horses. He is a man of good business 
capacity, enterprising and energetic, and what 
he has accomplished is indicative of his strong 
purpose and unfaltering determination. 

TTnto Mr. and IMrs. Hazelton have been born 
two children : Orsel D. Ilazelton, liorn De- 
cember 18, 1872. who is married and resides 
in Romeo; and Professtn' Kansoiu Ilazelton, 
\vho was educated in the Romeo high school 
and is now a teacher in the high school at 
Washington. lie was limu Septeinbei' 14. 
1874. 

Politically .Mr. lla/.eltoii lias been a life- 
long republican since casting his first |)resi- 
dential ballot for riencral (ii-ant in 18R8, but 
the honors and emoluments of office hav(> had 
no attraction for him, as he has preferred to 
give his inidivided attention to his business 
afl'airs. He has helped to develop and im- 



prove a nuiiilii'r (if farms in .Macmiili (•(iiiiity 
and has thus eont ribiited in substantial lueas- 
ui-e til its agricultural progress. He is a man 
III' giHiil business .jiidgmeiit. alwa.vs reliable 
in citizenship, and is widely and favorably 
known in this portion of the state. 



CHAKLKS F. KIELBLOCK. 

Charles F. Kielblock, who. filling the office 
of justice of the peace and active in busi- 
ness affairs as a dealei- in shoes, is therefore 
numbered among the representative citizens 
of New Haven, was bora in Germany, in 
185"), a son of Frederick and Augusta Kiel- 
block, who were likewise natives of Ger- 
iiian\-. The father came to .Michigan in 
1857 and with his family settled in St. Clair 
county, where he took up land from the 
government. He had the usual hardships 
of early settlers in clearing his farm and 
])lacing it under cultivation, but in the 
course of time it became a productive prop- 
erty and he continued its operation until 
his death, which occurred in 1870, his wife 
surviving him until 1888. They left two 
children — Charles F. and Caroline, but the 
latter died September 29, 1904. 

At the usual age Charles F. Kiellilock en- 
tered the district schools and continued his 
studies therein until he reached the age of 
fifteen years, when he went to Richmond 
where he learned the hoot and shoe busi- 
ness, remaining in that place for two j-ears. 
In 1872 he came to New Haven where he 
worked for four years and then, with the 
ea])ital he had acquired through his indus- 
try and frugality, he opened the store which 
he now conducts, carrying a full line of 
footw-ear. He has by hard work and per- 
sonal energy built up a most prosperous 
business and he has also extended his efforts 
to other lines of activity, being now the 
manager of the Central Coal & Suppl.v Com- 
pany of New Haven. 

His energies and well-directed activity 
lia\e also made him a valued factor in eoni- 
iiiiiiiity affairs and his efforts and influence 
have been hel])ful in interests both of town- 
ship and village. He was clerk of the town- 
ship for seven years, being first idected in 
188(). and he was also treasurer of the town- 
ship for two years. He has served as assess- 
or of the village of New Haven, has been 
a member of the school board for five years 
and in 1904 was elected justice of the peace. 
Wliili' a member of th(> village couiieil he 



404 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



was a strong advocate of better sanitary 
conditions and was a prime mover in obtain- 
ing tlie present drainage system wliieh bas 
l)roved of l)enetit to the viUage. His frater- 
nal relations conneet bim witb Wayside 
tent. No. 17-t. K. (). T. .M.. of New Haven, of 
which be was a chaiter member. 

On the 13tb of February, 1878, Mr. Kiel- 
block Avas married to Jliss Augusta Hour- 
tienne, of New Haven. Of their famil\' of 
five children three died in infancy, the sec- 
ond and third members of the family are yet 
living: Emma, the wife of Daney Cleve- 
land, of New Haven; and Minnie, at home. 
The men who to-day waken public attention 
and regard are those who are controlling 
connnercial and industi-ial interests, or man- 
age the professional work of the country, 
and eacli connnunity chiims such men who 
are well recognized as leaders in theii- i-e- 
spective localities. To this class belongs Mr. 
Kielbloek and in a successful career he has 
demonstrated the fact that without the aid 
of influential friends or capital one may 
wiirlv liis way iipwai'd 1o pi'os])erity. 



ALBERT ELY LEETE. 

There are men who because of an ability 
to command ai'e held in awe: men who be- 
cause of successful accomplishment are held 
in admiration; men who by I'eason of rec- 
titude of character awaken respect, but it 
is the man of gentle nature, kindly spirit. 
deep interest in his fellowmen and unsel- 
fish devotion to their welfare that wins the 
love of those with whom he is a.ssoeiated. 
Such a man was Dr. Leete, and while liis 
ability gained him prominence as a mend)ei' 
of the medical fraternity, his nature, "full 
of the milk of hunuin kindness," gained him 
warm frieiidshii)s which endured as long as 
life endured and grew stronger as the years 
went by. 

Dr. Leete was a native of Stamfoi'd. 
Dutchess county. New York, born July 1. 
1802. His pai-ents were Eber and Clarinda 
(Gale) Leete, tlie former born in (Juilford. 
Connecticut. in IT^id. ami fhi' latter in 
Stamford. New York, in the sanu' .year, her 
father being Josiab ^!ale. Dr. Leete was 
a lineal descendant in the seventh gen(>ra- 
tion (d' William Leete, who came to this 
country IVnni Kngland in 1639, as governor 
of the colony of New Haven. After the 
eon.solidation of the New Haven and Con- 
iu>cticul eobinies in 1^0."). undei' the name 



of the latter, Governor Leete was chosen 
as the chief executive of the united colonies, 
filling that important and liighl.v honorable 
j>osition Tintil his death, in 1683. Clarinda 
(Gale) Leete was also descended from an- 
cestrv equall.v honorable and distinguislied 
in th/s history of Connecticut. 

On the farm on which his birth occurred 
Dr. Leete spent the da.vs of his boyhood and 
.youth, developing through outdoor life and 
the labor of the farm a strong pb.vsical man- 
hood and through application to his text 
books a vigoi'iius mind that enabled him 
later to successfull.v co|)e with file intricate 
problems of the medical profession. He be- 
gan the stnd.v of medicine under the direc- 
tion of Dr. Shepherd, of Cairo, New York, 
in the summer of 18"J4, but after five months 
entered the office of Dr. Asajili Clark, near 
Tro,v, in which coniu^-tion lie gained practi- 
cal as well as theoretical knowledge by as- 
sisting his preceptor in his practice at the 
count.v almshouse. In the spring of 1825 
he attended medical lectures at the college 
in Castleton, Vermont, and sul)sequentl,\- 
continued his studies in tlie office of Pro- 
fessor Alden IMai'ch. oi Albany. New York, 
an eminent surgeon of tiiat localit.v, who 
was associated in practice with Professor 
Tidl.v. a nmn of great erudition and learidng 
in the medical fi'atei-nit.v of the empire state. 
Dr. Leeti' greatl.v benefiteil l)y their instruc- 
tion during th(> fifteen months wliicli he 
spent in their office and also profited greatly 
from the hospital ])raetice which he gaiiu'd 
under their guidance. In 1826, leaving theii' 
office, he returned to Cairo, New York, 
where his further reading was directed by 
Dr. Levi King, who was also in (diarge of 
the count.v almshouse, having between four 
and six hundred inmates, in all conilitions 
of disease, mental and ])h.\sical. This in- 
stitution Dr. Leete visited weekl.v and some- 
times dail.v. his preceptor h-aving the i)rac- 
tiee there lai-gelv to him and thus he gained 
a ])roficienc.\' which C(ndd never have been 
acquired through Ixioks aloiu". From Cairo 
he went to the Western C<dlege of Physi- 
cians anil Surgeons of New Y(u-k and re- 
ceived tl:erelV(ini his medical diploma in 
l.S2ti. 

Dr. Leete 's first field of jiractice was I'al- 
enville, New York, ami in 1833 he i-enu)ved 
to Wawasing, New York, where he remained 
until 183;") when he weid to Lapeer count.v. 
^lichigan. The .vear 1840 witnessed his ar- 
rival in Homeo. where he practiced for 
nianv x'ears. being wi(h'lv recogni/.e(l as one 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



405 



of the most ciipMtilc and I'liiiiuMit iiiciiilnTs 
of the profession of the state. Jle was many 
times ealled in eonsultation by leading mem- 
bers of the medieal fraternity and he en- 
joyed a large private praetice. Moreover 
he was always heliifiil \n the youns: ])hysi- 
cian who was earnestly and honestly Iryint;' 
to ii'ain a start, bnt he had no patience witli 
([uaekei'y or pretense of any sort, lie was 
thoroughly honoral)le anil i-eliable in all that 
he did and he demanded the same of oth- 
ers. His patients became his friends and 
he was known thronchont his locality as 
"the beloved iihysieian." He was a man of 
ready sympathy, kindly nature and helpfiil 
disposition and instead of bi'comini;' inured 
to suffering because of his large practice, his 
heart always reuuiined sensitive to the pain 
and distress of others, and he found the 
greatest pleasure in administering to them 
that health and strength might be restored. 
He possessed, moreover, a cheery disposi- 
tion and his presence in the sickroom was 
like a ra.v of sunshine. 

Dr. Leete was a member of the American 
^Medical Association, State IMedical Society 
of ]\Iichigau and the Northeastern District 
^Medical Association, and of the last named 
was many times chosen president. He was 
also a member of the St. Clair, Sanilac and 
Lapeer County ^Medical Associations, and 
notwithstanding his advanced years he con- 
tinued to attend the meetings M-ith iiici'cased 
interest and enjoyed them witli as keen a 
zest as the youngest member. He was al- 
ways interested in his adopted city and its 
welfare, and was long a member and presi- 
dent of the board of education, doing all 
in his power to advance the standard of 
the schools, which be regardcl as one of 
the bulwarks of tlie nation. 

On the 17th of March. ISIil. Di'. Lccic was 
married, in I'alenvillc, New York, to Miss 
Katherine I'alen, daughter of (Jilbert E. and 
Hannah Palen. They had three sons and 
four daughters: ' Clarinda, who was born 
December 7, 1831, married Henry Stephens, 
who died February 2l2, 1885, leaving three 
children, Henry, Albei't Leete and Kather- 
ine, who are now in Deti'oit; Clarence P., 
wdio was born Se])tend)er 12S, IS'A'.i, married 
^larlha Tngalls and died in 1889, while his 
wife is also deceased; Hannah, born Novem- 
ber 2, 1835, is living in Homeo; James E., 
born ^Tarch 10, 1838, mari'ied Katherine 
(.U)etchess, liy wlioiii he has one son, and 
their home is in Flint, .Michigan; Rufus P.. 
born June 3, 1842, died in itd'ancv; llar- 



I'iett, born Sei)teml)ei- 20, 1844, is living in 
Komeo; and Albert H., born March Ki, 1848, 
died in 18()4 in a lu)spital from illness con- 
tracted during his .service in the Civil war. 
Mrs. Leete, the mother, came ol' a laiiiily in 
which education, cidture anil retinement, 
as well as wealth, w'cre notable feat- 
ures. In lier |)arents' liome there was a 
bountiful genei'osity and genial spirit that 
impressed itself upon the character of Mrs. 
Leete, who in her home was hospitable, gen- 
tle and sympathetic. In her youth .she 
formed a deep attachment for the Catskill 
mountains, amid which she was reared, and 
in lier last days she longed inexpressibly for 
those sni'i'oundings. She was a devoted 
Christian woman from lier girlhood days 
and her faith found evidence in her works. 
Her love of intellectual ilevelopment kept 
her in touch with the advance in litei'a- 
ture as well as the progress of events in 
the world at large, and not until the feeble- 
ness of advanced years came upon her did 
she cease to be a participant in all that pro- 
moted aesthetic, intellectual and moral cul- 
ture in Romeo. She passed awa.v Jamiary 
20, 1899, at the age of ninety years three 
months and nineteen days, almost twenty- 
two years after Dr. Leete had dejiarted this 
life. A contemporary biographer said of 
liiiii : "He was of mediiun stature and of 
an unbounded endurance. He was a man of 
sound judgment, quick ])erception, full of 
genuine Innuor, ready and pungent in rep- 
ai'tee, frank and outspoken in speech, of a 
warm and deeply affectionate natiire, at- 
taching his friends to him with peculiar 
devotion and making himself, all unconsci- 
ously, a general favorite in the communit.v 
which liad so long known him. He was a 
gentleman, a nmn of honor and of integ- 
rity which Avas never questioned. He was 
loved not only by his family but by the en- 
tire communitv. ' ' 



GEORGE AY. ^MANN. 



One of llie most iiromineiit and inlluen- 
tial citizens of Washington townshij) is 
(ieorge W. j\lann, whose home is at Mount 
Yernon, on section 19. He has taken quite 
a prominent \r.\v\ in local politics and is 
now a triember of the honorable county 
board of supervisoi's. He was born Jidy 18, 
18;'5r), on the farm which is still his home 
and has always i-esided in that locality. His 
father, John Mann, was a native of New 



4o6 



PAST AND PRp:yEXT OF .MACU.MB CULXTY 



Jersey and came to this state with his par- 
ents, who were amoiij; the first settlers of 

.Mac lb ciiiiiily. lie opened \ip the farm now 

owned antl ooeiipied by his son and became 
line of the prominent agrieultnrists of the 
eomiiuniity. In early manhood he married 
Eliza 'neth Piekle, also a native of New Jer- 
sey, and they continued to reside upon the 
old homestead in Washington township until 
their deaths, which occurred in the years 
1885 and 1897, respectively. 

George W. ]Mann passed his boyhood and 
yonth in much the nsnal manner of fanner 
boys and received his earl.v education in 
district schools, but has largely added to 
the knowledge there acfjuired by reading 
and (ibservatiim in later years. He gave 
liis Father the benefit of his labors in carry- 
ing i>ii till' farm until the latter's death, 
when he succeeded to the place and to its 
further devclojmient and cultivation he has 
since devoted his energies with marked suc- 
cess. Being a man of good business ability 
and soi;nd judgment, as well as thoroughly 
reliable, he has often been called upon to 
administer estates for others. Besides his 
home place he is also the possessor of a well- 
imjiroved fi-uit farm in Oregon. 

On the 24th of August. 1904. Mr. :\rann 
wa-i united in marriage at Ionia. ^Michigan, 
to Miss Ada L. McGrath, a daughter of The- 
odore T. .McOrath. a native of Boston. Mas- 
sachusetts, whii was chief engineer of the 
United States gunboat Cumberland during 
the Civil war and later master mechanic of 
the New Orh'ans & ]\Iobile Railroad. Mrs. 
Mann is a native of Michigan, and, having 
received a good education, she successfull.y 
taught school for ten years in Oakland coun- 
ty, the last two years teaching in the high 
school of Rochester. 

Tlie repulilican pni-1y has always found in 
Mr. Mann a slalwai't supporter of its prin- 
ciples sii lie cast his first presidential vote 

Till- K'litlicrriii'd B. Hayes in 187fi and he has 
taken (luilc a promin(>nt and influential part 
in public alVairs. being a i-ecognized leader 
of tlie ])arty in his ciiiiiiMunit>\ He has 
served as highway cdmmissioncr and in nu- 
merous iiHiccs 111' limiiir and trust, being 
elected siipci'visiir in 1901 and re-eleeted 
Clint iniiiiiisly. sci that he is the ])resent in- 
ciiiiilii'iit in that oflice. lie has served on 
a nuiiibei' lit' important committees and his 
iitlicial duties have always lieen most 
priimptl\- and faithfully discharged. Hoci- 
.■i|ly he is a Kiiyal .\reh IMason. holding 
iiieiiibership in the blue lodge at Rochester, 



tlie chapter at Romeo and the council at 
!Mount Clemens, while both ]\Ir. Mann and 
his wife are members of the Eastern Star 
at Rochester, Michigan. 



DR. ABNER HAYWARD. 

Dr. Abner Ilayward, homoeopathic physi- 
cian and surgeon of Blount Clemens, has prac- 
ticed medicine in ^lacomb count}' for forty 
years. He came to Mount Clemens in 1871, 
thirty-four years ago, and bears the distinc- 
tion of being the first medical practitioner to 
establish the etKeacy of the mineral waters of 
Mount Clemens for medical bathing purposes. 

Dr. Ilaywaril was born in Johnson, Rhode 
Island, September '26, 1829. His paternal 
ancestry can be traced back to ]\ichard Hay- 
ward, a native of England, who came to 
America in the early part of the seventeenth 
century and settled in Newport, Rhode Island, 
where he lived until he was about eight.v years 
(if age. His son. Richard Ha\ward, Jr.. was 
born ill Xewjiort, Riiotle Island. .July 2it, 1769, 
and died at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Rich- 
ard Hay ward, Jr., was the father of Robert 
(Jrovenor Ilayward who was born in Thouip- 
.son, Rhode island, March 10, 1800, and who 
became interested in the cotton mills while re- 
siding in the east. He there became acquainted 
with ^liss Eli/.a Cornell, of Somerset, Mary- 
land, whom he married in Coventry. Rhode 
Island, August 23, 182:!. Miss Coi'iiell was 
a niece of Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell 
University, at Ithaca, New York. In 18;!0, 
Robei't Grovenor Ilayward removed to Mon- 
roe county, ilichigiin, where he remained 
seven years. In 18:i7 he became a resident of 
Ingham county, where he spent his I'eiiiaining 
years. 

liobert (iroveiior Ilayward and Eliza Cor- 
nell Hayward were the parents of six children, 
those living being: Robei-t, who resides in 
Aiireliiis. Iiighaiii county. .Michigan: Abner. 
of this review, and Harriet, wife of W. O. 
Gregory, of Ijos Angeles, California. Those 
deceased are: Josejih, who died in infanc.v, 
and Ilenrv and fJessie, both of whom died at 
the age of sixteen years. The father died in 
1866, aged sixty-six years, while the mother 
jiassed away in 1887, at the advanced age of 
eiiihty-six years. 

Dr. Abner Hayward recr'ived his earl.v ed- 
ucation at Spring Arbor, now Hillsdale Col- 
lege, and latei- continued his studies at Miclii- 
i-an Union College, Tieoni. now removed to 
Adrian. Michigan. Mo taught school in Ing- 




DK. ABXEK llAYWARD. 




1)U. ALICE J. IIAYWAHl). 



PAST AM) I'RESEXT OF MACO:\IB COUNTY 



411 



ham and -Jackson counties and was scluiol 
inspector in Ingham county for several years. 
In IS.'iS he was elected justice oi' the peace at 
^Michii^an Center, Jackson county, .Alichii;an. 

l)i-. Ilayward began the stud.v of medicine 
in the office of Dr. ilcCra.v. at Jackson, and 
afterward continued hi.s ivadings with Drs. 
AVatts and Chubb, at Grass Lake, .Michigan. 
In I860, he pursued a course of study in niedi- 
eiue in the University of Michigan, at Ann 
Arbor, and liegan the pi'actice of medicine at 
Aurelius, .Alichigan, where he )-emained four 
years. Having had his attention called I0 I he 
homeopathic method of administering medi- 
cine, he became convinced of its superiority 
and attended a course of lectures at the Cleve- 
land Ilomeojiathic Hospital College, at Cleve- 
land, Ohio, graduating from that institution 
in the class of 1866. Dr. Ilayward located in 
Romeo. Macomb count.y, the same year, where 
he built up a tine practice, enjoying the high- 
est reputation as a physician and gentleman. 
After remaining in Romeo five and a half 
years, in 1871 he removed to Mount Clemens. 
and for a time was the only homeopathic 
physician in this cit.v. He first opened his 
office in the old Amei'ican hotel, where the 
Medea hotel now stands. In 1874 he pur- 
chased his present home at No. 99 Cass avenue, 
and there established his office. Thus Dr. Hay- 
ward has been in active practice in ]\Iacomb 
count.v for fort.v years, thirty-four of which 
he has been located in ^Mount Clemens. Be- 
tween the years 1895 and 1898 his office was 
located in the Eastman block, now a portion 
of the ]Medea property. 

Dr. Ilayward is the oldest repi-esentative of 
the medical profession in this city and. as 
befoi-e stated, enjoys the distinction of being 
the first ph.vsician to discern and make use 
of the curative properties of the great mineral 
waters of ilount Clemens. It was in 1872, the 
>ear after coming here from Romeo, that Dr. 
Ilayward first made use of the waters for his 
liatients. ^lany eases of rheumatism, neural- 
gia and lilood diseases were given baths nndei- 
his direction, in an improved rubbci' bathtub 
(there being at that time no bath house 
thought of here). Remarkable cures wer<' 
the I'csult and the experiments he thus made 
demonstrated beyonil a doubt tlie great effi- 
cacy of the waters. 

The waters used were from the old original 
well, which was at that time used for making 
a coarse grade of salt, the waters being too 
strongly impregnated with other minerals to 
he refined into a good grade of table salt. 
These properties were the very ones which 



have njadc Ihc waters sueh a eui'ative element 
in the treatment of rheumatism and other 
lilood and skin diseases. This Dr. Ilaywai'd 
was (|uick to discern, as he had pi'cviouslj- 
com|)ounded baths of the salts, sodas, etc., 
lor the (i-eatnient of these diseases, and his 
former knowledge of thermal treatment was 
instrumental in forming his conclusions. It 
is owing to his investigations and experiments 
in this dir-ection that thei'c are to-day thou- 
sands who are aniuially benefited and cui'ed 
by tj'catment of the minei'al waters of this 
city. All join in giving;' Dr. Aluier Ilayward 
the highest pi'aise for his profound scientific 
research. 

Dr. Ha.yward lias been count.v physician for 
ilacomb county, and has enjoyed many honors 
during his long and successful [)rofessional 
career. 

On the 12th of August. 1856. Dr. Ilayward 
was married to .Miss Alice J. Smith, also a 
physician, who is mentioned elsewhere in this 
work. They are the pai'(>nts of four children: 
Lillie J., who died at the age of five years: 
Charles Claude, who ilied in infancy: Claude 
Louise, a talt-nted nuisician, who has attained 
great success as su|)ervisor of music and draw- 
ing in the public schools of this and other 
states; and Frank Harold, an eminent artist 
who enjoys an international I'eputation as a 
figure and landscape painter of the highest 
merit, mentioned elsewhere in this book. The 
two grandchildi'cn, Olive Belle and Alice 
Louise (Frank Ilai'old Ilayward "s children), 
are among the doctor's greatest treasures. 

Fraternall.v the doctor is connected with 
:\Iount Clemens lodge. No. 6, F. & A. M., hav- 
ing been raised to the sublime degree of a 
;\Iaster iras<in Febru.iry 21. 18r)6, in the lodge 
at Eaton Rapids, Michigan,* No. 6:1. He has 
therefore been identified with the fraternity 
for fift.v years. He also belongs to the chapter, 
in which he has held many offices, and the 
council. His interests, however, center in his 
])rofession. He is a member of the Homeo- 
])athic Medical Society, and the American In- 
stitute of Homeopatliy. He has the entire 
respect of his fellow practitioners. His many 
friends and patrons, among whom are the best 
families of this city and county, cling to him 
as their family physician, besides patients 
who annnall.v come to him from various parts 
of the country foi- m(>dical treatment and 
consultation concerning the baths. 

The doctor is still very active and attends 
to his patrons with that skill and success 
which long experience and a successful career 
(jiily make possible. He is a man of crenial 



412 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\L\CO:\IB COUNTY 



disposition and affable teniperanieut, and the 
circle of his friends is verv extensive. 



DR. ALICE J. IIAYWARD. 

Dr. Alice J. Ilayward, whose skill as a 
practitioner of medicine is widely acknowl- 
edged in Mount Clemens, where she is actively 
engaued in practice, was born in New York 
and is the daughter of John II. and Elizabeth 
(Patterson) Smith, natives of New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania. 'Sir. and ]\Irs. Smith spent the 
earlier years of their mari'ied life in the state 
of New York. In 184.") they removed to Jack- 
.son county, ^Michigan, where ;\Ir. Smith was 
engaged in agricultural pursuits until his 
death, dying of apoplexy in his forty-ninth 
year. Mrs. Smith survived her husband many 
years, dying at the advanced age of eighty- 
two. 

They were the parents of eleven children, 
eight of whom are now living. The eldest 
son, Samuel P.. M^as a major in the Civil war 
and a captain in the United States service at 
the close of hostilities between the north and 
south. He subsequently resigned his com- 
mand in the army and settled in Kansas, 
M'here he owned a large tract of land exten- 
sively stocked, and is now one of the most 
successful stock-raisers of that state. Charles 
II. and Alonzo S. are extensive farmers and 
stock-raisers, the former in Jackson county, 
^Michigan, and the latter in Kansas. The two 
youngest sons, IMarsenor and Heni-y, died 
during the last year of the Reh(41ion, ^larse- 
nor dying in California and Henry, after 
nearly three years spent in valiant service for 
his country, was killed in battle at Knoxville, 
Tennessee. Mrs, Adelia Prndden, the eldest 
daughter, spends her declining days at her 
home in Eureka, Kansas, and at the various 
homes of her children. Mrs. Lizzie P. Jones 
(the second daughter) also a widow, is living 
in Lake City, Minnesota, where she has spent 
all of her mai'ried life. .Mary, the wife of 
Holmes Tabor, who has been in the em[)loy of 
the government for many years, is now living 
at Kansas City, ^Missouri. Frances, the young- 
est danghtei-, is the wife of Lucius A. Watts, 
a stockman living in lii-ooklyn, Michigan. The 
second daughti'r died in infancy. Both the 
Smith and Patterson families wei'e established 
in New England at an early day and came 
from a worthy- ancestry. 

Alice J. Smith, the fourth daughter and 
snb.iect of this sketch, was united in marriagi! 
to Dr. Abner Havward on the Pith of August, 



18.56. Of their four children two died in in- 
fancy. Lillie J. and Charles Claude. Maude 
Louise, the second daughter, has added to her 
line education a thorough knowledge of music 
and drawing, which has made her especially 
successful as supervisor of these sub.iects in 
the public schools. Frank Harold, who has 
achieved fame as an artist, both in this conn- 
try and Europe, was born in Romeo, Maeomb 
county, Michigan. At an early age his supe- 
rior artistic ability was recognized by his 
parents and after executing some marvelous 
work, the best artistic talent was secured for 
his instruction. This love for art is an in- 
heritance from his mother who in her younger 
da.ys and also in middle life executed work 
of a superior quality. In the maternal line 
she conies of a family noted for its artistic 
taste. One ancestor coming from Rome to 
England, achieved great fame and was 
knighted in recognition of artistic decorations 
which were superior to anything preceding it 
in that country. 

AVhen a child .Mrs. Ilayward had only the 
advantages of the country school, but later 
she became a student at the ilichigan Union 
College and eventually became a teacher in 
that institution. It was during this time that 
she formed the ac(iuaintance of Dr. Abner 
Ilayward, he being a student there, and the 
friendship thus formed nltimatel.v resulted 
in their marriage. Becoming greatl.v intei'- 
ested in her husband's work as a physician 
she unconsciously gained a knowledge that 
was recognized by his patrons, and realizing 
her adaptation to the work, became a faithful 
student and assistant to her husband. ^Irs. 
Ilayward pursued a conrst' of study in the 
Detroit Homeopathic ^ledical College when 
there were comparatively few women engaged 
in the profession and has had a strong influ- 
ence in overcoming the prejudice that former- 
ly existed against women ])ractitiouers. She 
joined her husband in the practice of medi- 
cine, and together they have done an immense 
business, being recognized as among the lead- 
ing members of the profession. Her intuitive 
knowledge enabled her to diagnose a ease coi*- 
reetl\-, while after a great amount of study 
others were in doubt. Her jiatients are in- 
spired with confidence and she has been the 
family ])hysician in maii.\' of the leading fam- 
ilies in ^Idunt Clemens for more than twent.v 
yeai-s. Patients come to her from different 
liai'ts of the country, having learned of her 
skill in the treatment of chronic cases and 
also for the treatment of cancers, in which she 
is especiall.v successful. 



PAST AXI) PRESENT OF MACO:\IB COrXTY 



413 



Ilors lias hfcii a busy lil'i-. Asidr I'niiii Iut 
professional duties, she has capably iiiMuair<-(l 
liei' household alVairs and iieeii a thoujihtl'ul 
and careful mother in tiie care and education 
of her children. She is a niemlior of the 
Latlies Literary Club anil also ol' the .\rt Cul- 
ture Club, of Mount Clemens. 

In early life she became a inembei' of the 
^Methodist Episcopal church and durinir the 
y:reater part of her life has bi'en actively en- 
gaged in church work. When comini; to 
IMonnt Clemens the dilai)idated condition of 
tlie church of her choice was such that it 
called for the best efforts of its people for its 
upbuilding. Her naturally strong intellect, 
refinement and general knowledge, added to 
her spiritual interest in the church, caused 
them to turn to her as a leader in church 
work, and the small salary of eight hundn'd 
dollars which was formerly paid to their pas- 
toi-. was raised to a proper amount, and even- 
tually a new church was built. 

And now after all these years of mental 
strain Dr. Alice Ilayward has lost none of her 
buoyancy of spirit. She is interested in hei' 
literary iHU'suits. in the advance of medical 
science, and prescribes for her patients with 
an assurance that her many years of successful 
experience gives her. 



REV. C. J. KEXXKDY. 

Rev. C. J. Keiinetly. who is in charge of 
St. Peter's parish at .Moinit Clemens, was 
born in Perth, Ontario, Canada, .May 17. 
1858, and is of Irish ancestry. His fathei'. 
Cornelius Kennedy, crossing the Atlantic to 
America, settled first in Quebec and aftei'- 
ward removed to the city of Oswego, Xew 
Yoi-k. where he was engaged in mechanical 
l>ursuits. Later he went to Perth, Ontario, 
and finall.v settled at Port Huron, Michi- 
gan, in 1880. There he spent his remain- 
ing days, his death occurring when he had 
reached the age of seventy-two yeai's. His 
wife, who in her maidenhood was .Miss .Mary 
Sheehy, died at the age of fifty-six years. 
In their famil.\' were eight children, of 
whom the Rev. C. J. Kennedy is the Hfth 
in order of birth. Poui' of the nuinluT were 
teachers and those still living are: .\nii. 
^largaret. C. .1.. .lames and Katherine. Three 
of the nuiid)er died in infancy. 

Rev. C. .1. Kennedy pursued his classical 
studies in Ottawa, Canada, and studied the- 
ology in Baltimore, Maryland. He was as- 
sistant to Wev. F. .\. (VHrien. of Kalamazoo. 



.Michigan, for one year and afterward be- 
came pastor of the Catholic church, at Hast- 
ings. .Michigan, lie also ministered to the 
Catholic church at Charlotte, Xashville and 
Eaton Rapids. .Michigan, and on the 28th 
of .January, ISMl'i, came to Mount Clemens 
as |)astor of St. Peter's parish, succeeiling 
the Rev. .1. A. Van Hoonissen, who died on 
till' Pith of .laniiary of that year. 

Since coniiiiL; lo .Mount ('lemeiis Father 
Kennedy has done effective work. He super- 
vised the remodeling of the school and the 
placing of a steam-heating plant for the 
church ami school, which was |>ut in place 
at a cost of thirty-one thousand dollars. The 
first year of his pastorate here he effaced 
the church debt of four thousand five hun- 
dred dollars. The foundation stone of the 
present St. Peter's church was laid in 1882 
and the house of worship was erected at a 
cost of thirty thousantl dollars. The pa- 
rochial schoolhouse was built in 1889 at a 
cost of eleven thousand dollars and the con- 
vent and rectory were erected at a cost of 
t(Mi thousand dollars, while the furnishings 
amounted to nine thousand dollars, making 
a total cost of the church propert.v sixt.y 
thousand dollars. In 1903-4 the school was 
remodeled and enlarged, being supplied 
with all modern e(|uipinents and is now one 
of the best schools of the diocese. In con- 
nection with the grammar grades it has been 
decided to establish a complete high school 
course. St. Peter's parish represents about 
seven Imudred families. Through generous 
donations, the monthly collections and other 
means. Rev. C. .1. Kennedy has been enabhnl 
to pay eleven thousand dollars toward im- 
provements on the church i)roi)erty. He is 
devoted to his work, which he pei'forms in 
a conscientious manner, and the difVerent 
branches of the church activity are now in 
a thriving condition. 



FELIX R.\XI)ALL 



Feli.x Randall, now tleceased. was well 
known as a jiioiieer settler of Macomb coun- 
ty, where he took up his abode in 1837. The 
Indians were still numerous in the state and 
at the time of his arrival over this great dis- 
trict the large forests were found ,iust as 
they had come from the hand of nature. The 
rivers were unbridged and few roads had 
been made. In fact, there was little evidence 
of the reclamation of the district by the 
white men and Felix Randall fouml amjile 



414 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



opportunity to assist in the arduous work 
of reclaiming the locality for the uses of 
civilization. He was born in New York, 
October 8, 1812, his parents being John and 
Sarah (Smith) Randall, who were natives 
of Orange county, New York. When he 
was eight years of age he went with his par- 
ents to Canada, where they lived until 1833 
and then removed to Ohio, where the fath- 
er's death occurred in 1858, when he was 
sixty-seveu years of age. His wife died in 
Illinois in 1873 at the advanced age of eigh- 
ty-four years. 

Felix Randall came to Macomb county in 
1837, removing to this state from Talmage 
township. Portage county, Ohio. The jour- 
ney was nuide with a team of oxen and wag- 
on and he brought with him a chest of 
tools, his clothes and a barrel of pork. He 
settled on one hundred and twenty acres of 
land on sections 31 and 32, Richmond town- 
ship, which tract he had entered from the 
government two years previous, and the 
deed to this land, signed by President Van 
Buren, is still in possession of his son Arthur, 
who is living upon the old homestead. Diffi- 
culties and obstacles were encountered by 
him in his attempt to establish a frontier 
home, but he bravely met the hardships and 
trials which always form a part of the life 
of the frontier settler. He developed a good 
farm ]iroi)crty owing to his life of unre- 
mitting diligence and enterprise, and he also 
took an active part in the advancement of 
public interests and in all measures calcu- 
lated to benefit his fellowmen. He held va- 
rious official positions in his township and 
was a strong advocate of temperance and a 
champion of all that is right, true and just. 
His political allegiance was given to the re- 
publican party and he was a member of the 
Patrons of Industry. 

On the 1st of June, 1838, Mr. Randall was 
united in marriage to Miss ^Maria Ingraham, 
a (laughter of Asa Ingraham. of Canada, in 
which country she was born Api'il 13. 1818. 
By this marriage there were eight children, 
six of whom are yet living: Climena. who 
was born June 7, 1839, and is the wife of 
M. ^I. Hari-is, of Richmond township ; Ma- 
tilda, who was born December 17. 1843, and 
is the wife of John T. Hodges, of Richmond 
township: Robert A., a resident of Lenox 
township, born May 5, 1847; Edward, of 
Richmond township, born August 3, 1849; 
Phoebe, who was born April 1, 1852, and is 
the wife of M. P. Bates, of Richmond town- 
ship; and Arthur P., of Richmond township. 



l)orn Xdvendier 3, 1858. Those deceased are: 
Sarah M.. who was ])orn October 23, 1841, 
became the wife of A. L. Abbey, of De- 
corah, Iowa, and died Pebruary 28, 1891; 
and Helen, who was born November 17, 
1855, and died :\Iarch 22, 1856. Mrs. Ran- 
dall's parents were among the early settlers 
of Richmond township, where her father fol- 
lowed the trade of shoemaking. Of a fam- 
ily of seven children oidy one is now liv- 
ing, Daniel Ingraham. who resides in Plain- 
well, ^Michigan. 

Felix Randall was a quiet man but of gen- 
ial disposition, and was universally liked. 
He was prosperous in his business affairs 
and yet his success was not due to any finan- 
cial combination of circimistances but re- 
sulted from luitiring energy and persever- 
ance. He knew the value of labor and he 
jiut forth his best effort to provide for his 
family. In all life's relations he was 
sti'aightforward ;ind honorable, never neg- 
lecting a duty, whether of a public or pri- 
vate nature, and he vahuxl his own self-re- 
spect as infinitely more preferable to wealth 
or ]niblic honoi-s. His death occurred Peb- 
ruary 23. 1889, and caused deep regret 
among his associates. His funeral was 
largely attended by the Patrons of Indus- 
try and by many friends o\itsitle of that 
organization. His wife passed away De- 
cember 5, 1898, and thus were called from 
this life two of the respected and worthy set- 
tlers of Macomb county. 



TH0:MAS K. MelNNIS. 

Thomas K. ]\lclnnis is a representative of 
farming, stocki'aising and dairying interests 
in Macomb county and makes his home on 
section 22, Ray township. A good farm 
property of one hundred and sixty acres 
there yields him golden harvests, while in 
the pastures are f(uuid high grades of stock 
which he raises and feeds. He dates his resi- 
dence in the state from 1865. He was born 
in Ontario, Canada, on Owen sound, March 
24, 1857, and is a son of John Mclnnis and 
a brother of Alexander Mclnnis, who is men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work. 

When a lad of about eight years Thomas 
K. ^Fclnnis was brought by his i)arents to 
Macomb county, the family locating on the 
farm where he now resides. He assisted in 
opening \ip this jilace for cultivation and in 
the winter months he attended the country 
schools, accmiring a good practical English 




MR. AND MRS. T. K. McINNIS 



PAST AND I'I{KSK\T OF MACOMR COUNTY 



417 



pclucatioii. His training; iu farm labor was 
not meager aud he gained practieal expei'i- 
ence, the value of which has been proven in 
the years of his aetive life. He remained 
with his father until the hitter's death, when 
he jiurchased the interest of the other hcii's 
in the old homestead. He has sinee greatly 
improved the place by the ereetion of new 
buildings, including a good frame residence 
and substantial barns. He has also fenced 
and tiled the place and he uses the latest 
improved niaehiuery in the cultivation of 
the fields. In addition to the raising of the 
cereals he also raises good grades of stock 
and is widely acknowledged as a successfnl 
farmer and stock-dealer. ]Mr. ]\lclnnis is also 
a stockholder in the Creamery Association 
at Davis and supplies milk to the creamery 
located there. He was likewise one of the 
organizers of the New Haven Savings Hank, 
becoming one of the original stockholders 
and has eontiiuiously siM'vcd as vice i)resi- 
dent. 

On the 16tli of June, 1887, was celebrated 
the marriage of ]Mr. ^Iclnnis and IMiss ]\Iin- 
nie Robertson, who was born at .Marine City. 
St. Clair county, ^Michigan, a (hnii:li1i-r of 
David C. Robertson, one of the substantial 
farmers of Ray township. There were three 
children b.y this union: Lottie ('.. William 
E. and John A. 

In his political views Mr. Mclnnis has 
been a life-long republican, voting for each 
presidential nominee of the i)arty since cast- 
ing his first ballot for James A. Garfield. 
He has been elected and served as highway 
conunissioner, filling the office for several years 
and for four years was justice of the peace. 
He served on the school board for twenty 
years, was district asse.ssoi' foi- twenty years 
and is a warm friend of the cause of educa- 
tion, believing in the employment of eomjje- 
teiit teachers and in the maintenance of good 
schools. He has served as a delegate to the 
county conventions of his paily and is in 
terested in all that pertains to tiie pcililieal. 
social and material u|)buil(ling of I he cmn- 
nnniity. His wife attends the I'nion chureli 
and although he is not a mend)er of the 
church he contributes genei'ously to its sup- 
port. Fraternall.v he is connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows at ,\ew 
Haven and also with the Knights of the 
]\Iaecabees. Through forty .\-ears' residenei' 
on one farm he has demonstrated his capa- 
bility in handling agricultural an;l linaneial 
intei'ests and his place to-day is a monumenl 
to his enterpi'ise anil skill. .Mm-eover, he is 



recoo-nized as a gentleman of kindly manner 
and social disjiosition and is well known as 
a pul)lic--spirite(l citizen. 



(iEORCK II 



KATTY. 



George II. Heatty, now deceased, was one 
of the earl\' residents of Miu-omh count.y. Pie 
was born in Burlington, Vermont, May 20, 
1822, a son of Jasper Heatty, also a native 
of that state. His boyhooil and youth were 
there passed anil his education iic(|uired in 
the public schools there. WHien a young 
man he learned the harness makei''s trade at 
Hinlington, and on leaving the Green ^loun- 
tain state in 1840 removed to New York, . 
where he worked for a time. Becoming ill, 
he was advised b,v his physician, who was 
an old acquaintance, to take a sea voyage, 
and he accordingly spent the following three 
years on the watei' as a sailor, I'eturning 
much benefited in health, lie then located 
at Schroon Lake, New York, where he eon- 
ducted a harness shop for about five years. 
It was then his intention to go to California, 
but as the reports which he heai'd concern- 
ing that state were not favoi-able, he M'ent 
instead to Massachusetts, residing for sev- 
eral years at Chicopee Falls, where he 
worked in a nuichine shop. 

In 1854 Mr. Beatty came to Michigan, 
making the joiu-ney from Detroit to Mount 
Clemens by stage in the month of INIarch. It 
required an entii'c day to travel from one 
city to the other at that time. Mr. Heatty 
bought land on the plank road, near Fraser, 
]\Iacoinb county, and resided thereon for 
some years, during which time he supplied 
the railroad companies with ties and wood. 
As the years passed he prospered in his un- 
dertakings and, saving from his earnings a 
goodly sum. he was enabled to live retired 
for a number of years ])rioi' to his death. 
He nuide judicious investment in real estate 
and his property interests r(^turned him a 
good income. lb' had iMjnsiilcrable pi-operty 
in the village of Lenox, also one hundred 
acres of land three miles iielow .Mount 
('leinens and property in \'irt;iina. 

.Mr. Heatt\- was niarrietl Se|)teud)i'r 11, 
184"), to Miss Jane (i. (iilbert, a native of 
Hurlington, Vei'miud, and a daughter of 
Thomas and Catherine (Canq>liell) (iilbert. 
Her father speni aliriost his eidii'e life in 
the (ireeu Moinitain slate. Hei' mother was 
■A native of Scotland and a relative of Rob- 
ert Hnrns. the ])oet. She frequently told of 



4i8 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



liis visits to her home when she was a yonug 
girl. Mr. and Mrs. Beatty had two chil- 
dren, Charles and Carrie. 

Jlr. Beatty was a member of the school 
board and held other local offices. After a 
resilience of more than half a century in 
.Mjicomb eonnty he passed away in April, 
1!)U1, respected by all who knew him. His 
wife still survives him and is now, in 1905, 
eighty-four years of age. She yet enjoys 
good health and her faculties are unim- 
j)air('d. 



F. B. WOLCOTT. 



F. B. Wolcott is proprietor of the Ray 
Center Flouring ilills and a partner in the 
^Mineral City iMills at Mount Clemens and 
also devotes his attention to farming inter- 
ests and makes his home on section 16, Ray 
township. He has been a resident of the 
county since 1878. He was born in Brad- 
ford county, Pennsylvania, January 25, 
1845, his birthplace being the town of Ath- 
ens. His father. J. P. Wolcott, was born 
in New York in 1824 and was a son of Eras- 
tus Wolcott, who was also a native of the 
Empire state and served as a soldier of 
the war of 1812. J. P. Wolcott was reared 
in Pennsylvania and was married there to 
Miss Rebecca Rogers, whose birth occurred 
near Catskill, New York. ^Ir. Wolcott was 
a mechanic and millwright and also enaged 
in the manufacture of lundjer. At the time 
of tlie Civil war, aroused by a spirit of pa- 
triotism, he enlisted in behalf of the Union, 
joining Company K of the One Hundred and 
K(irty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. 
With this connnand he served in the war 
and partici])ated in the battle of Atlanta, 
where he sustained wounds. Following the 
close of hostilities he removed to the west, 
settling in the town of Reynolds, in Jeffer- 
son county, Nebraska. He spent his last 
years upon a farm there and died about 
1897, when seventy-three years of age. His 
wife still survives him and is now a well- 
preserved lady of seventy-eight years. In 
their family were three children, the eld- 
est being ]'. E. Wolcott, of Reynolds, Ne- 
braska. Eliza reached mature years and 
was married, but is now deceased. 

F. B. Wolcott was reared to manhood in 
Pennsylvania and attended the ])nblic 
schools there. He afterward worked in a 
sawmill and became familiar with the busi- 
ness (if inniinfactui'iiig luiiilirr ;iii(l shingles. 



He was thus employed during the period of 
the war and later he went to the west, go- 
ing to Wisconsin in 1865, while subsequently 
he went to Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and 
California. Making his way to Sacramento 
he worked on the Union Pacific Railroad for 
a year or so. He continued in the far west 
for two years and then returned to Nebras- 
ka, where he joined his father's family. 
There he homesteaded a tract of land and 
improved his place, continuing its cultiva- 
tion for nine years. He then traded his 
farm for a mill in Ray Center and also the 
farm upon which he now resides. In 1878 
he located iqion this place and took charge 
of the himber business here. He has rebuilt 
the old mill, i)ut in new and improved ma- 
chinery and otherwise made his plant a mod- 
ern property, turning out an excellent prod- 
uct. He has built a new residence and barn 
and has made a nice place, and the various 
branches of his business are being well man- 
aged, so that he receives a good financial 
return annually. The Ray Center ]\Iill was 
built in 1847 of native timber and lumber, 
all of Avhieh was cut and sawed near here. 
The mill is operated by water power for the 
custom trade. 'Sir. Wolcott. however, re- 
built the mill and installed new and mod- 
ern machinery, together with an excellent 
engine which is for use when the water is 
too low to furnish sufficient poAver for grind- 
ing. 

Mr. Wolcott was married in Omaha, Ne- 
braska, November 4, 1870. to Miss Anna C. 
Callahan, a native of Ireland, who was 
brought to America' when a maiden of thir- 
teen years and was reared in Nebraska. 
Twelve children have been born unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Wolcott, namely: A. E. and John 
P.. who are associated with their father in 
business and who own and operate the ^lin- 
eral City ]\Iills at Jlount Clemens; Fred H., 
who is also interested in the.^niilling business 
with his brothers: William H., a young man 
at home, who assists in tin' oi)eration of the 
mill at Ra.v Center: Fi-ank (). : Lewis J.; Re- 
becca, who is the wife of Roliert ^Miller, of 
New Haven: Ida May. the wife of W. C. 
Poyer, of Denver: Anna, who was formerly 
a teacher and is now a trained nurse in De- 
troit: Rosa I\T., a student in the Mount Clem- 
ens high schofil : and I\Iary and Lillie. 

Mr. and ^Irs. Wolcott are members of the 
Union church at Ray Center and he is serv- 
ing as one of its trustees. He belongs to 
the ^lasonic lodge at Davis and he is a re- 
publican, earnest in suppnrt of thi' i>art\- lint 



PAST AND I'HESENT OF MACOMB COl'NTY 



419 



never seeking office. He is a man of tiood 
business ability and .judiiiiient and has lived 
a usefid life. aceoinplishiiiL:; what he has un- 
dertaken and proving a valued faetor in the 
community because of his business activity 
and his public-spirited citizenship, lie has 
a good residence and the improved condition 
of the mill and its surroundings all display 
thrift and care. The Wolcntt home is noted 
for its generous hospitality, the many friends 
of the family receiving a gracious welcome 
there, and no history of the community 
would be complete without mention of F, 
B. Wolcott. 



C. C. THORINGTON. 



C. C. Thorington. a membei' of the law 
firm of Thorington & ]\IcKay, is a prominent 
member of the legal jn-ofession of jMacomb 
county, actively engaged in practice in Ro- 
meo. He is a native son of this county, hav- 
ing been born in Washington township, July 
It), 1864. His father, James :\I. Thorington, 
was also born in this county on the same 
farm where occurred the birth of his sou. 
The grandfather, James Thorington, was 
one of the first settlers of this portion of 
the state, locating here in the early '30s. He 
secured wild land, wliifli he cleared, and 
tluM-eon be built a house and opened up a 
farm, .laiiies M. Thorington was reared to 
manhood on the old farm homestead and 
after ari-iving at years of nuituritj- he wed- 
ded ^lary Starkweather, who was also born 
in .Macomb county. Mr. Thorington is now 
a well-to-do and prosperous farmer of Wash- 
ington township, having devoted his entire' 
life to agricultural pursuits and so directed 
his efforts as to win prosperity because of 
his diligence, perseverance and capable 
management. 

C. C. Thorington was reared in Macomb 
county and educated in the home schools 
and the high school at Romeo. He after- 
ward pursued a course in the law depart- 
ment of Jlichigan University at Ann Arbor 
and was graduated with the class of 1893. 
He then opened a law otfice in Romeo, where 
he has since been in active practice for more 
than a decade, and from the beginning he 
has been successful, having secured a large 
clientage, which many an older practitioner 
might well envy. He is quick to master all 
the intricacies of a case and grasp all de- 
tails, at the sanu^ time losing sight of jione 
of the essential points upon which the deci- 



sion of every case finally turns. As a speak- 
er he is fluent, forcible, earnest, logical and 
convincing. .Mr. Thorington is also a mem- 
ber of the Farmi'rs" .Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany of Macomb county anil is its treasurer 
at the ])resent time. 

In his political views .Mr. Thorington has 
always been a stalwart republican, taking 
an active interest in the local work of the 
party, and he was elected and served on 
the village board for one or two terms. He 
was also for one term its president and is 
now the village attorney, a position which 
he has filled for five years. He has, however, 
never been a politician in the sense of office- 
seeking, preferring rather to give his time 
and energies to his profession, yet he has 
faithfully fulfilled all the duties of citizen- 
ship that have devolvi'd upon him whether 
in official or other relations. 

;\Ir. Thorington was married, in Romeo, in 
1801, to ;\liss Jean Greenshields, a daughter 
of Dr. William (ireenshields, who is repre- 
sented elsewhere in this work. They now 
have one son, William J. The parents are 
nannbers of the Congregational church of 
Romeo, and Mr. TlKU-ington is prominent in 
the Masonic fraternity, having taken the de- 
grees of the lodge, chapter and coramandery 
in this city. He is also a member of the 
Mystic Shrine at Detroit. He is one of the 
active and publie-s]iii'ited citizens of Ro- 
nu^o, thoroughly identilie(l with its peo])le, 
its nece.ssities and its prosperity, and he en- 
joys the confidence and esteem of the com- 
munity in a high degree. 



BERT CORBYN PRESTON. 

Bert Corbyn Preston, . identified with 
numy interests which constitute the basis of 
business activity and prosperity in Armada, 
is to-day a most promiiuuit factor in ciun- 
mercial and financial circles here, and his 
inherent force of character, keen discrimina- 
tion and persistent energy have constituted 
the basis of a success which is as creditable 
as it is desirable. He was l)orn in Armada 
township January 2, IS")!), his parents being 
William E. and Lovina L. (Leonard) Pres- 
ton. Tlu' father was born in Eastfoi'd, Con- 
necticut, June 20, 1822, and the mother's 
bii-th occuri'cd in Woodstock, that state, on 
the l!)th of June. 1824. He was a shoe- 
maker by ti'ade and came to ^Michigan in 
185."), following that ])ursuit here and also 
(hn-oting much of his time to farming luitil 
18()7, when he became a merchant of Ar- 



420 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF :\rArOMB COUNTY 



inada. Tlu-re lie (-(iiidueted a general store 
until 1889, iiu'etiiifi' with creditable success 
and thi'ough the four succeeding years he 
was i)ostniastcr at the town. He and his 
wife still reside licrc and lie is now iiviiii;' 
retired. 

Hei't ('. Preston, liaviui;' ;ic({uired his j)re- 
liniinary education in the eomnion schools 
of Armada, continued his studies in the high 
scliool.froni which he was graduated with the 
class of 1878. Later he pursued a two years" 
course in law at the Michigan State rnivei'- 
sity, at Ann Arboi', from which lie was grad- 
uated with the class of 1881. Opening an 
office f(H- practice in Armada he was thus 
identified with the legal fraternity of ;\Ia- 
comb county initii 188."). when he established 
the private bank of Bert C. Preston, con- 
ducting the same as its proprietor until 1901. 
when heoi'ganized the Ai-nuida Savings Baid<. 
a state bank capitalized for twenty-tive thou- 
sand dollars. He has continuously been at the 
head of this institution as its president. He 
inaugurated a safe, conservative policy that 
has commended the institution to the con- 
fidence and su])]iort of the general public, 
and his ventures as a banker have been at- 
tended with gratifying success. Not to this 
enterprise alone, however, has 'Sir. Preston 
directed his efforts. He owns a farm of 
sixty acres in Berlin township. St. Clair 
county, and he platted an addition to the 
village of Armada, known as "Preston's ad- 
dition," which contains twenty-four lots. He 
is likewise a stockholder in the Pnited States 
Savings Bank, at Detroit, which is capital- 
ized for one hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars and is a stockholder in the Port Huron 
Engine & Thresher Company and the De- 
troit & Cleveland Navigation Comi)any. He 
gives i)ersonal supervision to his vai'ied in- 
terests and investments and in business cir- 
cles is well known tor lii-i sound judgment 
and wise counsel, which have pi-oved a stim- 
nlus to iiian\' successful enter])!'ises. 

In matters of citi/.enship, e(|ually practi- 
cal ;ind helpful, he served as townshij) clerk 
for a N'ear, beginning in 1882, and was town- 
shi]i treasui-er fi'om 1888 until 1890. He 
was village treas\irer in 188ti and auaiu in 
1900. and has perfoi'ined each |)ublic sei'\ 
ice with the utmost fidelity and dispatch. In 
politics he is an independent republiean. but 
while he has held some local ot'lices he could 
never be called a pnlilician in the sense of 
office-seeking. 

On the 24th of Septend)er. 188:',. .Mr. I'lvs- 
ton was mari-ie(l in Hiddeford. .Maim'. \i< 



Miss Belle Bli.ss, a daughter of Wallace and 
Louise Bliss. Both ^Ir. and Mi-s. Preston are 
membei's of the Armada ('(ingregational 
church and he has membei'shij) relations 
with Harnjony lodge. No. \-i'-i. V. ik A. 'SI., 
the Independent Order of Foresters and the 
Knights of .Modern .Maccabees. Endoweil by 
nature with a strong character he has de- 
veloped and strengthened his latent pow- 
ers, becoming a successful business man, and 
yet his interests are not so self-centered that 
he excludes co-operation with measures for 
the general good, nor assistance to those 
who have claim upon the sympathies and 
aid of thi'ir fellnwinen. 



ANDREW T. DONALDSON. 

Honoi'eil and respected liy all. there is no 
man in Mount Clemens who occupies a more 
|)rominent or enviable jiosition than A. T. 
Donaldson, for the extent of his business in- 
terests gives him ])re-eminence in this direc- 
tion. His position, however, is due not alone 
to his prosperity, but results from his probity 
and the honorable, .straightforward business 
policy he has ever followed. He has risen 
from the ranks, with mi outside aid or ad- 
vantages to assist him. and through the in- 
herent force of his own (diaracter. his recog- 
nition and utilization of oi>portunity and 
above all his uni-emitting industry, he stands 
to-day a leader among men in his adopted 
city. His life is an exemplification of the 
term, the "dignity of labor." 

]\Ir. Domddson is a native of the north of 
Ireland, born Sejitember 20, 184:^, his ]iar- 
ents being James and Isabella (True) Don- 
aldson, of Scotch descent. The father came 
with his family to Mcunit Clemens in the 
spring of 1844 and here he was first engagi'd 
on the construction of the old Clinton and 
Kalamazoo canal. He afterward followed 
his trade of bh-ud'Csmithing. In the family 
wei'c seven children, four of whom are \-el 
living: Andrew T., William S., Sarah and 
Belle. The last named is the wife of Oeoi-ge 
Longstaff, of l\Iount Clemens. The old home- 
stead, where they wei'e I'eared. is still in 
possession of the family. 

Andrew T. Donaldson was oidy six niiuitli-i 
ohl when his parents came to .\niei'ica. mak- 
ing their way dii'ecf to Mount Clemens, 
whei'e in the public schools he obtained his 
e(lucati(Ui. lie leai'ued his trade — that of 
blacksnnthing — in his father's sho|). an<l 
whi'U onlv fifteen \'ears (d' ati'e he enteri' 1 




ANDREW T. DONALDSON. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



423 



npou an iudependent business eannT in con- 
nection with liis brother, W. S. Donaldson, 
who had just tinished sehool. They opened a 
blacksmith shop under the firm name of Don- 
aldson Brothers, little thinking then that the.y 
would develop from it the largest industrial 
enterprise of the city. Their trade steadily 
grew as the two young men displayed their 
capability and willingness to work hard and 
steadily. The business relations between the 
brothers has since been maintained most har- 
moniously and in any business enterprise in 
which one becomes connected the other is 
also found as a stockholder. As their black- 
smithing patronage grew and their capital 
was thereby enlarged, the brothers pur- 
chased property adjacent to their shop at 
East and Fi-ont streets and eventually ex- 
tended the scope of their labors. In 1S6S 
they erected a large shop to rei)lace their 
first primitive structure and began the man- 
ufacture of wagons, buggies and sleighs. 
The business grew so rapidly during the next 
three years that in 1871 the Hrm erected a 
splendid foundry in order to enable it to 
make all of its own castings. With the foun- 
dry in ojjeration the firm branched out into 
the manufacture of agricultural implements 
and the growth of the business necessitated 
the building of a new foundry in 1875. In 
1883 the most pi-etentious addition, as yet, 
was made, it being a three-story building 
extending along both Front and Eighth 
streets. In 1890 a wood-working and ma- 
chine shop was added, and since that year 
the firm has been constantly adding store- 
rooms and enlarging its ditferent depart- 
ments, yet even this has not been suiificient 
and storage departments have been secured 
elsewhere. To-day the firm manufactures 
wagons, buggies, sleighs and various kinds 
oi agricultural implements and is quick to 
adopt a new device which the inventor 
brings to them, if it gives promise of prac- 
tical utility and seems to be a nuvrketable 
commodity. So many are the kinds of man- 
ufacturing done that the works are kept con- 
stantly in operation and one hundred and 
twenty-five men are employed throughout 
the year. A. T. Donaldson has charge of the 
manufacturing interests of the business while 
his brother superintends the office work, 
and each gives to the business his personal 
supervision, being thoroughly familiar willi 
every branch, both in piMin'iph' and detail. 
In tlie early days the\- superinti'ndcd person- 
ally all the work that went out. turning out 
nothing that was not first ela.ss, and they 



soon gained an enviable reputation for the 
<luraliiiity and wearing (lualities of all their 
liri>d\ie1s. 'i'his I'eputation has always been 
nuuntained and to-day theirs is the leading 
productive industry of the city. 

^Ir. Donaldson has also given his time 
and financial assistance to the furtherance 
of many other enterprises here. He assisted 
in organizing the llacomb Sugar Company 
and has served as its ])resident. He was 
one of the leaders in the organization of the 
Blount Clemens chamber of commerce and 
also one of the organizers of the Mount 
Clemens Electric Light Company. He is 
perhaps best known, aside from his manu- 
facturing interests, as the president of the 
Citizens Savings Bank. Early in 1900 Milo 
X. Davis, ex-county clerk, became convinced 
that there was a good opening for a new 
bank in this city, and. interesting a number 
of business men in the enterprise, the Citi- 
zens Savings Bank sprang into existence, 
capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. The 
stock found ready sale and was divided 
among fifty sul)scribers. Nearly all of the 
orignal stockholders have retained their 
holdings, and there have been few transfers 
of securities. The capital now stands at fifty 
thousand dollars and the undivided profits 
at ten thousand dollars. At the first meet- 
ing of the stockholders the following direc- 
tors were chosen: A. T. Donaldson, George 
II. Nichols. T. W. Newton, 'SI. W. Davis, W. 
F. Xank. W. S. Donaldson. Joseph ^Matthews, 
J. S. Paganetti and A. P. Grim, and the 
directors elected the following officers: A. 
T. Donaldson, president ; (ieorge II. Nichols, 
vice-president; Thomas "W. Newton, second 
vice-president, and Milo N, Davis, cashier. 
The bank opened its doors for business ^lay 
M, 1900. in the building which it still occu- 
pies, in a i)rominent block on ^lacomb street. 
The institution has been a linancial success 
from the start and has constantly found 
favor among the business interests of the 
city, a safe, conservative policy having been 
established and always maintained. 

Aside from business interests ]\lr. Donald- 
son has also been a factor in the city's de- 
velopment and ]irogress. He has served as 
aldernuin and for four terms has been mayor 
of Mount Clemens, giving to the city a pub- 
lic-spirited and ])rogressive administration, 
in which many needed reforms and improve- 
ments were instituted. He has also been 
elected a iiiPTliber of the school board until 
his service in that oHice covers a quarter of 
a centnrv and he has been instrumental in 



424 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB CUl .\TY 



biiildiug various scluxil buildings in Mount 
Clemens, also in securing tin- Carnegie li- 
brary and jiromotino' other movements whicli 
have added materially to the progress of the 
city. 

A feature of his life no less strongly 
marked is his interest in his church, lie is 
a trustee of tlie Presbyterian church and is 
active in many lines of its woi'k. In 18(i.") he 
was made a ^lason in Mount Clemens lodge. 
No. 6, A. F. & A. M., and he belongs to 
Chapter No. 69, R. A. M.: Council No. 8, 
R. & S. ]M. : Damascus Commandery. No. 212, 
K. T.. of Detroit : and the Mystic Shrine. He 
likewise holds mendiership with the Ma<-ca- 
bees and the Fm-esters. 

On the tith of November. 18(i!). Mr. Donald- 
son was married to ^liss Olive Dixon, a 
daughter of Silas Dixou, of that city, and 
their children are : Meta ; Henry S., who is 
employed in the office of Donaldson Brothers: 
and Rol)ert. deceased. 

Such in brief is the history of Mr. Don- 
aldson, who has spent almost his entire life 
in Mount Clemens, but the (nitline merely 
suggests the early years of struggle in the 
business world, the utilization of his in- 
creased income in later years, and the care- 
ful handling of his resonrces. He has pros- 
pered until his name is a familiar one in 
trade circles througho\it the country, and all 
who have liad dealings with liim ri'gard the 
name as a synonym of business integrity, 
but it is in his home town where his position 
is most enviable, for here he has won warm 
friendships and the high reuai'il of young and 
old. rich and poor. 



SPENCER .1. i).\ld5Y. 

Spencer .). Dalliy. one nf ihe partners in 
the Lakeside Ice & Coal Company of Mount 
Clemens, was born in London. Canaila. 
Octobei- Ki. 1(S(J2. and is a son of (ieorge 
Dalby. The fathei- was a native of England 
and by occupation a bookkeeper. On com- 
ing to the new world he settleil in Canada 
and in 1S()4 lie removed to Mount ClenuMis. 
where he spent his remaining days, his 
death occurring in 1882. In the fannly were 
ten children, all of whom are yet livinu. 
namely: Mrs. Rhoda Jacolii. Spencer .1.. 
George, Mrs. Isabella Hoskojip. Artbni'. 
Mrs. Fannie Selnite, ^Irs. ,\iina Munneley. 
Walter, Fred and llari'y. The motliei- of 
this large family is livint;' and i-esides in 
this citv. 



Spencer J. Dalby was only two years old 
when brought by his parents to ]\loinit 
Clemens, and in the public schools of this 
city he acquired his education. When aliout 
twenty-one years of age he started out in 
life for himself and was employed in the 
mills. Later lie worked for Jacob Shooke. 
of Mount Clemens, in a feed and grain store, 
there remaining from 1883 to 1887. Subse- 
(|uently. in connection with Henry Phries, 
he purchased his former employer's busi- 
ness, the relation being maintained until 
the death of his jiartner about nine months 
later. Fred Reymolds then purchased ^Ir. 
Phries' interest and was connected with Jlr. 
Dalby until 18110, when the lattei' liecame 
sole proprietor, continuing until 18!)."). when 
lie sold ont to .John (Jatz. In that year he 
was called to public office, being elected city 
clerk, in which i)osition he remained as the 
incumbent through three successive years, 
lie was also justice of the peace for a term 
of fonr years and proved a capital officer. 
He is now serving his third year as a hh'iii- 
ber of the board of public works, being 
chairman of the committee on sewers. 

In 1897 ;Mr. Dalby embarked in the ice 
business in connection with A. F. Sarns. 
which relationship still exists. They car- 
ried on the business for a time under the 
name of the Lakeside Ice Company and then 
purchased the business of Benjamin Lema. 
a dealer in coal, wood and Imilders' sup- 
|)lies. in Decemliei', 1904. The two business 
enterprises were then consolidati'd under the 
name of the Lakeside Ice & Coal Cominuiy. 
anil ilr. Dalhy is now active in the man- 
agement of the business, wliicli has grown 
to extensive iirojiortions. He is also con- 
nected with the lui'iiiture storage business 
and liis name is a strong one in cunimei-cial 
circles in Miniiit Clemens. 

On the 22nd of August. 1887. occurreil the 
marriage of Di-. Dalby and Miss .\ellie Fer- 
lin. a native of Mount Clemens and a daugh- 
ti'r of Samuel Ferrin. They have four chil- 
dren: ^largaret, Xelli<'. .Mice and Mildi'ed. 
Mr. Dalby is a member of the .Masonic 
lodge, \o. (i. at ;\louiit Cleiiieiis. and is also 
connectetl with the .Maccabees. He was 
likewise a charter member of the Blount 
Clemens fire de])artnient. of which he served 
as ca]>tain for eight years, and with the 
.Mount Clemens Club be still holds mem- 
bei'shi]). Almost bis entire life lias been 
spent in this city and be lias grown with its 
business develoimient. kecjiing in touch with 
the ideas of modern commercial j>rog'ress. 



PAST AM) PRESENT OV .MACOMR (H)I'XTY 



425 



He is now tlu' ciwiiiT of a Icailiii'^' c-niiiiiirr- 
cial t'liti'i'prise hciv and liis tmsiiicss career. 
l)eariiii;- the litiht of elose iiivestii;ati(iii and 
serntiny. serves to prove what can he aeeoni- 
plished through determination and earnest 
purpose. 



BURTON lloDtlKS. M. 1). 

Dr. Burton Hodges, en.ua.ged in the prac- 
tice of medicine in Armachi, was horn -luly 
23, 1872, at Ogden, ^licliigan, and is a rep- 
resentative of one of tile old families of the 
state. His paternal grandfalhei'. Israel 
Hodges, was born near ivochester. New 
York, and was of English lineage, lie fol- 
lowed the occupation of fai'iiiing and came 
to ^Michigan about 1842. speiuling his i-e- 
luainiug days here. He died in 18!)."). and 
his wife al.so passed away the same yeai-. 
Of their children. Byron is the fallu'i- of our 
subject. Addison was a jjrivate in a Michi- 
gan regiment during the Civil war and is 
now in the government service in Washing- 
ton. James is a farmei- of Ogden. .Michi- 
gan. Saphrona is the wife of Janu^s Lewis, 
a farmer, of Perrington, Gratiot county, 
^lichigan. Sarah is the wife of Josiah .\1- 
wood, a minister of the rnite(l Hrethi'en 
church of ^lorenci. ^Michigan. Alma is the 
wife of Luther Fry. a farmer of (tgden. 
.Michigan. Byrou Hodges was born in Hills- 
dale, Jlichigan. and pursued his literai-y ed- 
ucation in the academy at Adrian. \]r took 
up the study of medicine in the old .Michi- 
gan College of ]\[edieine in Detroit and was 
gradiutted therefrom in 1887 and is now 
practicing at Taylor Center in this state. He 
wedded ili.ss Melissa Smith, and of their 
cliildren Dr. Burton Hodges is the eldest, 
the othei's being: Roy W.. a graduate of 
the Michigan College of ^ledicine and Sur- 
gery at Detroit and now a jiracticing physi- 
cian at Brighton. ^lichigan : De.xie. the wife 
of Carson Long, a farmei-. of Tayloi- Cen- 
ter, Michigan; and Levern. at home. 

Dr. Burton Hodges obtained his Ii1eiar\- 
education in the district schools and after- 
ward continued his studies at Taylor ("in- 
ter anti in the "Wyandotte high school. De- 
termining to enter tlie medical profession as 
a source of livelihood he pursueil a coui'se of 
study in the -Michigan College of Medicine 
and Surgery, from which he was graduated 
with the class of 1894. He afterward, in 
IIMKI. jiursued a post-graduate ((ini'se in the 
New ^'iii'k l'osf-( iraduate School and Hos- 



pital but bad entered upon practice in Ar- 
mada in .liuie. I8'.t4. Here he has since re- 
mained, cn.joying a constantly growing pat- 
ronage, and he is a nuMid)er of the AVayne 
County .Medical Society and the ^lichigau 
State .Medical Society. .\ geiUM-al ]iracti- 
tioner. he has a wide and accurate knowl- 
edge of the piincii)les of medicine in its va- 
rious departnu-nts and in his field of labor 
has demonstrated his ability to successfully 
cope with the intricate i)i-obleiiis which con- 
tiiuially confront the physician. He taught 
school for one >-ear. but has made the |irac- 
tice of medicine his I'cal lifi' wiu-U. and is 
to-day ;i well-informed pliysieian. who has 
attaineil creditable success in his chosen 
Held of endeavor. 

In 189") Di-. Hodges was united in mari-i- 
age to ;\Iiss P^va E. Armstrong, a daughter 
of (iilbert and Enuna E. Armstrong. She 
was born in Armada township June 12, 1876, 
her father, a farnun- by occupation, having 
been one of the early settlers of that local- 
ity. He died in 1879 and liis widow has 
since become the wife of H. C. Aldrich. who 
is a dealer in hay and proiluce in Armada. 
;\h"s. Hodges obtained her education in the 
])ublic schools of Armada. She belongs to 
the Congregational (diurch and to the Ordei- 
of Eastern Star. Dr. Hodges being a mem- 
ber of Harmony lodge. A. P. & A. ]\L. and 
is also identified with the ^Masonic chapter 
at Romeo and the Odd Fellows" lodge of 
Armada, with the Maccabees, the Foresters 
and the Modern Woodnu^n of America. He 
is yet a young man. but has attained a po- 
sition of prominence in his jn-ofession that 
numy an older i)rac1itioner might well envy, 
and he is po])ul;ir soi-ially as well. 



JCnSON S. C.VRLETON. 

Jndson S. Carleton. who follows farming 
on secti(Ui :!(i. Washington township, was 
born -May 4, 1848. in the township where 
he still resides. His father. John Carleton, 
came west to Michigan when a young man 
and Oldened up \ho farm where the son now 
resides. The reni.-iiudi'r of his life was de- 
voted to general aurieultui-al p\u'suits and 
he passed away in Mai(di. 187.'i. His wife, 
whom he nuii'ried in this county, bore the 
maiden name of .Minerva I'l'cston and was 
born in ^loiu'oe county. New York. August 
22. 1822. Following the death of her tirst 
husband she was married again. In the fani- 
il\- were two children, the bi'other of our 



426 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .AIACO.MB COPXTY 



subject being Raotsford Carletou, of Oak- 
land eoiiutj', Michigan. 

Judson S. Carleton was i-eared to man- 
hood upon the home farm, working in the 
fields when not occupied with the duties of 
the schoolroom, and rendering valuable as- 
sistance in the labor of tilling the soil and 
caring for the crops. After attaining his 
majority he assumed the management of the 
home farm and eventually he succeeded to 
the ownership of the old home place and 
cared for his mother during her declining 
years. He has added to and repaired the 
house and has kept everything about his 
place in good contlitiim. He raises Guern- 
sey cattle and Shropshire sheep as well as 
various cereals, and the products of his farm 
— both grain and stock — command a good 
market price. He is energetic and resolute 
in business, straightforward in all transac- 
tions, and is meeting with a fair measure 
of success in the operation of his land, which 
comprises fifty acres on section 36, Wash- 
ington township. 

On the 1st of November, 1876, in Shelby 
township, ilr. Carleton was married to Miss 
Marion Tucker, who was born in Vermont 
but spent her girlhood days in Macomb 
eount,y. She died December 1, 19U-1:, leaving 
a daughter, ilabel, who was born January 
25, 1890, and is at home, studying music. 
They lost an infant son. Jlr. Carleton be- 
longs to the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which is wife was also a mendjer, and his 
political views accord with the princi])les of 
the republican ])arty. He is a member of 
the district school board, also a member of 
the grange, and is interested in all that per- 
tains to progressive agricidture, while in his 
business career he has demonstrated the 
power of enterprise, determination and laud- 
able ambition. 



.MA.JOR ALONZO .MERRILL KEELER. 

]\Iajor Alonzo Merrill Keeler, whose fel- 
low townsmen speak of him in terms of high 
commendation, knowing that his life has 
ever been an exemplification of sterling 
traits of character, was born in AVashington, 
.Macomb county, September 4. V826. His 
father, John Keeler, was born near Roch- 
ester, New York, in 1802, and was a son 
of Ezra Keeler, a native of Connecticut, who 
removed to Monroe county, New York, 
where he followed farming. John Keeler 
was marrietl to Miss Maria Fellows, a na- 



tive of Schoharie county, New York. On 
the 8th of June, 1826, he arrived in iMiehi- 
gan, settling on land which he had entered 
the year previous at Washington, ]\Iacomb 
countj-. There he made his home until 1850, 
engaging in general farming, after which 
he removed to Disco, where he purchased 
a farm. Several years later he sold his 
farm in Washington and for many years re- 
mained at Disco. Following his retirement 
to private life he resided in Richmond. He 
was a public-spirited and representative 
citizen and served his fellow townsmen as 
supervisor and in other local otiices. His 
children were: Alonzo M.; John Milton, 
who died at the age of two years ; Henry 
F.. who was born September 8, 1830, and is 
living in Montrose, Colorado; John J., Mdio 
was born ^lareh 16, 1833, and died October 
15, 1852, at tlie age of nineteen years ; Emma 
A., who was born in December, 1836, and 
died in 1892: Ezra, who was born January 
7, 18-40, and is au attorney at Denver, Colo- 
rado ; Maria iL, who was born September 
21, 1844, and became the wife of A. Lemuel 
Kingsbury, leaving five children at her 
death, which occurred March 10, 1878: and 
^lartin C, who was born November 9, 1848, 
and died November 29, 1883. 

ilajor Keeler obtained his elementary eilu- 
eation in the public schools and continued 
his studies in the academj' at Rochester, 
ilichigan, where he prepared for college. 
He then entered Oberlin College, in Ohio, 
but owing to failing eyesight caused by hard 
study, he had to abandon his college course 
and, i-eturning home, began teaching. He 
taught for five years at Disco, ending in 
1855, and he then became candidate for 
senator on the democratic ticket but was de- 
feated. For a year thereafter he taught 
school at Rochester, then at Disco for a 
year, afterwai-d at Utica, ilichigan, for two 
years, and later he returned to P'tica as a 
teacher. His business interests, however, 
were interrupted by his enlistment as a 
mendjer of Company B, Twenty-second 
ilichigan Infantry. He was chosen captain 
of the company under Colonel iMoses Wis- 
ner, ex-governor of IMichigan, and after be- 
ing mustered in at Pontiac on the 28th of 
August, 1862, went to Cincinnati on the 4th 
of Septi'mber — the 3(Jth anniversary of his 
l)irtli. The regiment had no ammunition, 
but they were drawn up in line there. They 
renuiined at Covington, just across the river 
from Cincinnati, until the 18th of Septem- 
ber and then moveil on to Lexington, where 




MAJOR AND MRS. A. M. KEELER 




MRS. JOHN KEKLKK 





-1 CHAUNCKV CHURCH 



lollN KKELEK 




^^^S. CHAUNXEVClll Kl II 



PAST AND PHKSFA'T nv MArnsm ("OrXTY 



431 



tlu'v arrived 011 the 2t)th of Uetober. Itsti2. 
In the following- Februarj' they went twenty 
miles south and then to Crab Orehard, Keu- 
tiieky, experiencing' considerable trouble 
with parties who stole the army cattle. Later 
they went to Lexington, Kentucky, and re- 
mained at Nashville. Teiniessee. until the -Jtli 
of September, 181)3, guarding those places in 
ortler to keep transportation open that sup- 
plies might be taken to the troops engaged 
in the Chattanooga and Chickamauga cam- 
paigns. They arrived at Bridgeport Sep- 
tember 13th. After a week they were or- 
dered to proceed to Chickanuuiga, the regi- 
ment lieing under conunand of Colonel Ileb- 
erlee LeFevre and Lieutenant Colonel Wil- 
liam Sanborn. I\Iajor Henry S. Dean was left 
at Nashville, on General William Granges' 
staff, and ^Ir. Keeler, being the ranking cap- 
tain, acted as major. On the 19th of Septem- 
ber they made a tour of investigation to de- 
termine the movements of General Brecken- 
ridge and his brigade, but found they were 
going in an opposite direction, and the Twen- 
ty-second ^Michigan returned in time to take 
part in the battle of Chickamauga, under 
comnuind of General Steadnum. The 
Eighty-ninth Ohio and the Twenty-second 
Michigan Avere joined to (Tcneral Whit- 
takcr's brigade and Colonel LeFevre was 
placed in command, while Colonel Sanborn 
commanded the Twenty-second ilichigan. 
During the battle he was severely wounded 
and ^lajor Keeler was placed in conunand, 
occupying a j)Ositiou on Snodgrass Hill, 
where a monument has since been erected 
by the state of ^Michigan to the Twenty- 
second regiment. They went into battle at 
1 p. m. and being ordered forward re- 
ceived a terrible fire and were frightfully 
cut uj). Falling back into line they were 
charged upon and made charges in return, 
ke('i)ing up this warfare until their ammu- 
nition was exhausted. The order came to 
hold the ground at all hazards, with the 
result that they took part in several bayonet 
charges, holding the ground until dark, 
when it was impossible to distinguish the en- 
emy from their own men. The.v were snr- 
r(nuided, the Twenty-second IMichigan l)eing 
the last to leave the line of battle. Five 
hundred and one men of that comnuind en- 
tered the engagement and among those taken 
prisoners were one hundred and seventy- 
eight men and fourteen officers, who were 
marched to Tuinud Hill, thence sent by train 
to Richmond. Virginia, and i)laci'd in Lil>by 
prison, Sej)tember 30, 18(53. IMajor Ki'ch-r 



remaiiunl there until .May 17, 1864, when he 
and other soldiers were removed to ]\Iacon, 
(ieorgia, where the_\' were incarcerated until 
July '27, 18()4. Six hundred Union officers 
were jiiaced inuler fire of Federal guns at 
Cliarleston. South Carolina, the major being 
among this nund)er. He remained at 
Cliarleston until October 5, when owing to 
a yellow fever j)lague the guards refused 
to remain longer and they were removed to 
the country, remaining in the open camp 
until December 12, 18()4. They were then 
taken back to {,'olumbia. South Carolina, 
where the}* remained until February 14, 
lS(i5, when, owing to the advance of Gen- 
eral Sherman's army, they were removed 
to Kaleigh, North Carolina, and were then 
sent through tlie lines at Wilmington on the 
1st of ilarch, 18t)5. and paroled. Major 
Keeler and others were then taken to An- 
napolis, where they were granted a leave 
of absence and he returned honu' on a thirt.y 
days" furlough. He was exchanged ilay 6, 
1865, and on the 15tli of the same month 
joined his regiment at Chattanooga, while 
on the 26th of June he was mustered out, 
with the rank of major, receiving two bre- 
vets for meritorious service. 

ilajor Keeler then returned to his old 
home in Michigan and in I8t)5 was appointed 
collector of internal revenue for his dis- 
trict. He held the office for a year and then 
refused to support President Johnson's pol- 
icy of reconstruction. He next taught school 
for a year, after which he became register 
of deeds, in 1868, and, following his elee- 
ti(Ui, removed to Blount Clemens. During 
his term of service he made an abstract of 
titles, this being the first work of the kind 
done in the county. In 1870 he was de- 
feated, but in 1872 was again elected, 
serving until January 1, 1875. The vote 
was contested, but the major won. On the 
1st of April. 1875, he removed to Richmond 
and in 1876 he began teaching in Armada, 
where he was identified with educational 
work for nine years. He has since devoted 
his energies to agricultural pursuits. He 
was the first jiresident of the village coun- 
cil of Richmond, and is now the county 
agent of the state boai'd of corrections and 
charities. He lias also taken a deep and 
helpful intei'cst in ])ublic affairs and for 
tvventy-five years has served on the school 
board. 

On till- 31st of Deernilier. 1849, Major 
Keek>r was mai'ried to Lucy Ann Church, 
a native of Chillenileu county, Vermont, 



432 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\L\COirB COUNTY 



and a daughter ui Chaiiuuej' aud Laura 
(Martin) Church, the former also a native 
of the Green ^lountain state. The grand- 
father, Asa Church, was a native of ilans- 
field. Connecticut, born in 1756, aud repre- 
sented au old colonial family. He married 
Jidia Humjihrey. who was born in "Winches- 
ter, New Hampshire, in 1772. Chauncey 
Church became a resident of ilichigan. Unto 
'Sir. aud ^Irs. Keeler have been born the 
following named : A. Martin, who is now 
in the roofing business in ilouut Clemens : 
Flora L.. the wife of M. R. Little, of .Mount 
Clemens; John C, also of that city: Ezra 
Bruce, a phvsician, of Detroit, Miehigau : 
Ella B., the wife of Charles F. Wheeler, of 
Richmond; and Heury A., who is living on 
the home farm. ^Ir. and ]\Irs. Keeler have 
celebrated their fifty-fifth wedding anni- 
versary and both are enjoying excellent 
health. He is one of the charter members 
of the Pioneer Society of the county. He 
belongs to the ^Masonic fraternity, in which 
he has attained the Roj-al Arch degree, aud 
is also a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic, serving as commander for several 
years of H. C. Beek Post. The life record 
of ^lajor Keeler is one which will bear the 
closest scrutiny and investigation, for 
whether in a public or private relation, in 
civic or military service, he has always been 
found faithful to the trust reposed in him 
and enjoys in high degree the friendship of 
his fellowmen. 



WH.L1AM 1). BEGROW. 

William D. Jiegrow. who is a prominent 
business man of Macomb county, having 
been actively engaged in merchandising in 
]\Ieade for twenty years, was born iu Wal- 
denburg, this county, November 27, 1858. 
His father, David Begrow, was a native oi' 
Prussia, iu wliich country he grew to ma- 
ture years, and wlicn a young man he sought 
a home in tln' new wurld. locating first in 
the Empire state. He was there married to 
Miss Christina Steinbring, a native of Ger- 
many. On leaving New York Mr. Begrow 
came westward to ^Michigan and cast in his 
lot with the early settlers of ^Macomb coun- 
ty, making his home in Waldenburg. He 
was a mechanic by trade and o{)ened a shoj). 
carrying on a blacksniithing and repairing 
business. At a latei' day, however, he re- 
moved to the t'anii uiion which he r<'ared his 



family. His death occurred about 1898, his 
wife surviving him for some time. 

William D. Begrow was reared to man- 
hood in this county and is indebted to the 
public school system for the educational 
privileges he enjoyed. He remainetl with 
his father until growu, and then engaged 
in business in ileade, purchasing a general 
store. He has added to the stock from year 
to year until he now has a large and well- 
e(piipped store, carrying an extensive line 
of general merchandise. He later established 
a furniture store just across the street, this 
being in 1S99. He has a cold storage for 
butter and eggs and haudles a considerable 
amount of farm products. His business in- 
terests are capably and carefully conducted 
and his jn-ecision and enterprise have been 
salient features of his success. In addition 
to his mercantile interests he has served as 
postmaster for a number of years, having 
first been appointed to the office iu 1884. 

Mr. Begrow was married in ^lemphis. 
Tennessee, in 1889. to ^liss Delia Movers, 
who was born iu Romeo, ^lichigan. and was 
reared and educated iu Memphis. Her par- 
ents were George and Caroline ^loyers. The 
father is now deceased, but the mother re- 
sides with Mrs. Begrow. Unto our subject 
and his wife have been born three chil- 
dren : W. Earl, F. :\Iae and ILirold 'SI. The 
family home is an attractive residence, 
which is situated just across the street from 
the store. The house is surrounded by a 
well-kept lawn, oruanu^nted with pine, cedar 
and other shade trees. Beautiful fi:"owers 
also lend color to the scene and the jilace 
is one of the attractive residences of ^leade. 

Politically ^Ir. Begrow is a republiean, 
unfaltering in his allegiance to the [larty, 
though without political aspiration for him- 
self. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias 
fraternity at Blount Clemens and to the L 0. 
F.. a fraternal insiu-ance organization. He 
is a nmn of good business capacity, neglect- 
ing no detail of his mercantile enterprise, 
eai'eful. ju'iideiit aiul reliable. His trade is 
now extensive aud he enjoys the good will 
and confidence of a large patronage. 



RANSOM FRANKLIN ODION. 

Hansom Fi-anklin Odioii. many years a 
resident of Macomli county, born iu Beth- 
any. (ieiu>see county. New York, in 1834, 
the fourth child of Ebenezer aud Lucretia 
( Fillmore) Odion. The family emigrated to 



PAST AM) I'HKSKXT OF .^lACO.Mli COlNTV 



433 



Michigau later ami tnok up their ahodc (in 
a farm in Rieluiuiiul township, ilaconih 
county. .Mr. Odion married Emma Hall, a 
dauiihtcr of Daniel Hall, an early pioneer. 
A natural inelination led him into the study 
of ai-chitecture and building-. ^Moving- to 
Komeo in 1868, -Mr. Odion enteri'd upon ae- 
tive d\xty in his ehosen vocation and nuuiy 
substantial and comfortable dwellings of his 
design adoru the beautiful village. He often 
expresses that "fire seems not willing to de- 
stroy my labor." The hanilsome home of 
il. 1. Hrabl), the Alden (iiddiugs residence 
and those known as the Chai-les Tackels, C. 
M. Taekels, J. N. Mellen residences and the 
Farnum mansion in Almont are among Mr. 
Odion 's eft'orts in the years of his toil. In 
1877 he entered upon the contract for erect- 
ing the First Congregational church, the 
handsome and eonnnodious gotliic edifice on 
]\Iain street, comi^leting the work to the en- 
tire satisfaction of the people of Romeo. 

Domestic in taste, with a natural liking 
for gardening, in later years he has devoted 
some time to the study of agriculture and 
]iomology. 'Slv. Odion has ever diligently 
read of public affairs and en.joj's the com- 
panionship of studious people. A trip to 
Colorado and one to California following his 
active mechanical career gives him a wide 
range for meditation and study, never tir- 
ing of relating his experiences on the early 
trip over the mountain roads to Leadville. 

.Mr. Odion has two living children : "Will 
B., of Van Wert, Ohio, a newspaper man; 
and Fred Newell Odion, of Chicago. 



PRESTON M. BENTLEY. 

Preston ^I. Bentley, who is extensively en- 
gaged in general farming and stock-raising, 
owning a farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres in Ray township, and forty acres in 
Shelby town.ship, and who also operates an 
adjoining farm, has for more than half a 
century been a resident of ^Michigan. He 
was born in Ontario county, New York, near 
the cit.y of Rochester, September 1, 1851. 
representing one of the old families of that 
state. His grandfather, Preston Bentley, 
Sr., was also a native of the Empire state, 
where he was reared and married. His son. 
Perry 'SI. Bentley, was born in New York 
in 1819 and there wedded ^liss Mary Reed, 
who was a native of Ontario county. He en- 
gaged in merchandising for a few years al 
Aliens Hill, New York, and two children 



were born unto them during their residence 
there. In 1852 Mr. Bentley brought his 
family to :Micliigan, making a permanent lo- 
cation in Macomb county. He bought land 
in ^Macomb township, where his son, Pres- 
ton ]\I. Bentley, now resides, and there he 
cleared and cultivated eighty acres of land, 
to which tract he afterward added by pur- 
chase initil he owned three hundred acres 
and was recognized as one of the prosperous 
farmers of the connnunity. His business in- 
terests were always conducted with justice 
and fairness and in the legitimate channels 
of trade he won his competence. His death 
occurred on the old liomestead in February, 
1898, and his wife passed away in July, 1893. 
In their family were two sons and three 
daughters who reached adult age, of whom 
three are living: Preston M, ; Ada and 
Carrie, of Romeo. One brother, Frank R., 
was married and located in this county, but 
afterward removed to ^Muskegon, ^Michigan, 
where he lived until he met death by acci- 
dent, January 7, 1904. 

Preston M. Bentley was reared in j\la- 
eomb county and in his school days also as- 
sisted in the work of the home farm, gain- 
ing the practical experience which later en- 
abled him to take charge of the farm and 
care for his parents in their declining years. 
He was married in ilacomb township, in 
1869, to Miss Mary A, Longstaft", a native 
of the same township and a daughter of 
Richard Longstaiif, one of the early settlers 
of ^Michigan, who came here from England, 
In the fiimily of Mv. and ^[rs. Bentley are 
five children: Bertha, the wife of George 
Wears, of Davis, ^Michigan: ^lamie, the 
wife of Frank Gass, a farmer, of Ray tovra- 
ship: Lou, Doeia and Richard, at home. 
The family have a pleasant home on section 
6. ilacomb township, and in addition to 
operating his own place. Mr. Bentley culti- 
vates his sister's land, which adjoins his 
own place. He has just completed a large 
barn, one of the best in Ray township, and 
in addition to the tilling of the soil he raises 
considerable stock, making a specialty of 
shorthorn Durham cattle and high-grade 
Merino and Shropshire sheep, which he 
feeds and fattens for the market. He also 
sells a large number of hogs and cattle each 
year and his stock-dealing interests are a 
profitable source of investment. 

Politically, :\rr, Bentley is a republican, but 
has never sought nor cared for office. He be- 
longs to the Maccabees and the Gleaners, fra- 
ternal insurance orders. He is interested in 



434 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



all matters of progressive citizenship and liis 
eo-oi)ei'ation can be counted upon to further 
any movement for general advancement in 
the county wliei-e he has lived for more than 
half a century. He takes great pride in what 
has been accomplished here, and may well 
be numbered among the pioneers whose la- 
bors have been simultaneously profitable to 
themselves and beneficial to the county. 



FRANZ C. KUHN. 



Among Mount Clemens ' business and pro- 
fessional men none are more closely identi- 
fied with the growth and best interests of the 
city and state than Franz C Kuhu, who for 
thirty-one years has made his home in Ma- 
comb county. Throughout this period he has 
been known for his sterling qualities, his 
fearless loyalty to his honest convictions, his 
sturdy opposition to misrule in municipal, 
state and national ali'airs, and his clear-head- 
edness, discretion and tact as manager and 
leader. His career at the bar has been one 
of the greatest honor and he has given some 
of the best etforts of his life to the purifica- 
tion and elevation of the city and county 
government through his service as prosecut- 
ing attorney. He is now probate judge of 
his county and a recognized factor in repub- 
lican circles of the state. 

•Mr. Kuhn was born in the city of Detroit, 
February 8, 1872, a son of John Kuhn, who 
removed* to ilount Clemens during the early 
boyhood of Franz and became a dry-goods 
merchant of the latter city. Franz C. Kuhn 
attended the public schools until he had 
completed the high school course by gradu- 
ation in June, 1889, and in the succeeding 
autumn he matriculated in the literary de- 
partment of the University of Michigan. As 
a young man he was greatly interested in 
outdoor sports and was one of those promi- 
nent in the organization of the Mount Clem- 
ens Light Infantry. During his senior year 
as a student in the literary department of the 
university he entered upon the study of law, 
and after receiving the degree of Bachelor of 
Science in 1893, he entered the law depart- 
ment and in 1894 the degree of Bachelor of 
Law was conferred upon him. At the Uni- 
versity of Michigan he was a member of the 
Phi Delta Phi fraternity; was business man- 
ager of the "Castalian," published by the 
" '93 lits. Independents''; and assistant 
business manager of "To-Wit," published by 
the " '94 laws." 



It was while attending the university that 
]\Ir. Kuhn entered upon his political career. 
He assisted in the organization of the Na- 
tional League of College Republican Clubs 
there and was a delegate from the University 
of Michigan to the fifth annual convention 
of the Rapul)licau League of the United 
States, held at Buffalo, New York, Septem- 
ber 15, 1892. It was at Buffalo, in 1892, that 
he met the late President ]\IcKinley for the 
fir.st time. He was also a delegate to the 
third annual convention of the American Re- 
publican College League, held in Syracuse, 
New York, April 6. 1894. That year he was 
appointed by President Theodore Cox, of 
New York, department chairman of the 
league for the states of Michigan and Ohio. 

Notwithstanding his political labors, Mr. 
Kuhn was a diligent student while attending 
the university and completed his college 
work with much credit. He was also prom- 
inent iu social circles in Ann Arbor and 
made friendships which have continued 
through all the intervening years. His sub- 
sequent political career in ^Michigan has 
been largely brought about by his labors for 
the cause of republicanism at the university 
and the friendships and acquaintances he 
made while there. 

On leaving the university Mr. Kuhn en- 
tered upon the practice of laM' in Detroit, 
opening an office in the Home Bank build- 
ing. In the fall of that year (1894) he was 
nominated by the republicans of ^Macomb 
county for the office of circuit court com- 
missioner. That was the year of the great 
republican landslide and the entire republi- 
can ticket M'as elected. He was a Pingree 
man when the Detroit mayor aspired to the 
governor's chair and was among those who 
were instrumental iu getting iMacomlj coun- 
ty's delegation for him. 

Mr. Kuhn was nominated for prosecuting 
attorney at Utica, September 26, 1898, and 
was elected by a majority of six hundred and 
ninety-one. He was nominated for a second 
term September 25, 1900, and on the 9th of 
September. 1902, came his third nomination 
for that office, to which he was elected by a 
nuijority of three hundred and fifty-eight, 
over B. S. Wright. Perhaps the greatest 
case tried during his incumbency was the 
famous Bliss nnirder case. Young Bliss shot 
his father, Jiuu^ 24, 1901, and was arrested. 
He told several stories, but finally said that 
the affair was a suicide on the part of his 
father. It was a hard fought case and one 
based largely on circuni.stantial evidence, re- 




FHAXZ ('. Kl'IIX. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



437 



sultintr in the iHiiiviction of iiiurtler in the 
second degree, for wliicli Bliss was sentenced 
for life to the Jackson pcntitentiary. 

In :\farch, I'JUd. Hal II. Smith, then presi- 
dent of the Republican State League of 
^Michigan, appointed ^Ir. Kuhn a member of 
the advisory council of the league for the 
seventh district. This appointnuMit marked 
the beginning of his rajiid rise iu state poli- 
tics. He was a delegate to every state con- 
vention from that time on and was looked 
upon as one prominent in the councils of the 
party. On the 2d of February, 1901, he was 
elected secretary of the Republieau State 
League of ^lichigan. and was elected its vice 
president the following year. In January, 
190:;, he was admitted to practice in the 
supreme court of the I'nited States. 

At the judicial convention held at Grand 
Rapids, September 25, 1902, :Mr. Kuhn led 
the ^laconib delegation in favor of the en- 
dorsement of General R. A. Alger for United 
States senator. A resolution was ]n'eseuted 
to the convention to that effect and adopted. 
On February 10. 1903, at Grand Rapids, he 
was elected president of the Repulilicau 
State League of ^Michigan. Before he would 
accept this position he declared he could 
not think of accepting it \inless the platform 
adopted hy the league favored a primary 
election law. During all the time that he 
was an officer of the league that organization 
fought gallantly to obtain the passage of this 
primary law. When he was vice president, 
iu company with President Feuton and 
others of the primary election committee of 
the league, he appeared before the commit- 
tee iu the legislature and argued in its favor. 
The nu'ctings of the advisory council dis- 
cussed little else but primary reform aud a 
fund was establislunl and literature and 
speakers furnished to spread the doctrine of 
purer politics. 

In August. 1903, Mr. Kuhn was offered the 
position of special counsel of the bureau of 
corporations in "Washington, but declined 
tin- otf<'r. In the spring of 1904 as a mem- 
ber of the executive committee he went to 
Jackson to celebrate the fiftietli atuiiversary 
of the founding »( tlir n-pnblican party. 
The judicial convention, nominating three 
judges for the bencli, was hejil in Saginaw, 
Sci)tember 8, 1904, and .Mr. Kuhn was an 
ardent advocate of .Mr. Blair, for whom he 
seciu-ed tlie support ol' his county. On tlie 
12th of September, 1904, at Warren, he was 
nominated by acclamation lor the office of 
jndLii' iif pi'obate anil was eleeteil bv a ma- 



jority of three hundred and I'oi-ly ovi'r Seth 
W. Knight. In 1905 he was tendered the 
position of reading clerk in tiu' United 
States senate, offered b.v Senator Alger, but 
he declined the honor, giving as his reason 
that he preferred to remain in .Mount Clem- 
ens and discharge the duties of the office 
to which he had been recently elected b.\- his 
nKin.\' frieiuls in Macomb county. 

Judge Kuhn is a member of many frater- 
nal organizations in Blount Clemens and is 
at present president of the Mount Clemens 
Club and secretary of the Mount Clemens 
Hotel and Bath House Association. For 
several years he was chancellor commander 
of the Knights of Pythias and the building 
up of this lodge was greatly dui' to his en- 
ergy. Not free from the attack to which all 
men of political prominence are subject, 
.Mr. Kuhn nevertheless has tiie respect of the 
vast majority of the peojile of his state even 
though the}' differ from him in opinion, and 
while never swerving in the slightest degree 
from a position which he believes to be right, 
he is never abusive in his treatment of an 
opponent and the consensus of public opinion 
ranks him with the men of strong aud hon- 
orable purpose who are working for jmrity 
and principles in politics 



HERMAN J. SLATING. 

Herman J. Slating stands for progress in 
all departments of agricultural life and in 
community interests as well, and is now ac- 
tively engaged in general farming on sec- 
tion 8, Leno.x township. The old Slating 
homestead on section 7 is the place of his 
birth, which occiu'red on the 4th of Novem- 
ber, 1869, his j)arents being Charles and Hen- 
rietta (Knust) Slating, natives of Germany. 
The father was born in Mechlenberg, Ger- 
many, in 1828, and came to Macomb county 
in 1864, settling in Lenox township, where he 
lUH'chased the Chapoton farm. Clearing the 
land he made all of the imi>rovi'menfs upon 
the place and in the early days experienced 
the usual trials and difficidties which fall to 
the lot of the frontier settler mIio phmts his 
home in the midst of the forest, lie still 
c;u-i-ies on general farming and since estab- 
lishing his home in this townshi]) he has 
added to his original possessions, becoming 
owner of the homestead upon which the 
son Herman now resides. lie is a member 
of the German Lutheran church of Omo and 
is well K-iio\vn as a resi)ected and woi-lhy 



438 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



citizen of his commimity. In his family 
were three children: Louise, now the wife 
of Robert Bfuiingartner ; Herman J.: and 
Edward, who is married and is living with 
his father. 

Herman J. Slating is indebted to the dis- 
trict school system of his native county for 
the educational privileges he enjoyed. He 
was reared to farm labor ajid remained upon 
the farm with his father until twenty-eight 
years of age, when he took charge of the 
farm upon which he now resides and upon 
M-hich he has made nearly all of the im- 
provements. The place is well drained and 
the land is rich and productive. He erected 
a handsome residence and also a barn in 
1898. He is now accounted one of the pros- 
perous agriculturists of his community, de- 
voting his time to the cultivation of the 
fields and care of the stock, and evei-ything 
about his place is in keejjing with the ideas 
of modern progress and improvement. 

In September. 1898, 'Sir. Slating was mar- 
ried to Miss Florence ^lay Peters, a daugh- 
ter of August and Dora (Hartway) Peters, 
of Lenox township. Her father is a native 
of Germany and became a resident of Wayne 
county, ]\Iichigan. in 1859, accompanying his 
pai-ents on their emigration to the new 
world. He- first settled in Wayne county 
hud in 1890 removed to Lenox townshi]), 
where he now resides, having still at home 
another daughter, Ennna B., and son, Arthur 
Clark. The latter is a concrete worker. L^nto 
Mr. and Mrs. Slating has been born one 
child — Beulah May Bell, who was born Jan- 
uary 3, 1903. The jiarents are members of 
the German Methodist Episcopal church of 
Omo and are well known in the locality 
where they reside, having many warm 
friends who esteem them highly. 



WILLIAM H. WEL("TI. 

William H. Welch is an active, enterprising 
business man, now largely engaged in buying, 
feeding and shipping .stock, to which Inisi- 
ness he has devotetl his energies Tor a i|iiar- 
ter of a century. He was born in Ontario. 
Canada, October 15, 1850, and is a son of 
Jose]ih Welch, who was Imi'ii Api'il 14, lS2i2. 
in Mountain townsiiij). Lower Canaiia, and 
was there reared and married. Tlir lady of 
his choice was ^fiss ^larv .Melntusii. who was 
bor-n June 10, 1S24. and was of Scotch- 1 i-isli 
pai-entage. Following their mari-iage Mr. 
Welch secured a farm in Ontario, whei-e he 



cari'ied on agi'icultui-al pui'suits for a num- 
ber of years, and then removeil to .Michigan, 
settling in St. Clair county about 1860, while 
in 1865 he came to .Macomb county. Here 
he purchased land, owning and operating one 
hundred and twent.v acres in Washington 
township. For a number of years he success- 
full.v carried on farming, but the last ten 
.vears of his life were spent in houoral)le re- 
tirement from further labor in Romeo, dying 
there ^lay 7, 1899. His wife survives him 
and lives in Romeo. In the family were seven 
children, two sons and five daughters: Sol- 
omon, wild owns and opei'ates a farm; 
TTaiiiiah. tiic wife of Lyman Hall, of Wash- 
ington tt)wnship: Eliza, the wife of Nelson 
Hill, of Lansing. Michigan: Flizabeth. the 
wife of John Hall, of North Branch town- 
ship : Nancy, the wife of William Haines, of 
Toledo, Oregon : and Linda, the wife of 
Cluirles Ca.se.v of Romeo. 

William II. Welch, the other member of 
the faiiiil.w ennie to .Michigan when a lad of 
twelve years and was reared in Clarion coun- 
ty. He came to Macomb county in 1865, but 
largel.v ac([uired his education in JIariou 
count.v. He spent his boyhood and .vouth 
upon his father's farm and assisted him in 
the cultivation of the fields until twenty-six 
.vears of age, when he resolved to establish 
a home of his own and engage in active busi- 
ness ventures. Therefore, on the 7tli of De- 
cember, 1876, he was united in marriage to 
Miss Jennie C. ^Fnrray. a native of Canada, 
who was reared in this count.v. They began 
their domestic life upon a fai'in in Washing- 
ton township, wheiv the.v remained foi' a year 
and then removed to (ii'aiul Hapids. .Mich- 
igan, where the.v resided for one .year. On the 
expiration of that period Mr. Welch returned 
to his farm, owning a tract of (Mghtv-five 
acres of land, and in addition lo the culti- 
valion of the fields he has raised and fed 
stock. His busin(>ss affairs have been care- 
full.x' eonductetl and his labor has been a 
strong element in his success, while his dili- 
gence and keen sagacit.v have also figured in 
his pros{)erit.v. Tie moved to Romeo in Octo- 
lier, 1904. when he purchased ri'sidenee proj)- 
ert.v. where he is now living. 

I'nto Ml-, and Mrs. Welch have been born 
four children: Liiinie L.. Wilhelmina, Harrv 
.\. :iii(i William llazeii, all under the par- 
ental roof. Politieall,\' Mr. Welch is a stal- 
wart repiililieaii, liiit wiliioiit political as))i- 
ratioiis for hiiiiseH'. lie belongs to the 
.Masonic f rat emit, v al Romeo, where he has 
tiikeii the Roval .Arch degrees and also became 



PAST AND PKKSENT OF :\IA('():\IR COrXTV 



439 



a Knight Templai- Masou. He likewise belongs 
to .Momit Clemens Conncil, R. & S. 'SI., and 
to the Jlystic Shrine at Detroit, and with his 
wife and two daughters is a member of the 
Eastern Star, while he and his wife are like- 
wise memlx^rs of the Aneient Order of ilac- 
cabees. ilr. Welch is well known in Mount 
Clemens and ilaeomb i-ounty, for his business 
relations have brought him in contact with 
many representatives of the farming commu- 
nity and also a large number of othei- citizens 
here. lie stands higli in pul)lic regartl and in 
matters of citizenship it is known that he may 
always be found upon the side of i)rogTess 
and iiiii)ri)vcni('nt. 



JACOB P. GOODELL. 

Jacob P. Goodell. a retired farmer living 
in the village of Arnuida, was born in Da- 
rieu, sixteen miles from Buffalo. New York, 
in December, 1833, and is a son of John and 
Xabbie (Smith) Goodell. The former was a 
farmer by occupation and came to ^lichigan 
in 183(i. settling in Kay township, Macomb 
county. He purchased land and with char- 
acteristic energy began the development of a 
good home for his family. He died December 
5, 1902, having attained a ripe old age. His 
wife pa.ssed away in 1873. They brought with 
them to this country four children. In their 
family were five sons, as follows: Shubel, 
who died in Richmond, but his widow is now 
living in Armada ; John W.. who married and 
left one child, the mother also being de- 
ceased; Josiah R., a farmer who I'esides in 
Tuscola, near Fostoria, ilichigau, and has 
one son and one daughter; Jacob P., of this 
review; and Lyman, wiio is living in David- 
son, east of Flint, ^lichigan. where he fol- 
lows farming. He has three children, two 
sons and a daughter. He served in the Civil 
war as wagonniaster in the Eighth Michigan 
Cavalry. 

Jacob P. (ioodell began his education in a 
log schoolhouse. sitting on slab seats. The 
students wiio wctc large enough to write had 
boards i)liiced in front of them to serve as 
desks. Later .Mr. (joodell attended a school 
held in a frame building, but his educational 
privileges wi-rc somewhat limited, although 
e.xjx'rienee. ol)servation and reading have 
added largely to his knowledge. In early 
manhood he worked at the carjienter's trade 
for seven or eight years and then put aside 
his tools in order to shoulder the rifle and 
become a did'etidei- of the Urn'oii cause. He 



enlisted on the l.st of Xovendjcr. 18()2. in the 
Eighth .Michigan Cavalry, as a private, and 
was nmstered out on the 20th of January, 
1863, in order that he might accept a promo- 
tion, and on the (Jth of June, 18()4, was com- 
missioned second lieutenant in Comi)any H, 
Eigiith Michigan Cavalry. On the 21st of the 
sanu' month he was a])|)ointed to the rank of 
fir.st lieutenant and when the war was over 
received an honorable discharge, being mus- 
tered out at Pulaski. Tennessee. July 20, 1865. 
He iiarticipated altogether in fifty-two skir- 
niishes and battles and traveled twelve thou- 
sand miles during that time. For fifteen days 
he was within the Confederate lines, but 
eventually made his escape. His brother was 
also captured, but he bought the sergeant ofif 
and got back to the Union lines. 

Jacob P. Goodell was mari'ie<l in Jaiuiary, 
1862, to iliss llaiuiah Lee. a daughter of Wil- 
liam Lee, who was a. resident of Ray town- 
ship. There were two children of this mar- 
riage, Theda and Flora. The former is the 
wife of Charles Shoemaker, a farmer residing 
at Ferry. Jlichigan, and they have four chil- 
dren. Flora is the wife of Fred Chubli. a 
merchant of Berville, ^Michigan. In 1883 Mr. 
Goodell was called upon to moTU-n the loss of 
his first wife. He has since married Mrs. 
Hannah (Fulton) Bissell and they have one 
son, John, who is now eighteen years of age. 
By her first husband she had one son, Edwin 
Bissell, who is employed in the Cadillac Auto- 
mobile Works, in Detroit, ilichigan. and who 
is married and has a daughtei-. Mrs. (ioodell 
was born at Port Elusa. eleven miles from Ni- 
agara Falls, and is a daughter of Henry Clay 
and Margaret (Devereaux) Fulton. Her 
father was a ca])tain on the lakes and was 
said to be without a sujierior in the voca- 
tion which he chose as a life work. He died 
in 1889, while his wife i)assed away July 2(), 
1887. Mrs. Gondell was educatecl in the 
schools of Chatham and Chicago, and also in 
St. Catherines, Canada. 

In his political views .Mr. Goodell is a dem- 
ocrat, having supported the party since 
attaining his ma.jority. He has been a ^lason 
for fifty-one years, having joined Macomb 
lodge more than a half century ago. He now 
b(>longs to Harmony lodge. No. 43, A. F. & 
A. .M.. anil lioth he and his wife are members 
of the Eastern Star. He holds membership 
with the (irand Ai'my of the Rei)ublic and 
his wife with the Woman's Relief Corps, 
and of the latter she is .junior vice command- 
er. She likewise belongs to the Congrega- 
tional clmri'li. Both Mr. and .Mrs. Goodell 



440 



PAST A.NU PKESEXT UF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



have the higli csteein of niauy friends aud 
enjoy the favorahh' regard of all who know 
theiii. They now reside in the village of Ar- 
mada, whei-e they have a niee home, and he 
still owns his farm, eomijrising one hundred 
and twenty acres of vahiahle land. He has 
been very sneeessful in his hnsiness career, 
for having started out in life without capital 
he is now in possession of a comfortable com- 
petence. From the time of his return from 
the army until a very recent date he contin- 
uously and actively carried on agricultural 
pursuits and his enterprise and labor have 
proved the foundation upon which he builded 
his prosiierity. When he became a resident 
of this locality the land was all covered with 
timber and only one man in all this part of 
the county owned horses. Pioneer conditions 
everywhere existed and the evidences of fron- 
tier life were seen in all homes, but as the 
years have advanced great changes have been 
wrouiiht and the transformation has made Ma- 
comb county one of the most highly improved 
in all this gi-eat commonwealth. 



HEXKV BENNETT. 



Henry Bennett, accounted one of the enter- 
prising business men of Washington, who for 
a number of years has been active in public 
life as well as in pi'ivate business interests, is 
now serving as township treasurer, a position 
which he has occupied for the past four years. 
He was born in JIacomh county, June 31, 
1831. and is a son of Luther Bennett, a native 
of ^lassachusetts. in which state the father 
was reared, lie was a niechanic and lilack- 
smith by trade and in the year 1830 he came 
to the west, settling in ^lacomb count\-. 
Michigan, where he established a blacksmith 
and repair shoji. this being the first of the 
kind in Washington, lie carried on business 
for a number of yeai-s and afterward bought 
and operated a small farm, which he con- 
ducted in coiniection with his blacksmithing. 
His last (hiys were passed in this county and 
thi'ough a Iihil: period his upright life com- 
mended him 1(1 the contidence and esteem of 
all with whom lie was associated. His early 
political supi>oi-t was given to the whig pai'ty 
and he afterward sui)i)orted tin' rcpul)lican 
party. His wife survived him for a ninnber 
of years and reached the venerable age of 
almost ninety-five. She was born in Rut- 
land, Vermont, and when nineteen years of 
age removed with Ihm- parents to .New ^'ork 
state, where she marricil Luther Bennett. Tn 
their faiiiih' were two sons and live daiightei-s, 



who reached mature years, namely: I'oUy. 
who was married and lived in this county 
hut is now deceased; ]\Irs. Rhoda (Ireeii, a 
willow, living in the village of Washington; 
Charles, who is rctii-ed and divides his time 
between Detroit and Washington. Michigan: 
Heniy. of this review, and Jane Ij.. who i-e- 
sides ujxin the old homestead. 

Henry Bennett was reared upon his father's 
farm and is indebted to the schools of Wash- 
ington for the early educational privileges he 
enjoyed. He afterward attended a select 
school taught by Professor Keeler at Di.sco. 
In his youth he learned the blacksmith's 
trade with his father and he and his brother 
Charles carried on business for a number of 
years. Later he turned his attention to the 
manufacture of fanning nulls, in which busi- 
siess he continued for some years, or until 
about 1868. Later he engaged in farming, 
owning a fruit farm near the town, on which 
he has a large and iiue orchard, regarded as 
one of the best in the county. He raises 
various kinds of fruits upon his place and his 
perseverance. cond)ined with his untiring en- 
ergy and sti'ong determination, enable him to 
meet with a gi'atifying measiu'c of sucee-s. 

^Ir. l^ennett was married first near Koches- 
ter in .Monroe county. New York, to ]Miss 
Hannah D. Carman, a native of New York, 
who died in ]\Iacomh county, ilichigan. in 
1864, leaving one son. Carman L. Bennc^tt, a 
farmer of Washington townshij). ]\Ir. Bennett 
was again mju'ried in the Emjiire state, his sec- 
ond union, however, occurring in ( )i'leans 
eouuty, in 1868. at which date Susan L. Cor- 
bin became his wife. She, too, was born and 
reai-ed in New York, They have a dauuhter. 
Ella L, Beniii-ll, now .Mrs, 11, .\, (ii'iftin, of 
Ann .\rl)or, 

Mr, Bennett prouiliy cast his first ballot for 
the candidates of tlie whig ])arty and contin- 
ued one of its su|)|)orters until its dis.solution. 
when he joined tlic ranks of the new republi- 
can party, wiiieh he has since supported. He 
w;is electi'd and served as township treasurer 
and by reason of re-election is now filling the 
position foi- the second term. He has also 
been collectoi' and has been a delegate to 
\Mrions conventions. He keeps well informed 
on tile pdliiical (|iii'stions and issues of the 
day and is reeo>.ini/.ed as a party leader in his 
coinmnnitv. His wife is a member of the 
I'niversalist chui-ch and ]\Ir, Beiuu'tt belontrs 
to the ^lasonic fratei'uity. holding membership 
in .Mac<imb lodge. No. 64, A. F. & .\. .M.. of 
w!ii<-h he servetl as master for eighteen years 
and is now past master. He has also been its 





iMR. AND MRS. HICNRY BENNETT 



PAST AND PRESENT OK .MACOMl? COUNTY 



443 



represent ;itivc t(i the i;r;iii(l lodge for eighteen 
yeai's. lie likewise lieldiigs to Konieo ehaptiT 
and conuuandery and is not only a Knight 
Templar ^lason hnt is also a nieniher of the 
Detroit Temple of tlie .Mystie Shrine, lie 
served for one year as liigh priest of the chap- 
ter and his opinions are tlioroiighly in accord 
with the teachings and tenets of the craft. 

He is one of the few remaining early settlers 
of the eonnty. lie has resided in the village 
of Washington for seventy-fonr years, cover- 
ing the greater part of his life, aiul has an ex- 
tensive acquaintance in the eoiuity, wliere lie 
is known as a man of trust and responsibility. 
He has lived an exemplary life and has been 
a useful and public-spirited citizen. Few men 
have longer ri'sided within the borders of this 
county than lias .Mr. Bennett and he is well 
informed concerning its history, wliile in pub- 
lie affairs he has aided in molding and shaping 
the destiny and purpose of the county. 



GEORGE G. ROBERSON. M. D. 

Dr. George G. Roberson, now the oldest 
practitioner of medicine in I'tica. was born 
January 26, 1855, in Mount Cleniens, and is 
a son of Jacob and Euialine (Charter) Rober- 
son, the former a native of New Jersey and 
the latter of Chautauqua county. New York. 
Both were of Scotch lineage, their ancestors 
having come from the land of the hills and 
the heather to America. When a young man 
Jacob Rol)erson moved to Mount Clemens, 
ilichigan. He had pursued his education in 
the schools of New Jersey and had there 
learned the miller's trade, which he follo\ved 
until his death. He began the milling busi- 
ness in Utica in 1858 and was identified in 
that manner with industrial interests until 
he departed this life in 1874. His jilaut was 
called the Canal ;\Iills and is still operated 
by water power. His widow survives him 
iind makes her home with her son George, 
who is the ehU'st in the family of tw^o sons 
and a daugtiter, but one of the sons died 
in Blount Clciiiens in his boyliood days, '{'he 
ihiugliter. Jennie, is the wife of D. L. Strong, 
a .ieweler of Flint, .Micliigan, and they have 
a daughtei- twenty years of age. 

Dr. Roberson continued liis education in 
the Ftica liigii school ;iiid in the State Uni- 
vei'sity at Ann Arbor, .Michigan, where he 
spent one year. He afterwai'd devoted two 
years to study in I In- Detroit Afedical Co''°ge 
and for one year was a student in the ni- 
versit.y of Beiliii, in (ieniiany, being al\ oad 
in 1893. H nipleleil bis eoui'se in tl'- De-iii 



tniil .Medical College in the i-lass ol 1877 
and enteivd npon jiractice at Norris, now 
.\orlli Dell-nit. liul remainetl there for only a 
few inoiilhs, aftei' which he came to Utica, 
wliere she has since lived, being now the oldest 
])ractitioner here. He has mucli consuilation 
work and pi'actices in the surrounding towns 
and country as well as in I'tiea. .Mmost 
from till' heginiiini;- of his I'esidenee hei'e his 
business has been of pi'olitalile pi'opoilions 
and his laiiors liave proven of much benefit 
to tho.se in need of professional services in 
his line. He is now examining physician for 
the Maccabees, the New ^'ork Life Insurance 
Company, the .Michigan Life Insurance ('om- 
pany. thi' Provideiu-e Tjife Insurance Com- 
pany and the Savings Life Assni'anee Com- 
pany. He belongs to the .Miicomb County 
Medical Society, the Northeast District iled- 
ical Society and tlie ^Michigan State Medical 
Societ.y : and the i)i'ominence accorded him by 
the medical fraternity is indicated by the 
fact that he has held office in each of these. 
lie is also a nieiiihei- of the board of pen- 
sion examiners ami he maintains an office at 
his residence and at his store, foi' in connec- 
tion with liis medical practice hei-e he is pro- 
prietor of a drug and grocery store in Utica. 

Dr. Rolierson was married in 1879 to ^Miss 
Clara Eanies. a daughter of John and Jane 
(Lester) P]ames, the former a native of Con- 
necticut and the latter of .New York. 'SW. 
Eames was of Knglish lineage, while the Les- 
ters came from Ireland. .Mrs. Roberson was 
educated in Utica and in the high school in 
Ann Arbor, ^lichigan, and for two years suc- 
cessfully engaged in teaching. B.v her mar- 
riaue she has become the mother of two sons: 
William B., born February 21, 1881, was 
gi'aduated fi-om the Utica high school, the 
Detroit high school and the Thiiversity of 
.Michigan, and is now editoi' of the Association 
.Ieweler. Edgar J. Roberson, born Novendier 
2(i, 1S82, is a graduate of the Utica high 
school and (lutchess Business College of De- 
troit and is a steiiogi-apher. being now em- 
ployed in a wholesale ami I'etail establish- 
ment in Choteau, Montana. \\ one time he 
was |)riva1e secretary for Senator Gibson of 
(ireat Falls, ;\Iontana, and during that piM-iod 
was in "Wasliington. I). C. 

\)r. Ixobei'son has alwa,\'s bi-eii a stanch I'C- 
publican. and he belongs to the Maccabees, 
the Foresters and the Masonic lodges, bcMUg 
niaslei' ol' the last named. Both he and his 
wil'e are connected with the Order of the 
Lastern Stai'. in which his wife is woi'thy 
iilron. and his al'lilialion with the cral't cov- 



444 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\rB COUNTY 



ers a quarter of a feiitury. The^■ are both 
widely kiiowu here and the circle of their 
friends is almost co-extensive with the circle 
of their acquaintance. Dr Roberson stands 
high socially and professionally and with 
full realization of the responsibility that de- 
volves upon him has kejit in touch with the 
lU'o.uress of the medical fraternity and thus 
continually promotes liis efficiency. 



LUTHER C. BATES. 

Luther C. Bates, carrying' on general agri- 
cultural pursuits, was born in 1855 on the 
farm where he now resides in Lenox town- 
ship, his parents being Daniel and Almira 
(Dryer) Bates. The father, the second of 
the twelve children of Ezra and ]\rargaret 
Bates, was born in the state of New York in 
1825 and came with his parents to ilacomb 
county in 1835, the family home being estab- 
lished in Chesterfield township. AVhen about 
eighteen years of age lie began teaching and 
during the fifteen years which he devoted to 
that profession he was a teacher in the Bates, 
Atwood and New Haven schools. In the early 
'70s he was appointed school inspector, after 
which he gave u]) teaching and returned to 
his fai'm, which he had purchased in 1855, 
known as the Crandall farm in Lenox town- 
ship, and on which his son Luther is now 
living. He cleared the land, making all the 
improvements thereon, and soon a well de- 
veloi)ed property' was the visible evidence of 
his life of thrift and diliuenee. In commu- 
nity affairs he was interested and active and 
he served as supervisor of Lenox township 
for eight oi- ten years. The mother, daughter 
of Thomas and CTeora Dryer, was born in 
1830 and died in 1866, leaving two chiklren, 
Luther C. Mild Florence K. (now ;\Irs. Pierson, 
of Iladley, .Michigan). For his second wife 
tin- fallier chose Miss Jennette Haskin, a 
daughter of Hiram and JMary Haskin of ila- 
eonib township. He died September 17, 1901, 
leaving a widow, who is now living on a pait 
of the old homestead, and the .son and dauuh- 
ter of the first iiuirriage. 

Luther C. Bates was a student in the dis- 
trict schools in his boyhood days and reiiuiined 
on the home fai-m in his youth, taking full 
charge of it wiicn twenty-one years of age 
and continuiuii- its operation to the ]>resent 
time. He carries on general atiricultural 
pursuits and the fields ai-e now highly culti- 
vated, while in their midst are substantial 



buildings and in the pastui'es are good grades 
of stock. 

In September, 1880, Mr. Bates married ]\Iiss 
Jlargaret Buckindail, a daughter of George 
and Sarah Buckindail, of Richmond town- 
shij). who were natives of Canada and came 
to Macomb county about 1864, settling in 
Richmond township, where they spent their 
remaining days, the father dying in ^larch, 
1.898. while his wife passed away in ^larch, 
1875. They liad a family of eight children : 
ilrs. Emily Haar, of Lenox; ilrs. Bates; Jo- 
seph Henry and ]\Iichael, of Richmond: ;\Ii-s. 
Adeline Haar, of Richmond: ilrs. Phoeba 
•lackman, of Harbor Springs, .Michigan: ^Irs. 
Charles Nowlin, of Tuscohi, ilichigan: and 
.Mrs. Jane Peffers, of Ilarlior Beacii. Huron 
county. 

The home of .Mr. and .Mrs. Bates has Ijcen 
blessed with two daugliters. Nellie and Clara, 
who are with their jiarents on the home farm, 
which is a well-kept i)ropei-ty, indicative in 
its neat and thi'ifty appi';ii-anci' of tlie careful 
supervision of a jiainstak'ing and progressive 
owner. 



JOHN .McKAY. 



John McKay, who has been identilietl with 
the development of the lumber industry of 
ilichigan and is now devoting his energies to 
general agricultural pursuits on section 32, 
Richmond township, was born on Pi'ince Ed- 
ward Ishnid. June 14, 1839, a son of Donald 
and Ilughina ]\IcKay, juttives of the high- 
huuls of ScotUmd. The father was born in 
Sutherlandshire in 1803 and in 1815 went to 
Prince Edward Islaiul, where he lived until 
1848, when he removed to Kent county, near 
Chatham, Ontario, Canada. There he car- 
ried on gvneral farming until 1861, when he 
sold his iu'o]i('rty thei'c and removed to ilichi- 
gan, purchasing, in parlnershi|) with his son 
John, a farm in Macomb county, and lived 
in Memphis. There he made liis home un- 
til 1881, when he sold out and resided with 
his son in Richmond township until his death. 
He was a devoted member of the Presl)yterian 
church and for many years served as one of 
its elders. After coiiung to Michigan, as 
there was no church organization of his de- 
nomination in his locality, he joined the Con- 
gregational church, of which he was an ac- 
tive memiier at the time of his demise, in Au- 
gust, 1882. His wife ])assed away a year 
later, at the age of seviMity-seven. Of their 
f'amilv of nine children five are still living: 



PAST AM) PHESEXT OF .MAC'O.AIB COUXTY 



445 



t'atlicriiic. the wife of Kichanl Hall, ol' Lon- 
don. Ontario ; ilartlia. the wii'e of Thomas 
Hail, also of London: Ji'ssio, the wife of Wil- 
liam Peake, of Chattanooga, Tennessee ; Jane, 
the wife of William Weatherby. of Ionia. 
;\Iiehiiian ; and John. One son. Kenneth, en- 
listed in the Lniou army as a miunher of Com- 
pany (i. Tenth Miehiuan Infanti'v. and saw 
some haril serviee. He was wounded and ta- 
ken prisoner at Buzzard "s K'oost and sent to 
Andersonville, where he lingered in poor 
health for six months and then answered the 
last bugle eall, his remains being interred out- 
side the jjrison walls, his life being thus given 
a saeritiee on the altar of his eountry. 

John ^leKay began his education in tlu; 
schools of Prince p]dward Islaiul and com- 
pleted his studies in Chatham. Ontario, to 
which place he removed with his parents in 
18-18. At that time he had to pay a school 
rate, for the public school system had not 
been inaugurated. He came with his parents 
to ^liehigan in 1861 and with his father pui'- 
ehased a hou.se iu ^Memphis, carrying on gen- 
eral agricultural pur.suits and teaming 
until 1880. when that property was sold and 
John ]\IcKay purchased the Dixon farm from 
S. Stone iu Richmond township, which is his 
present home. He has since made many im- 
provements, has remodeled the house and has 
erected nearly all the other farm buildings on 
the place. He has also brought his land up 
to a high state of productiveness and the fields 
now return to him good harvests, making his 
annual income a gratifying one. 

For two years Mr. INlcKay was foreman of 
the Au Sable Boom & Kafting Log Company, 
of which John Stanley, of St. Clair county, 
was superintendent. In 1873 he began lumber- 
ing in the winter mouths in the position of 
foreman in the camp of W. B. Stewart and 
afterward for John P., William and James 
Sanburn. of Port Huron. He continued that 
work until 1879. when he formed a partner- 
ship with Robert Stewart, of Memphis, con" 
tracting to get out so many feet of lumber 
each winter. The most of their work was 
done in ]-5ay county, ]\Iiehigan. and for three 
c(msecutive winters they got out six million 
feet of timber. In 1882 Mr. ;\lcKay withdrew 
from the i)artnership and began contracting 
on his own account, lumbering for William 
Jenkinson, of Port Huron ; ]\IeGraw. of Bay 
City: ^MeClure & Company, of Saginaw: 
Westover. of Bay City; and J. L. Wood, of 
Cleveland, Ohio, with whom he contracted to 
get out five million feet of timber in the win- 
ter of 1881). When that contract was com- 



pleted he gave up liuiibrring and returned to 
the t'Mi'in, since which time he has given his 
undivided attention to agricultural pursuits. 

-Mr. ilcKay was nuirried June 25, 1874, to 
-Miss Mary W^eatherby, a daughter of Leviah 
and Mary S. Weatherby, of Dunville, On- 
tai'io, whose parents were natives of Vermont 
and Ireland, respectively. :\Ir. and Mrs. :\Ic- 
Kay had five children, of whom four are liv- 
ing: John W., who spent his early life on 
the Port Huron division of the Grand Trunk 
Railroad as an operator and also in Detroit, 
is at present fireman on the Wabash Rail- 
road, living at Decatur. Illinois. Donald 
Scott is connecli'd with electrical business in 
Chicago; Dallas h'ichard is a stenographer of 
the same city: and Kenneth Hugh is at home 
with liis fathei-. The wife and iiiother died 
.Alarch 19, 1904. 

In his political views 'Sir. ilcKay is an earn- 
est republican and his first vote in the Cnited 
States was east for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864. 
He is a member of Armada lodge, No. 143. 
A. F. & A. IM., and he is one of the oldest 
^Masons iu Richmond township, having been 
identified with the craft since 1865, while in 
his life he has been true to its teachings and 
tenets. In liis business career he has been 
watchful of ojiportunities. quick to master 
an intricate situation and his labors, discern- 
ingly directed in the channels of trade, have 
been the resultant factoi's in his success. 



SAMUEL D. CRAXT. 



Samuel D. Grant, who is connected with 
the grain trade iu Richmond, was liorn in 
Richmond town.ship, ilacomb county, Decem- 
ber 20, 1865. His father, Duncan Grant, 
was born in ]\Iontreal, Canada, as was his 
father. Alexander Grant, while the hitter's 
father was a native of Scotland, whence he 
emigrated to Canada, where he engaged in 
farming. Alexander Grant was the first of 
the name to come to ^Michigan, settling in 
St. Clair county in 1846, and there he en- 
gaged in the tilling of the soil, devoting his 
active business life to that work. His son. 
Duncan Grant, having been reared in St. Clair 
county, removed to i\Iaeomb county about 
1860 and purchased a farm in Richmond 
township, two and a half miles north of 
Lenox and a mile east of his jiresent home. 
He nuirried Ai,netta Closs, who was born in 
Richmond township, and they became the 
])ai'cnts of I'nur children, of whom two arc 
living. 



446 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Samuel D. Grant, the third in order of 
1)1 rth, spent his boyhood days on the home- 
stead and was ediieated in the distriet schools. 
He worked in the fields through the months 
of summer and continued to assist in the 
cultivation of his father's farm until 189U, 
when he removed to Richmond and accepted 
a position with ]\Ir. Acker in the hay and 
g:rain business and when the business inter- 
ests in that line in Richmond were consoli- 
dated Mr. (irant became superintendent of the 
elevators and warehouses — a position which 
necessitates his visiting: the various plants 
of the new company. He also buys hay and 
g:rain and has become one of the best known 
representatives of the trade in eastern ^lielii- 
g'an. During his superintendency the busi- 
ness has been increased by the addition of 
twelve or more elevators and warehouses. He 
is highly spoken of by the company which 
he represents and is fonnd reliable and trust- 
wt)rthy in all business i-elatious. 

'Sir. Grant was married, in July, 1901, to 
Miss Ella Brewer, of St. Clair county, a 
daughter of Charles Brewer, an old and re- 
spected resident of that county, who served 
in the Civil war. They make their home in 
Richmond and enjoy the warm-hearted hos- 
pitality which is extended to them by their 
many friends here. Slv. (irant is enterprising 
and progressive and his advancement to his 
present position of trust and responsibility has 
come in recognition of his cajiablc and faith- 
ful service. 



HUGH SUTHERLAND. 

Hiigh Sutherland, deceased, who was num- 
bered among the brave soldiers that ^lacomb 
county furnished to the Union cause and who 
for many years was a respected citizen and 
successful farmer of Chesterfield township, 
was born in Canada, August 29, 1839. His 
parents, Alexander and Helen Sutherland, 
had emigrated from (ilasgow. Scotland, to 
Canada, the year previous and in 1855 they 
came to Macomb county, settling in Chester- 
field township. They were the parents of ten 
children and the father died when his son 
Hugh was fifteen years of age. 

Jlugh Sutliei-land accpiired his education in 
dis-trict schools in Camida and this county 
and I'emained upon the home farm until after 
the inauguration of the Civil war. when he 
gave evidence of a patriotic spirit by enlist- 
ing in 1861, as a member of Company I, Ninth 



.Michigan Infantry, under Captain William 
Jenny. His comi)any was in an engagement 
at Tyi'ee Springs and he was honorably dis- 
charged on acciiunt of disability in 1863. Al- 
thdugh he participated in few engagements he 
went on some of the hard marches. The regi- 
ment was assigned to the Army of the Cum- 
berland but did detached service, guarding 
the line of comnumication. 

After being nnistered out Mr. Sutherland 
returned to his home, and on the 30th of 
April, 1864, he was married to ;\Iiss llari-iet 
Hicks, a daughter of James L. and ^lary 
Hicks, natives of Ne^v Jersey and New York 
respectively. Becoming pioneer .settlers of 
Macomb county they located in 1856 on forty 
acres of land in the northeast corner of Ches- 
terfield township, where they remained until 
1875. when they became residents of Plain- 
well, .Michigan, where Mr. Hicks filled the 
oifice of marshal for a number of years. He 
died there in 1897, aged eighty-two years, and 
his wife pa.ssed away just nineteen hours later, 
so that they were buried in the same grave. 
There were thirteen children in their family, 
of whom six were left to mourn their loss, Mrs. 
Sutherland being the eldest. The others are: 
ilrs. Barrenger and Mis. W. D. Minor, of 
Kalamazoo, ^Michigan : .Mrs. Lockwood, of 
Saginaw, this state : and Mrs. J. Chapman and 
Joseph Hicks, of Plainwell. One .son. Byron 
Hicks, gave his life for his country diiring the 
Civil war. He entered the army at the open- 
ing of hostilities and after serving three years 
re-enlisted, being starved to death in Belle 
Isle prison in August, 1866. Thii-ty-eight 
years ago the verses at the close of this sketch 
were written and sent to his mothei'. 

In the year of his marriage Hugh Suther- 
land settled in Chesterfield township, where 
he bought eighty acres of timber land, but he 
gave forty acres of this in payment for the 
building of his house and on the remaining 
forty acres he lived until 1878. In the mean- 
time he made extensive improvements, placing 
the land in a highly productive condition. He 
then sold to Frank Seit'fert and bought eighty 
acres on the Telegraph I'oad. of which sixty 
acres was covered with dense timber and a 
small house was the only improvement in the 
way of buildings. For the first five years he 
did little farming, devoting his attention to 
the arduous task of clearing the lanil. cutting 
the timber into logs, bolts and cordwood, 
which he hauled to New Baltimore and Blount 
Clemens, some days using eleven or twelve 
teams in this way. He tlien entered upon an 
effort to get a countv ditch through his farm 

















, : j^lPPPf^WTWOS^^^^l 


1^ 




ji^^Ei^'' fl 


K. 






H^' 

^^^^'' 


p: 


^vHHHHHHBR^^v^ 


^ 



MRS. HUGH SUTHERLAND 




Ill(;il SI'rilKKLANl), 



PAST AXD PRESENT OF MACOMP. ("OrXTY 



451 



and spfiit t\\(i yi'iu-s fighting the ease iu the 
eourts but was titially successful and thus 
olitaiiieil ail iiiitlrt for liis farm drainage. In 
1879 he liuilt a barn and in 1884 a second 
one. In 1888 he erected his house and after 
getting his land in shape for cultivation he 
began raisini;' wheat, hay and corn. Ilis 
health failiiii^- in 188!l he bought a house and 
lot iu New Haven, to which lie removed, leav- 
iug his farm in charge of his son William. 
After nine years spent in town he returned to 
the farm that he and his wife miglit aid in 
earing for the cliildren of his son AVilliam, 
their mother having .just passed away. I'hcy 
remained there for a year and then went to 
New Baltimore, where Mr. Sutherland re- 
mained until his death, July 1, 1902. His im- 
paired health was undoubtedly largely caused 
by the hardships which he endured for fifteen 
.vears while working in the lumber woods, but 
in his later years lie was enabled to enjo,v the 
comforts of life that come through the pos- 
session of a competence that he had gained 
through his persistent labors. 

Unto ;\Ir. and ;\Irs. Sutherland were born 
five children, but Frederick is deceased. The 
others are William II. and Byron J., who arc 
mentioned on another page of this work; 
Charles C; and Jennie h.. tlie wife of Frank 
L. Bacon, of New Baltimore. 

Mr. Sutherland was a stanch republican, 
deepl.v interested in the success of the party. 
He belonged to John Stockton post. No. 380. 
G. A. R., and was a faitliful and zealous mem- 
ber of the Congregational church. His re- 
mains were interred in Oakwood cemetery in 
New Baltimore and his death was the occasion 
of sincere and widespread regret, for he was a 
man of genuine worth, respected by all who 
knew him because of his lo.valty in citizenship, 
his trustworthiness in business and his tidelit.v 
in friendshi[). lie was devoted to his family 
and was an earin'st Christian man. 

STAKVKl) IX A SOUTHERN PRISON. 



IN .MK.MOKV OF BYROX UICKS. 



He died not on the battle field. 

Amid tlie battle hum. 
He died not where the cheering shout 

Proclaimed a victory won. 

He died not where tlie starry flag. 

He bravely fought to save. 
In future ti'iuniph iii-oudlv floats 

0"ei' maiiv a hero's grave. 



( ) ! licttri- IkkI III- iiirl his doom, 

'.Mid tire and Miiokc and shell; 
Than ill a soiithiTii prison's gloom, 

Til bi'catli Ills last lari'Wrll. 

Hut (iod who iMilcs above the sky 

And o'er the sons of men. 
Looked down and lie;inl the prisoner's sigh, 

And lironLilit ri'lief aujiin. 

Then I0 his angels (|uiekl.v said. 
"tin bring tile siill'ei-er home. 
.M.v mart.vred one. who fought and liled 
For thee, for thee I come. 

■'No more to face the eaunou mouth. 

Thy duty it shall be. 
Far friiiii tli,\' eldDmy |)rison wall. 

1 eoilie In set t hei' free. 

And O! we trust that He who once 

Thi-ough the dark valle,v trod, 
ilet, and received your dying boy, 

And bore him home to God. 

That ill the soldier's iiiutual strife 

Ei'e sight and sense grew dim, 
The Savior heard liis d,ving prayer, 

And (tod reiiieniliered him. 

But 0! to die iu a strange land. 

No loving e.ve to weep. 
No dear friend there to iiiarl< the spot 

Where B.vron now iiiiist sleep. 

No vision of a mother's foi'in, 

His dying eye to bless. 
No sister with affection warm 

To give her last caress. 

But then we know in God's great book 

An a^vful record stands. 
Of thousands of these miii'dered ones 

Starved in southern lands. 

And when the Lord in .judgment 

Sits on His great white throne. 
At whose hand will he re(|uire. 

The shed blood of his own ! 

— Mrs. Frances Avert. 



J(MIN F, HAGAMAN. 

John F. Hagaman. a jirominent farmer and 
stock-breedei'. residing on section 7. Bruce 
township, is |)ro])rietor of the Spring Lake 
stoek farm, one of the most valuable and best 



452 



PAST AND PRP]SEXT OP^ MACOMB COUNTY 



iiiij)rov<'d farms in ^laeoiiih i-ounty. A native 
of Gennauy he was born near the town of 
Deborou, in the province of ^leeklenburg- 
Sehwerin, July 2, 1845. He Avas the son of 
John J. and Anna (Harten) Hagaman. His 
fatlier, a farmer by occupation, was born and 
lived near Ueboron until he came to the 
I'nited States. He had two brotliers and one 
sister. His mother was a daughter of Chris- 
topher Harten. a large landholder who lived 
and died near the city of Ro.stock. He was 
also a large breeder of dairy cattle and car- 
ried on an extensive dairy. jMrs. Hagaman 
was one of a family of ten children. In the 
spring of 1851 John J. Hagaman decided to 
emigrate to the United States, and with his 
family took passage at Ilambui'g on a sailing 
vessel. They were on the ocean seven weeks 
and three days, arriving in New York Avigust 
7. They came directly to Detroit, where a 
few days after the arrival of the family in 
that city ]\lr. Hagaman. his wife and one 
daughtei- were stricken with cholera and all 
three died in one night, the only survivors 
of the family at the present time being the 
subject of our sketch and his sister. ]Mrs. 
Louisa Elwell, of Oakland county. ^Michigan. 
In that county, living with his sister, John 
P. Hagaman grew to manhood. In August, 
1865, he came to ^lacomb county and was 
married July 19, 1868, to Miss Anna E. Pow- 
ell, who was born in the town of Bruce, ]Ma- 
comb county, June 21. 1844. They have had 
four sons: A. Powell. born September 24.1869; 



Carl. Februarv 



1875, who died in iufancv 



J. Bert. October 7, 1876 ; and Howard A.. 
December 27, 1884. A. Powell is very much 
interested in sheep and is in partnership with 
his fathei- in breeding registered O.xford 
Down sliecp. of whicli he has sole charge. He 
also has a large tiock of registered Angora 
goats. This is comparatively a new iudustiy 
in .Michigan. As he has selected the founda- 
tion of liis tiock from the very best breeders 
in the west he has some very choice animals 
of this lu'ced. J. Bert was married June 6. 
lilOd. to -Miss Blanche Butler, daughter of 
William and .Mary (Simoji) Butler, of North 
Branch. .Michigiui. He lives in Noi'th Bi'ancli 
and is engaged in the hardwai'e and farm im- 
plement business. Howard A., the youngest 
NOM. is at boiiic. lie has an interest in the 
stock, assists his father in the care of the cat- 
tle and is a breeder of i)ui'e-bred jMiultry. 

.Vbraiu T. Powi'll. the father of 'Sirs. Haga- 
man. was born in Spi'ingtield, Otsego county. 
New York, December 28, 1803. He was one 



of the pioneer settlers of Macomb county, as 
he came to ^lichigan in 1825 and located in 
AVashington township in 1826. He was mar- 
ried Augu.st 24, 1834, to Sarah A. Field, who 
was born in Ea.st Guilford, New Haven coun- 
ty, Connecticut. September 6. 1812. In 1835 
yiv. Powell purchased a farm in Bruce town- 
ship, where he lived until his death, which 
occurred in 1873. Mrs. Powell died in 1900. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hagaman began their domes- 
tic life on a portion of the Powell homestead, 
and Mr. Hagaman has added to this by pur- 
chase until the farm now contains three hun- 
di'cd and twenty acres of the best farming 
land. In 1869 .Mr. Hagaman began the breed- 
ing of shorthorn cattle, which he has made 
the chief industry of the farm. He is one of 
the oldest and largest breeders of this stock 
in eastern ]Miehigau at the present time. His 
herd consists of forty head of choice breed- 
ing .stock, with Lord Roberts, an imported 
bull, at the head of the herd. ]\lr. Hagaman 
has never failed in wiiuiing a goodly share 
of prizes when exhibiting shorthorns at the 
fairs. In the World's Fair dairy demonstra- 
tion at St. Louis, in 1904. he had two cows 
with their calves, and both cows won pi'izes, 
one standing fifth in the test of fifty of the 
best dual-purpose shorthorn cows which could 
be procured in the United States and Canada. 
As a breeder and stock-dealer JMr. Hagaman 
is widely and favorably known, and he stands 
high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens who 
apinvciate his sterling w(n-th and many ex- 
cellent traits of character. By his ballot he 
supports the men and measures of the republi- 
can party, but has never wished for office. 
preferring to devote his entire time and at- 
tention to his extensive business interests. 



CAPTAIN H1RA:\I BARROWS. 

Captain Hiram Barrows, sou of Captain 
David and Ruth (Bullock) Barrows, both of 
^Massachusetts, was born in Wyoming county. 
New York, October 11. 1824." .Mr. Bari'ows 
came to ]\Iaconib county in 1848 and settled 
on section 3, Ray township, which ])lace lie 
improved and occupied until 1866. 

On Septendjcr 15, 1846. he married Bath- 
sheba Chamller Hathaway, who was boi-n at 
Bristol, New York. .March' 20. 1S22. She was 
a teacliei- fi'om early girlhood and was a direct 
descendant of the llathaways who settled in 
Plymouth, .Massachusetts, in 1630. She was 
a beautiful Christian chai'acti'i-. a devoted 
wife, an unselfish mother, loving friend and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



453 



kiud lU'iirhlior. She was always sout for in 
any case of sickness for miles ai'ouud her 
home. Durino: the period of her luisbaud's 
absence in the army, she took upon herself 
tlie heavy duty of superintending- the farm. 
This, with her constant anxiety, enfeebled a 
delicate constitution and she oidy lived a 
.short time after her hnsbanil's return fi-om 
the army, dying of consumption. She gave 
her life for her country as truly as many a 
soldier who died in battle. 

She left two sons: David Ilarlau Barrows, 
l)()rn Novendier 8, 18,3(1, and lliram Jtdius 
Harrows, boi-n Api-il '2. IS.jS. David H. Har- 
rows entered his father's store in 1SH9 and 
continued in business with his father until 
the latter 's death and still conducts the busi- 
ness. After his father's death he was cliosen 
deacon of the Congregational church of Ar- 
mada, which office he still holds. He was 
appointed postmaster June 1. 1897, and he 
is still serving the community in that capa- 
city. In 1870 he married Lucy E. Tenney, 
a granddaughter of David Stone, one of the 
early .settlers of Ray, ]\Iacomb comity. They 
had two children: Harlan lliram and Bes- 
sie Hathaway Barrows. Harlan II. is at this 
time an instructor at the University of Chica- 
go, in geology and geography. Bessie H. died 
at her home at Armada at the early age of 
eighteen years, July 2, 1899. The second son, 
Hiram Julius Barrows, was born at Ray, ^la- 
comb comity, on Aj)ril 2. 1858. He also entered 
his father's store and continued in the t)usi- 
iiess mitil a short time before his father's 
death. In 1892 he bought the Armada Graphic 
and continued to edit that paper until 1904, 
when he removed to Oberlin, Ohio. He is still 
in the printing business. He has held office in 
both townshi]! and vilhige. At the death of his 
father he took cliarge of the Congregational 
Sundax'-school and continued to serve as its 
suiierintendent until lie removed to Oberlin, 
Ohio. June 80. 1881. he married Harriet 
Eliot Andrews, daughter of Hon. Charles An- 
drews, wliose father. Rev. Elisha Andrews, 
took up one thousand two hundi'ed acres of 
governmi'nt land in 1841. Tliey liave one son. 
Charles Hiram Bai'rows. 

^Ir. Bai'rows enlisteil in Company A, Ninth 
ilichigan Regiment of Infanti-y: was elected 
by the company seciuid lieutenant ; was made 
first lie\iteriant December 10, 18(31; was 
wounded in action and taken prisoner at ]\lur- 
freesboro, July IS, 18()2: exchanged August 
27; made cai)tain October V.i, 18(i2; mustered 
out Novembci' l(i, 18(34: and returned home 
in ^larcli, 18(3"). The regiment was engaged 



in twelvi' battles, in all but ■ d! whirh Cap- 
tain Barrows was engaged. 

In 18f)(5 he removed to the village of Ar- 
mada, then known as Burk's Cornei-s. In 
that year he purchased two tracts of land, one 
on the east side and one on the we.st side 
of the village. Tiiis land he platteil in lots, 
doiuding all the .streets of the village. .Most 
of these lots were .sold to build homes on. He 
arranged it so that the buyers could make 
small payments. In this way a great many 
home were built in the village. He was anxi- 
ous that they should be attractive and for sev- 
eral years he fnrnislied a man jind team to 
all who would plant ti'ees in front of their 
lots. Perhaps over half of the beautiful ave- 
nues of maples that adorn the village were 
planted in this way. 

He was e(iually interested in the moral, in- 
tellectual and spiritual develoimient of the in- 
habitants of the village. He always looked 
after the welfare of the young people and the 
hearty and earnest welcome given to them 
at church and Sunday-school constitute some 
of the pleasantest recollections of many mid- 
dle aged persons to-day who sjient their youth 
in Armada. He was ever a foe to all influ- 
ences that would tend to lower the standard 
of high Christian character. When he sold 
the land to the Armada Agriculture Society 
to be u.sed as a fair ground he had the deed 
drawn so as to forbid horse-racing and all 
sorts of gambling on the grounds. He was 
always active in the temjierance cause and 
spent a great deal of time antl money in try- 
ing to suppress the traffic. He was an ardent 
supporter of good schools and thi-ough his 
efforts, with the co-operation of others, the 
Armada high school soon ranked as one of 
the best in the comity. Tie was twice elected 
as .iustice of the jieace, also filled the office 
of su])ervisor of the township. He served as 
postmaster for four terms. In 1868 he, with 
Dr. Smith of Armada, began the erection of 
the first brick block in the villa.tre, upon the 
i'oin|)letion of which he entered mercantile 
business, in which Iw contiiuied until his 
death in 1892. His sons were bttth asso<-iated 
with liim in business. 

On April 9, 1868, ;Mr. Barrows married 
Agnes Brownlee Little. She was born at Glas- 
ford, near (Uasgow. Scotland. July 11. 1884. 
The Brownlees wei'c an old historic family of 
Avondale. Scotland, and were dii-ect descend- 
ants (if Thomas Hrownli' ■, tlie standi cove- 
nanter who defeated Lord Clavers at the fa- 
mous battle of Drumdog. John Brownlee, 
fathei- of IMrs. Bari'ows. came to .\merica for 



454 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



t)olitical ivasons in 1S42. He settled in De- 
troit, where he lived four years. His health 
having failed him, he removed to Macomb 
eoiinty in the sprinij of 184f) and settled ou 
a farm twelve miles north of Detroit ou the 
Gratiot road. There were three children in 
the family: Aiiiies Brownlee. "William Gil- 
more Hrownlee and Margret Brownlee. At 
this time this part of the county was nearly 
an uiil)rokeu wilderness, witii neither church 
nor school privileges. In 1847 two other 
Scotch families came and settled cm land ad- 
joining them. Robert Hopkins, father of the 
celebrated mai'ine artist of Detroit, and Rich- 
ard Common, the father of a large family. 
These three families soon began to hold religi- 
ous .services, held in their respective homes, and 
soon liy their united eiforts established a 
school. .Mrs. Barrows pursued her education 
in ^loiuit Clemens. She conuiienced teaching 
before she was thirteen years of age, entering 
upon this work in June while her thirteenth 
birthday occurretl in July. This school was 
near what was then known as the Big JIarsh, 
and it was not an uncommon occurrence for 
her to meet and kill a rattlesnake on her way 
to or fi'om sch(Hil and to go to sleep at night 
listening to the howling of the wolves. She 
taught this school foi- two seasons. She con- 
tinued to teach and attend school until No- 
vember 4, 1854. when she married John Dun- 
lap Little, son of Robert Little, of one of the 
early pioneer families of ]\lacomb county. 
There was one child, Clarion, born August 20, 
1855. She married Charles C. Carter and 
died .March 22. 18!)2. leaving four sons. 

Williiim (i. Bi-ownlee came with his parents 
to Macomb county in 184fi, when he was 
eight years old. He spent his boyhood and 
early manhood in Macomb roiinty. In 1860 
he married Mary Jones, who was a daughter 
of one of the early pioneers of the county. In 
1865 he removed to Detroit and engaged in 
the lumber business. He was an enthusiastic 
and able advocate of free trade. He was rec- 
ognized as a strong leader of that element in 
oui- politics and contributed many tariff ar- 
ticles to cni-i-ent literature which attracted 
widespi-ead attention and won for him the ad- 
miration of all advocates of that system. He 
was an honor;irv member of the Cobden Free 
Trade Club of i-lngland. The Detroit Jour- 
nal, a protectionist jiaper at that time, in an 
cditoriid wi-itten just after his death said: 
"Mr. Hrownlee insjjired rc>spi'ct even among 
those who differed with his ])i'ononnced opin- 
ions on the s\ibject of protection and free 
trade. He was sincere, he was courteous, he 



was honest — three qualities in any champion 
of any cause that are sure to gain the regard 
and esteem of his antagonist." He left four 
sons and one daughter. 

^largret, the younge.st member of the 
Brownlee family, was born in Erin, .Macomb 
county, Janiuiry 111. 1854. and is the wife 
of Professor AVilliiUu F. Jewell, who has l)een 
at the head of the Detroit Business I'niversity 
for over a cpiarter of a century. She has 
three children. 

After the ,1,-ath of Mr. Little. Mrs. Bar- 
rows attended school and again engaged in 
teaching school. She came to Armada as a 
teachei- and was imirried to Captain Barrows 
Ai)ril it, 1868. There was one child, H\ith B. 
Barrows, born Decemlier (1. b'^lii). She luar- 
ried Frank E. Lathrop June 20. 1888. She 
left one son, Laurence Barrows Lathrop. She 
died Jiuie 5. 1892. ilrs. Barrows has been 
ideutitied with the religious, literai-y and edu- 
cational interests of Arnuubi ever since her 
residence in the village. She has been presi- 
dent of several literary clubs, a member of the 
Woman's Relief Corps, a teacher in the Sun- 
day-school for ever thirty years and is a 
member of the Congi'egational church. Her 
family was long identified with this I'cligious 
faith, her grandi)arents and parents being 
members of the old Scottish Independents, 
afterwards known as Congregationalists. She 
has taken great interest in hel])ing to estab- 
lish a free township library. She has recent- 
ly fitted up a room for the library which is 
a credit to the town. The library contains 
nearl\' ;i thousand volumes. She lives in Ar- 
mada and well deserves mention in this vol- 
ume, not only because of her personal worth 
but also as a representative of one of the 
worthy pioneer families of the state. 



LAFAYETTE ^V. GTDDINGS. 

Lafayette W. Giddings is an honored vet- 
eran of the Civil war, who at the time of 
the country's peril esjioused the Cnion 
cause and did his full share in maintaining 
the su])reniacy of the stars and stripes. He 
has always been a resident of ilacomb coun- 
ty, his birth having occurred in the town of 
^Vashington, June 2, 1830, while his resi- 
dence at tin' present time is on section 5, 
IMacomb lownsbiii. The family is of Eng- 
lish lineage and was founded in Massa- 
cluisctts iu lli:!n. Representatives of the 
famih- in later generations removed to Con- 





MR. AND MRS. L. W. GIDDINGS 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



457 



necticut ami our sulijcct's groat-graiulfather 
was Joshua (liddiiigs of that state. The 
grandfather. Niles Ciddiugs, was born iu 
Comieetieut, and when the eoh3nie.s attempt- 
ed to throw ott' the ,yoke of Uritish oppres- 
sion he joined the Continental army and 
fought for American indepeiidenee. lie af- 
terward removed from Comieetieut to New 
York and was one of the early st'tllers of 
Washington eounty. that state. 

Lester Giddings, the father of our su]),iect, 
was born in the town of (4i'anville. AVash- 
iugton county. New Yorlc. .inly liS, 171)2, 
spending his youth there and after arriving 
at man's estate was married to Miss Experi- 
ence ililler, also a native of New York. 
Thinking that he might have better business 
opportunities in the great and growing west, 
^Ir. Giddings eanie to Michigan in 1823 and 
purchased government land in the town of 
Washington, ^Macomb eounty. lie entered 
eighty acres and then returned to his home 
in New York. In 1S25 he again came to 
^Michigan with his family and locating on 
the land which he had entered he at once be- 
gan to clear and cultivate it. and in due 
course of time opened np a good farm. He 
resided thereon imtil 1S31. when he sold 
that place and purchased the old homestead 
upon which Lafayette (iiddings now re- 
sides, lie bought one luuulred and twenty 
acres here and again he performed the ardu- 
ous task of developing a new farm, but he 
was persistent in his work and his labors at 
length brought him a good return. He spent 
his last years upon the old homestead and 
died January 2, 1879. His wife had pre- 
viously passed away, departing this life No- 
vember IG, 1868. Lester Giddings was also 
a soldier and served his countr.y in the war 
of 1812. In his family were seven sons and 
three daughters, all of whom reached mature 
years but only two are now living. 

Lafayette W. Giddings .spent the days of 
his boyhood and youth on the farm where 
he now resides. The sjiirit of valor mani- 
fest in his father and grandfather was also 
shown in his enlistment, when in 1864 he 
joined ('omi)any B, Fifteenth Michigan Vol- 
unteer Infantry. With that eom])an\- he 
went south and .joined the army of the Ten- 
nessee. He partici])ated in a number of skir- 
mishes and was with the army until the 
close of the war, when he was honorably dis- 
charged at Detroit in September, 1865. 

Returning to his home Mr. Giddings then 
took charge of the farm and business in- 
terests of his father, caring for his iiai'inits 



in their declining years and liius rewarding 
them for the care and attention which they 
had bestowed upon him in his youth. As a 
farmer he has worked persistently and en- 
ergetically and his untiring elforts have been 
resultant factors in winning him desirable 
success. He has lieljx'd to improve and nuike 
this farm what it is to-day. and in his busi- 
ness transactions he has never been known 
to take advantage of the necessities of his 
fellowmen. 

On the 17th of October, 18(i(;, .Mr. Gid- 
dings Avas married in Macomb county to 
jMiss ]\Iary A. Dryer, a native of this county, 
born in the town of Lenox, and a daughter 
of Thonuis F. Dryer, who came from New 
York to ^Michigan. ^Ir. and ^Irs. Giddings 
have become the parents of four children, of 
whom three are living, namely: Cleora, the 
wife of Pish C. Davis of Dryden, Lapeer 
eounty, IMiehigan, by whom she has five chil- 
dren : Fay, Hazel. ]\Iarie. Clare and Homer; 
(ieorge Reed, a merchant of Davis, who is 
married and has two children, Adell and 
Lucretia : ]\Irs. Delia M. ]\Iiller, who is now 
a widow residing in ^Macomb township and 
who has four children, Irene, Alton, Mar- 
guerite and William G. 

In his political views i\Ir. Giddings is in- 
dependent. He cast his first presidential 
ballot for John C. Fremont in 1856 and at 
local elections votes for the best man regard- 
less of partj'. He has never been an office- 
seeker nor has he cared for political prefer- 
ment, but the cause of education finds him a 
warm friend and public progress is dear to 
his heart. He has lived a useful and exem- 
plary life and is known as a kind, hospitable 
gentleman, while he and his estimable wife 
enjoy the Marm regard of all who know 
them. 



IRA J, i>()\'I<]JOV. 

Ira J. Lovejoy. whose business activity has 
been one of the elcMnents in the ni)buil(ling of 
Kiclniiond. wliei'e he is now engaged in mer- 
chandising, was horn in Columbus, St. Clair 
county, ^Michigan, June 30, 1854. his parents 
being Julius and Elizabeth (Parker) Love- 
joy, the foi'iiier a native of Vermont and the 
latter of the state of New York. The grand- 
father, Byger Lovejoy, was also a native of 
Vermont and came west at an early da.v. He 
helped survey a part of the cit.v of Chicago. 
At his death he was buried near the boundary 
liiu^ Ix'tween Illinois and AVisi-onsin. It was 



458 



PAST AXl) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



in the year 1835 that Julius Lovejoy arrived 
iu Michigan and east in his lot with the pio- 
neer settlers of St. Clair county, wliere he 
carried on agricultural pursuits until his 
death, which occurred in 18li4, lie took 
active and helpful part in reclaiming the wild 
land for the purpose of civilization and aided 
in laying the foundation for the progress and 
development of that portion of the state, lie 
acceptably served as justice of the peace for 
several years. In his family were six sons 
and a daughter. 

Ira J. Lovejoy, the fifth in order of i)irth, 
pui-sued his education in the district schools 
and remained on the homestead farm until 
fifteen years of age, when the family re- 
moved to Lenox, There he carried on farjn- 
ing and in 1876 he turned his attention to 
dealing in hay and implements, continuing in 
that business for ten or twelve years with 
a gratifying measure of success. He aftei'- 
ward dealt in coal, lime and cement, continu- 
ing in the business for five years, and again 
he prospered. In 1887 he established a gen- 
eral store and now deals in seeds, crockery, 
binding twine, fertilizers and sewing ma- 
chines and has a very large stock, while his 
annual sales have reached an extensive fig- 
ure. His store is commodious and pleasantly 
located on Main street. 

He was married in 1880 to Miss Hattie 
Lizzie Quick, a native of Canada, who died 
in 1883, and their son Floyd died at the age 
of ten years. In Decembei', 1887, Mr. Love- 
joy wedded Carrie Ward, a native of Rich- 
mond and a daughter of Robert Ward, of 
Richmond. He is a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows and the Foresters societies and also of 
the Knights of the ^laccabees and is an ac- 
tive and influential meiid)er of the Methodist 
church. He is deeply intei'esti'd in all that 
pertains to the material, intellectual and 
moral progress of his community and in his 
business career he has proved that succe.ss 
and an honored name may be won simultane- 
ously. 



nor:\ian mctntvre. 

Norman ^Mclntyre is now eugiiged in the 
grain l)usiness in Mount Clemens. There have 
been many exciting chapters in his life his- 
tory and the enviroiniient and the conditions 
which he lias faced have drveloiu'd in him a 
strength of character and stalwart [)in-pose 
which awaken respect and admiration. He 
is a native of Scotland, boi-n January 25, 



1S4(I, his parents being Collin and ]\Iargaret 
( McPheej ilclut.vre, who were natives of 
Argyleshire, Scotland, and crossed the At- 
lantic to Canada, whence they removed to 
Macond) county, Michigan, in 1845. The 
mothei' died a year later and the father after- 
ward married Mrs. Thompson. He was a 
farmer bv occui)atii)n, carrying on agricul- 
tural pursuits throughout his active busi- 
ness cai'cer. His death occiu'red in 1884 when 
he was eighty-one years of age. He had a 
brother who was a sailor while his father was 
a sea captain. Roth the Jlclntyres and the 
-McPhees were of Highland Scotch ancestry 
yet little is definitely known about the fam- 
ily. The Mclntyre clan however have a coat 
of arms consisting of an arm and dagger with 
tile motto "Through difficulties." 

Norman Jlclntyre pursued his early educa- 
tion in the public schools of Canada and 
afterward attended Queen's College at King- 
ston, Ontario, In 1859 he became a clerk and 
bookkeeper in a store at Port Hope, On- 
tario, where he remained for five and a 
half years. xVt the end of that time he was 
atti'acted by the gold excitement in British 
Columbia and in 1862 went with a party to 
the Carilioo mining district making the trip 
across the plains by way of Windom, De- 
troit, Grand Haven, .Milwaukee, LaCrosse and 
St. Paul, the steamer touching at those vari- 
ous points, and thence by stage to George- 
tdwn on the Red River of' the North and by 
steamer to Foi't Gai'iy, now the citj' of Win- 
iiijieg, in Manitoba. At that time only a 
trading post marked the site of the future 
cit.v. There he purchased supplies, oxen and 
carts and proceeded across the country, trav- 
eling a distance of nine hundred miles through 
the Rocky mountains. He again met civiliza- 
tion on the Pacific coast and spent the win- 
lei- at V^ancouvei- Island. In the spring of 
1863 lie went to tlie mountains on a four 
Inmdred mile trip, following the Indian trail 
and passing over twenty feet of snow on the 
15tli of June. Eventuall.v he reached Wil- 
liams creek and there he had the usual experi- 
ences of the miner, sometiiiuis meeting with 
success and again with failure. He i-emained 
continuously in that iocalit.v for eleven and 
a half .vears and altogether prospered in his 
work there. He saw great changes, the coun- 
ti-y being rapidl.v developed and improved. 
At lengtli he returned by way of Victoria and 
San Francisco in the fall of 1874 and even- 
tually established his home at Port Huron, 
.Michigan, but after a short time he turned 
his attention to the grain business at Lenox, 



PAST AND IM;KSI;.\T ok .MArOMI! COUNTY 



459 



ill .MmcchiiIi ciiiiiily. w licrr in IST.'i lie li'iiil an 
I'ii'vatiir wiiich lie opcratt'il fur ri^lit years. 
lie tlit'ii i-ciiiovi'd to I'orl Huron, where he 
iii;aiii entrageil in the grain business for six 
yeai's and in 1888 he built an elevator at 
.Mount Clemens, continuing its conduct until 
the fall of 1893. when he sold out to Wolcott 
Brothers, lie has since dealt in grain, ship- 
ping to eastern firms in earloatls. He makes 
liis sales princi])ally to Stratton i5c Comi)any. 
of Concord. New Ilampsliire. aiiiouiiting to 
two hundred thousand dollars annually, llis 
sales at times have reached almost ten times 
that tiuure. and the firm with which he large- 
ly deals speaks in most commendable terms 
of his fair business dealings. He is a man 
of souiul .judgment, seldom at fault in his 
opinions ivgarding any business transaction 
and he has been very successful as a grain 
merchant. In 1887 i\Ir. Melntyre spent some 
time ill Arizona and southern California on 
a mining trij). also attending to other busi- 
ness interests. He was fretjuently in danger- 
ous i)ositions on that .iourney and indeed 
there have been many years in his life in 
which his environiiient sub.jected iiim to con- 
sideralilf peril, but while others were killed 
at his side at the hands of Indians and des- 
Iieradoes, his life was spared. Fortune seems 
to have favored his uiidi'rtakings and though 
he met hardshii>s and diftieiilties he endui'ed 
tlic-c bi-avely and in the end has triumi)liei|. 
.Mr. Mclntyre is a member of Mount Clem- 
ens lodge, \o. 6, A. F. & A. 'SI., having been 
raised to the sublime degree in Hichmond 
lodge twenty-four years ago. He is also a 
Hoyal Arch .Mason and hi' belongs to the 
Knights of the .Maccabees. He was married 
.lune 3, 1880, to .Miss .\nnie Lawler, a daugh- 
ter of Michael Lawler, of Wales, St. Clair 
county. .Michigan. ^Irs. ^Iclnt.vre, however, 
was born in Kichiiiond. ^laeomb county. Their 
children are: Malcolm, who is fireman t'oi' 
the Kai)id Railway Company, of ]\[ount 
Clemens; Hessie and ilary, at home: and Jen- 
nie, who died in December, 1895, at the age 
of fouiteeii years. During the past two win- 
ters ]Mr. ]\lelntyre has spent the season with 
his wife and children in southern California. 
While he has never taken an active |)ai't in 
public art'airs he has always been cf(ually 
interested in and contributed freely to the 
furtherance of those measures which he has 
approved and which tend to advance the gen- 
eral w-elfare. His character has always been 
one of great sincerity of purpose : careful 
and painstaking, exacting and conscientious, 
he has prospered from year to year. Hy i-ea- 



son oL his lai-ge success, his unblemished char- 
acter, his just and liberal life and the uni- 
vei'sal esteem which he here enjoys, ]\Ir. 'Mc- 
Intyre might, without invidious distinction, 
be called one of tlu' foremost men of Blount 
Clemens ;iiid .MaiMimb county. 



El)\V.\i;i) PETTIBOXE. 

Edward I'cttibone, the owner of a good 
fai-m on section '24, Armada township, was 
born Jnlj' 10. 1828, in Perry, Wyoming coun- 
ty, Xew^ Voi'k, his parents being Anson and 
Hannah (Blakely) Pettibone. The father was 
a son of Seth Pettibone. In the year 1845 
.Anson Pettibone came to .Michigan, settling 
upon the farm where his son Edward now 
resides, and a jjortioii of the present resi- 
dence was built by him. He pui-ehased the 
hind in IS:?:! and liecame owner of six hnn- 
di'i'il and seven ai-res, which was cultivated 
and developed through the joint laliors of the 
father and his children, all working together 
with willingness and energy. 

Edward Pettibone piii'siied liis education 
in the schools of .\'ew 'S'ork. He was one of 
a family of six children, as follows: Ezra, 
who died bi'fiirc the Ci\il war; Edward, of 
this review: Eugene, who died in infancy; 
W. Durfee, who is living in Armada; Oscar, 
wlm died at the age of fifteen years ; and Ed- 
win, who died on the home farm at the age 
of thirty-two. 

In his youth Edward Pettibone assisted in 
the operation of the home farm and when 
twenty-one years of age he began farming 
for himself on a part of his father's land 
and for sixty years has lived continuously on 
one place. He is to-day the owner of two 
hundred and eighty-seven acres of rich and 
:iiable land, most of which was at one time 
in i)osse.ssion of his father, and in former 
years his possessions included the land on 
which the station of Armada now stands. In 
all his farming operations he has been prac- 
tical and progressive, following methods that 
have been resultant factors in winning him 
very desirable and gratifying success. He 
worked early and late in order to gain a start 
when a young man and now in the evening 
of life he has a competence that provides 
him with nuiny comforts and luxuries and 
relievos him of the necessity of further hard 
laboi-. 

In 1859 ^Ir. Pettibone w;as married to ^liss 
.\ntoinette Huller. a daughter of William But- 
ler. She came to .Michigan with our subject's 



460 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 



parents. There was one ehild of this mar- 
riage, ilary, who became the wife of Lewis 
]\I. Smith, a real estate agent, residing in 
Chicago. They have one son, Lewis P., who 
is now five years of age. Mrs. Pettibone died 
in 1874 and for his second wife ^Ir. Pettibone 
chose Mary (Ueason. a daughter of James and 
Julia (Hagau^ Gleason, both of whom were 
natives of Ireland, the mother having been 
born ill Tipperary. ilr. Gleason was an early 
.settler of IMacomb county, coming to this state 
from Ohio. Botli he and his wife are now de- 
eea.sed. Theii- daiigliter. ^Mrs. Pettibone, was 
boi-n in Brockway. St. Clair county. .Michigan, 
April 29. 1855, and was one of a faiiiil.v of six 
children: Dennis is living in Kichmoud 
township and has eight children. Daniel is 
deceased. Thomas, a bridge builder, was mar- 
ried and made his home in Washington, D. C. 
James has also departed this life. Patrick, 
a resident of Luther. Lake county, ilicliigan, 
is married and lias tive children. Unto Mi: 
and Mrs. Pettibone have been born three chil- 
dren, but Jnlia, the eldest, and Lewis, the 
youngest, died in infancy. The surviving sou, 
Edward, born December 8, 1893, is now a stu- 
dent in the fifth grade in the schools of Ai-- 
mada. 

Mr. Pettibone has supported the prohibi- 
tion party for several years, but does not con- 
sider himself bound by party ties in his politi- 
cal affiliation. He is a member of the Grange 
and his wife Is a member of the Catholic 
church. He has now reached the seventy- 
seventh milestone on life's .iourney and in 
the review of his life it is seen that his has 
been a useful, active and honorable career. 
Those who know him recognize his worth and 
he has a wide acquaintance in the county 
where he has so long lived. In his business 
career he has never been known to take ad- 
vantage of the necessities of his fellowmen 
and in all life's relations he has been found 
true to manly principles, so establishing his 
course as to merit the confidence and esteem 
that is universally accorded him. 



WARREN S. STONE. 

Warren S. Stone, engaged in the practice 
of law. was boi-n in Richmond, Sei)tembi r 
23, 18(3!), his parents being Saiiford IM. and 
Caroline A. (Ilallock) Stone, the former a 
native of Orleans county. New York, and the 
latter of Lapeer county, I\Iichiiran. The jia- 
ternal granilfather was Solomon Stone, who 
was born in .Massachusetts, and tile matei'ual 



gi'andpa rents were Zadock Hinsdale and 
Phel)e ( Pratt I Ilallock, also natives of the 
Empire state. They came from that state to 
^Michigan, being among the early .settlers of 
Lapeer count.v. The grandfather made the 
entir" di.stance on foot and continued a I'csi- 
dent of this state up to the time of his death, 
which occurred when he was eighty-four years 
of age. He always followed farming and he 
hiid no aspirations for political office, although 
he was several times chosen for positions of 
])ublie trust. Solomon Stone also arrived in 
-Michigan at an early da.v, settling in Rich- 
mond township, IMacomb county. His first 
wife died prior to his emigration westward 
and he later married Betsy Bradley. There 
are twelve children by the second marriage 
and one by the first marriage, namely : INlary 
Sherman, who is now living in Bruce town- 
.ship at the very advanced age of ninety- 
one years and is still well jireserved Imth phys- 
ically and mentally. 

Saiiford M. Stone was only twelve years 
of age when he began earning his living. 
His education was acquired through his own 
exertions, his leisure hours being largely de- 
voted to reading and stud}-. He after- 
wartl taught school for many years in va- 
rious localities and subsequent to his mar- 
riage he engaged in the real-estate business 
and also dealt in tim])er and stock. His busi- 
ness interests became extensive and of an 
important character and brought him a rich 
financial return. He always made Rich- 
mond his home and he enjoyed in high de- 
gree the good will and friendship of those 
with Mhom he was associatetl. lie took an 
active interest in politics, serving as presi- 
dent of the village and also as trustee and 
.iustice of the peace. He was an aggressive 
supiiorter of the democratic ])arty and did 
all in his power to i)i-omote its growth and 
insure its success. In dischai'tiiiii;' the duties 
of his office he was evei- foiuid faithful and 
reliable. In his family were six chiidi'cn: 
Alice J., who became liie wife of Carl 
(Jrosse, of Detroit, ami died in Richmond, 
May 11, 1!)()1 : -Mary ]■].. the wife of Seaman 
A. Perkins, of Kirwin. Kansas; Hiram II., 
who died in infancy: Warren S. t)f this re- 
view: Pliebe Cornelia, the wife of Wesley 
iv Hailey. (it Detroit: and Evelyn A., who is 
now residing in California. She is a daugh- 
ter of her father's second marriage, her 
mother in her maidenhood having been ^Tiss 
.\niiie Ke:i\-ey. of Detroit. 

Warren S. Stone began his edneation in 
the j)ublic schools and was graduate<l from 



PAST AND PRESHXT OF MACO:\IB COUNTY 



461 



tlie hish school of RichiiioiKl, witli the class 
of 1888. A few moiitlis later he hcuan stiuly- 
ing law under the direction of Thomas M. 
Crocker, of .Mount Clemens, and at the same 
time enteriMl lli,- .Mnunl Clemens high 
school, in which he cciniplet<'d the regular 
course witli the class of 18110. lie next 
entennl the law (le])artment of the University 
of ilichigau anil was gratluated in 181).'} with 
the degree of hachelor of law . He was ad- 
mitted to the bar at Washtenaw. .Michigan. 
Juue 10, 1893, and at Lansing was admitted 
to j)ractice in the suprenu^ court. He then 
returneil to Richmond and has since Ijcen a 
representative of the legal fi'ati'rnity here. 
At Detroit he was admitted to the United 
States di.striet eoui't for the eastern division 
of ^lichigan in 1902. He thoroughly pre- 
jiared for his chosen profession and in th<" 
trial of a case displays comitrelu'usive 
knowledge of jurisprudence with cori'ect 
api)lieation of legal princii)li's to the jxiints 
at issue. 

]Mr. Stone was married .lamuiry :i. ls:i4. 
to ]Miss ]\Iyrtle B. ^lills, of Kichmond. a 
daughter of Charles F. Jlills, a representa- 
tive farmer of Kichmond township. They 
have one child iladclyn C. ili-. Stone is 
recognized as one of the leaders in the local 
ranks of tiie democratic ])arty and is now 
serving as chairman of the democratic 
county committee, of which he was jjrevious- 
ly secretai-y. He was the choice of his party 
for the state legislature in 190'J. He has 
served as village attorney for five Ncars, luis 
been a meudjer of the village board, also vil- 
lage treasurer and trustee anil a member of 
the school board, and in the discharge nf his 
political duties he has ever jilaced the pulilic 
good before pai'tisauship and the general 
welfare before personal aggrandizement. 
He has had the handling of his father's 
property, which in the first place was tlie 
cause of his entering the legal ])r()f<'ssion. 
He became well e([uipped for the i)rofession, 
in which he is meeting with very desii-aldc 
success and he is now a nieml)er (d' lidtli the 
County and State Bar Associations, lie he 
longs to the ]\laccabees tent, the liulependcnt 
Order of Foresters, is a past nuister of Kich- 
mond lodge, 187. F. & A. M.. and a i)ast 
worthy i>atron of tlu' Eastei'ii Star. He li;is 
always been de<'ply intei'csted in music, was 
a member of tiic Fi-eshinan CArf Clnli in 
the Univei'sity cif .Miclii^nn and was idcntilii'd 
with musical cii'clcs tlirouglioiit his college 
days, lie has also taken an active ]iart in 
progress along that line in Ixiclniiond and has 



l)ecn affiliated with the band, orchestra and 
quai-tettes of this place, having a remarkably 
fine tenor voice. He is prominent and popu- 
lar socially, and the circle of his friends is 
almost co-extensive with the circle of his ac- 
ipiaintanees. 



HKHBEKT 11. WILEY, M. D. 

AuKUig the younger representatives of the 
medical fraternity in ]Macomb county is Dr. 
Hcrix'rt II. Wiley, of I'tiea, who was born 
October 1, 187-1, "a son of W. W. and Eliza- 
beth (Lamimian) Wiley. The father is a 
native of Kingston. Canada, and of Scotch 
parentage, while the mother's people wei'e 
Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch. There was 
alsd in the paternal ancestiy some New Eng- 
land and some ^Mohawk blood. The paternal 
grandfather was a Canadian by birth, but be- 
came a resident of the L'nited States and 
served his adopted country in the Civil war. 
He was cai)tured at Vieksburg and was then 
sent to Libby prison, where he died. W. W. 
Wiley is a farmer by occupation, living near 
Rondeau bay, Ontario. 

Dr. NYiley is a native of Kent county, On- 
tario, the family home having been near 
Chatham, and he was reared at Kondeau har- 
bor. His literary education was acquired at 
Ridgetown Collegiate Institute, from which 
institution he was graduated in the class of 
1891 and later he pursued his studies for one 
term in the County Normal School, lie en- 
gaged in teaching school for three years and 
then entered the Detroit College of ^Medicine, 
where he completed his cour.se by graduation 
in the class of 1899. Inunediately afterward 
he entered upon the practice of his chosen 
profession in Utiea and from the beginning 
he was successftd here, building up an excep- 
tionally large and important pi'actice. He 
is a mend)er of the .Macond) County Medical 
Society, the ^Michigan State Medical Society, 
the American ^Medical Association and at one 
time belonged to the Detroit Medical Societ.v. 
He is deeply interested in everything concern- 
ing the science of medicine and the duties 
which devolve ujjou him in connection there- 
with and his efforts have ])roven an eft'ective 
element in checking the lavages of di.sease and 
restoring health 

Dr. Wiley was mai-ried .Inly L'l. 1902. to 
.Miss Ethel ^1. Ruby, a daugiiter of (ieorge 
and Ella (Lewis) Ruby. She was educated 
in lltica high school aiul like Ikm" husband en- 
joys an enviable position in social circles liere. 



462 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ilACOMB COUNTY 



Dr. Wiley is a j)roiiiiuent ^lason. who has just 
completed a term as master of his lodge. He 
became identified with the oi'der in Canada 
and is also eoinieeted with the Independent 
Order of Foresters, the Modern Woodmen of 
America and the American Order of Fore.st- 
ers, while he and his wife are identified with 
the Eastern Star. lie is a yonno: man of laud- 
al)le ambition and progressive spirit and has 
already gained a creditable position in the 
ranks of the medical fraternity in Macomb 
countv. 



HERMAN HUMMRICH. 

Herman Ilummrich, a general merchant 
and also the postmaster of Halfway, was born 
in Germany, January 27, 1862, his parents 
being Charles and ilinuie (Knop) Ilumm- 
rich, who were also natives of the father- 
land. Charles Hummrich was there born, 
October 19, 1833, and was reared, educated 
and married in that country. He came to 
^Michigan in 1870, settling in Detroit, and 
being an ironworker by trade he secured 
emi)loyment in the stove works, where his 
services were retained imtil 1895. In that 
year he removed to Erin township, Macomb 
county, to live with his son, Herman, and 
although he is now seventy-two years of 
age he is still a hale and hearty man. 

Herman Ilummrich was a little lad of eight 
summers when brought by his parents to the 
new world. He pursued his education in 
the public schools of Detroit and after 
learning the upholsterer's trade with John 
Keck & Company of that city, he entered 
upon his active business career at the age 
of nineteen years by accepting a position 
with the firm of Gray & BaU'ey, now A. 
Gray & Company. He continued with that 
house for three years, after which he re- 
turned to John Keck & Comi^anj^ and was 
employed in their establishment for six 
years. On tlie expiration of that period he 
gave up the ui)holstering business and 
opened a grocery store, which he conducted 
for a year. He then removed to Erin town- 
ship in 1891. purchasing the saloon business 
of Ameis & Sou, and in connection wdth this 
he opened a large general store, in which 
he is now doing a prosperous business, car- 
rj'ing a well selected and extensive line of 
goods such as is in demand b\- a general 
trade. 

In 1897 .Ml'. Ilunimi'ich was appointed 
postmaster at IIalfwa\', ;it which time mail 
was brought mily once a week from Eraser. 



Through his instrumentality mail was later 
received twice a week and eventiuiUy, by 
means of a i)etition, it was arranged that 
the mail should be brought over the Rapid 
Railroad, and now Mr. Hummrich sends out 
three mails and receives two each day. The 
i)usiness of the office has greatly increased 
and its affairs are capably administered by 
him. This is not the only public position he 
has filled, for at other times he has rendered 
eaj)able service to the general public. In 
1897 he was elected township clerk and in 
1900 was also a member of the board of 
review, acting in that capacity for four 
years. He is deeply interested in the cause 
of education, was moderator of school dis- 
trict No. 2 for several years and has been 
school ins])ector for five years. He belongs 
to the Roseville branch of the German Ar- 
beiters. On the 5th of Januai-y, 1882, Mr. 
Hummrich was married to Miss Hulda 
Boettcher, a daughter of August Boettcher, 
of Detroit. They have five children : 
Charles, an att(U-ney with B. R. Eskine, of 
]\lount (lemens: Lulu ; (ieorge: Ahna, and 
Ortla. -Mr. Ilunuiirich manifests many of 
the strong and sterling characteristics of the 
Teutonic race^ — a race which has planted the 
seeds of civilization in many a locality and 
land. He has in his business career worked 
ix'rsistently and with determination to gain 
a start ami acipiire a competence, and he is 
now contlucting a conniiercial enterprise of 
importance at Halfway. 



GEORGK W. STEFFENS. 

George W. Stet't'eiis. manager of the Stef- 
fens "SUWs at Fraser. was born in Grosse 
Pointe township, now (iratiot township, 
W^ayne county. .Michigan. December 28. 18()9, 
his parents i)eing Charles and Fredericka 
(Arning) Steffens, who are represented else- 
where in this volume. His preliminary educa- 
tion, ac(|uired in the district schools, was su[)- 
]>lemented l)y study in the Detroit Business 
Cnivei'sity, from which he was gi'aduated in 
188ti. From the time that he was old enough 
to work he has been actively associated in 
business with his father and is the present 
manager of the Steffens Mills at Fraser. He 
thoroughly understands the workings of the 
jilant and its output finds a ready sale on the 
market because of the excellence of the prod- 
uct. He is disci'iminating in business mat- 
ters and his sound .judgment and enterprise 
pi'ovc the basis of very desirable success. 




IIEK.AIAX IirMMRICH. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOJIB COUNTY 



465 



( )ii the 12th of September, 1893, .Mr. Steffens 
was uinted in marriage to Miss ]Mary llart- 
sig, a daughter of the late Lewis llartsig, of 
Warreu township, aud their children are : 
Osear, Doi-othy, Florence, Olivei", George and 
Lillian, all at home. 

.Mr. Stert'ens Jias always been interested in 
local measures that have for tiieir object the 
welfare aud upbuilding of the connnunity and 
his fellow townsmen, recognizing his patriotic 
interest aud public spirit, have chosen liim to 
otHce on various occasions. In ISit.') hr was 
elected village clerk, this being the year of 
the incorporation, aud he has since filled the 
jxisition. In 1896-7 he was elected township 
treasurer and in 1899 was appointed deputy 
under Sheriff Cady and again under Sheriff 
Eckstein in 1904, In the spring of the same 
year he was elected justice of the peace and 
in 1902 he was appointed notary public by 
(iovernor Bliss and he luis filled various of- 
fices, the duties of which he has ever dis- 
charged with promptness and fidelity. Fra- 
ternally he is connected with Jlount Clemens 
lodge. No. 6, A. F. & A. 'SI., which he joined 
in 1902, and is also a member of Warren 
tent. No. eO-i, K. 0. T, .AI. He has a wide 
and favorable acquaintance in the community 
where his entire life has been i)assed aud 
where in business, social aud political circles 
he is favorablv known. 



WILLIA^M F. SAWN. 

William F. Sawn is one of the younger 
members of the ^Macomb county bar, and is 
also engaged in the abstract business, while 
with industrial interests he is also con- 
nected as a member of the firm of 
Sawn & Company, mauufacttu-ers of the Mon- 
itor steam thresher. lie also jiossesses cousid- 
ei'able inventive genius and his talents, if de- 
veloped along any one of tliese lines, would 
Tuidoubtedly lead him to success, but he is 
giving his attention largely to his professional 
duties and already has gaiiii-d a good client- 
age for one of his yeai-s. 

.Mr. Sawn was ijorn iu .Mount ('Iciiiens Octo- 
ber 18, 1879, his parents being William and 
Odelia (Vo.ss) Sawn. His paternal gi'and- 
father, Frederick II. Zahn — for so the name 
was originally spelled — was a native of Ger- 
many, and after emigrating to America re- 
sided foi- a time in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
Viiiiiii, wlience he came to ^lacomb county, 
.Michigan, in 1846, settling' in Macomb town- 
sliip. His .son, "William Sawn, was born in 



Philadelphia, February 28, 1845, and was 
therefore a year old wlien bi'ought by his 
parents to this county. For a inunbcr of 
years he has been coniu^cted with the produc- 
tive industries of the county, and is now at 
the head of tlie fii'in of Sawn & Company, 
builders and shippei-s of tiie .Monitor lliresh- 
"r. He nuH-i'ied .Miss Odelia Voss, a native 
of this city and a daughtei' of Charles H. 
Voss, who was born iu Germany and at an 
early day came to Micliigan, settling in .Mount 
Clemens. He becaiiu' a prominent and in- 
fluential citizen of this locality and is num- 
bered among the leading pioneer settlers of 
.Macoml) county. 

William F. Sawn |)ursued his early educa- 
tion ill the jjublic schools of .Mount Clemens, 
continuing his studies here until he had com- 
pleted the high scliool course. He prepared 
for his chosen profession iu the Detroit Col- 
lege of Law, from which lie was graduated 
.lune 12, 1903. He was admitted to practice 
before the supreme court of .Michigan, June 
15, 1903, and before the supreme court of 
the United States, June 22, 1903. His desire 
to become a member of the bar was early 
formed. He read text-books on law even 
while a student in the .Mount Clemens schools 
and from 1897 to 1S99 was a student iu the 
law office of Crocker & Knight. He also 
studied with Franz C, Kuhn for a time and 
then began practice, establishing his office 
in Mount Clemens in 1899. He had begun 
the abstract business iu February-, 1898, aud 
he still continues this in connection with the 
law. He is one of three who traveled over 
twentj' thousand miles to obtain his legal ed- 
ucation by going to Detroit and returning 
home each evening iiy electric car. As before 
stated he also has business interests aside 
from those just mentioned, being associated 
with his father in i)laciiig ui)on the market 
the .Monitor steam threshing machine. He is 
also the iuventor of an attachment to pneu- 
matic wind stackers for stacking straw and 
in connection with his father has introduced 
many improvements in th(> building of the 
threshers and the operation of the plant. He 
Jiossesses a decided talent ^dollg• mecfiauical 
lines and his originality is shown iu his in- 
ventions. He is also :i patent attorney, hav- 
ing been admitted to practice in the interior 
department at "Washington, D. C, in 1900. 

Jlr. Sawn is jii'omincMit in political circles 
and was the first seci-etary of the Young .Men's 
Kepublican Club which was organized in 
Mount Clemens in 1900. He believes strongly 
iu reform work in the prim;ii'ies and is great- 



466 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



ly (ippiised 1() iiiisi'iile in iiiliiiicipiil atfiiirs. 
llr untirinsily advocated primary refoi'iii at 
the conviMitidii tn'ld in Ricluiioiid. ilacdiub 
county, in .hiiic. Iilll4, and was cliairniau of 
the conunittei' on credentials there. He has 
always heeii a stanch advocate of the leadint; 
jn'inciples of his party, and in the s|)i-in.i;- 
of 1903 he was nominated on the ri'pnhliean 
ticket for the office of supervisoi'. He ran 
ahead of his ticket, hut was defeated iiy a 
small majority. Duriny the conyi'essional ses- 
sion of l!MI4-r) lie spent a ])or1ion of the time 
in Washinjiton. I). (_'., hein.u' connected with 
the postoftici' dej)artiiient, and later he made 
a tri[) throuiih the New Entjland states, !■<■- 
turning- thence to Mount Clemens. He finds 
his cliief soni'ce of recreation in watei- sports, 
being particularly fond of hoatine' and sail- 
ing. He is popular with peojilc of his own 
age in IMount Clemens, Avhilc the older men. 
recoonizing his ability, predict for liim a suc- 
cessful future. 



FRED W. SCHMIDT. 

Fred W. Sciunidt, whose fiirm shows all 
tlie evidence of i)aitistakinii' cai'c on the part 
of the owner and whose property comprises 
a tract of one hundred and twcnt.\- acn^s on 
Section 8, Clinton townshij), was lioi-n upon 
this place August 13, 1860. His father, Fred- 
ei-ick G. Sclnnidt, was a native of (iei'many, 
born in 1827, and the diiys of his boyhood 
and youth were passed in that country, lie 
was married there to Miss Caioliiie .Mulen- 
hauer. also a native of the fatherlantl, and in 
18o3 they emigrated to the icw world, nudcing 
their wa\- at once to Macomh county, Michi- 
gan, whei-i' they secured a tract of raw land, 
which hi' I'b'ared and developed, transform- 
ing it into a line farm. He afterw;ird built a 
good brick residence, wliicli su|)plcniented bis 
j)ioneer honu>, and also sul)staiitial and com- 
modious barns and otiiei- outbuildings. lie 
])la,nted an orchard, fenced the place and <'on- 
tinued the woi'K of improvement along pro- 
gressive lines until an excellent farming ])rop- 
erty w;is a visible cvi(h'nce of his life of in- 
dustry and enter])rise. ,\l'ter n^ariim his 
family on the old liome plaei> lie sold out and 
moveil til .Mount ('leilielis. where lie lived a 
retir-cd life for tbirteen years. He then dis- 
posed of his pio|)ei'ly in tlie cmuity seat and 
took U|) his abode in Detroit, where he now 
niidvcs his iiome, resting in the cnjoymenl of 
the fruits of his former toil. 

I'' red \V. Schmidt was one of a f;rniily of 
four sons and t\\<i daughters and with the 



exception of one son all are \ et living. His 
boyhood days were spent u]>on the old home- 
stead farm whicii he helped to clear and cul- 
tivate and after ari'iving at mature years he 
|iiirchased the land of his father and has con- 
tinued the work of further development aiul 
improvement until he now has one of the ex- 
cellent farm iiropcrtics in Clinton township. 
There are good luiildings and everything 
about the place is neat and thrifty in appear- 
ance and as the years go by he harvests good 
ci'ops, fill' he follows iirogressive and lU'actical 
methods in caring for his fields so that an ex- 
cellent return is secured for liis labor. 

In May. 1S!I0, .Mr. Scluiudt was uniti'd in 
marriage in .Macomb <-oiinty to ^iiss Mary 
Hannnann, a native of the county and a 
daughter of William Hammann, who was 
born in (Iei'many. Seven childi'cn grace this 
marriage: I'aul F.. Carrie, Kdiui. Anna, 
Walter, Harold and (iladys. They also lost 
one son, who died at tile age of thirteen 
months. The |)a rents were reared in the (ier- 
man Ijutheran chui'ch and now hold meiaber- 
shi}) therein. .Mi-. Schmidt votes with the 
democratic jiarty, but has never sought or 
desired office, giving his attention to general 
agricultural i)ursuits. and he is to-day cla.ssed 
with the honest yeomen of Macomb county. 



WAR H FN LAWliFXCK. 

Warren jjawreiici' has for years licen an 
active business man and siicce.ssful farmer of 
Washington township, lie has always lived 
in Macomb county, ha\ing first o])ened his 
eyes to the light of day on the old Lawrence 
fai'iii .Inly .'), ISI'J. His father. John C. Law- 
iiMice, was boi'ii in Vermont in 1S14 and when 
a child accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to .\ew ^'orlc, being reared in Onon- 
daga county. Subseipienl ly be was mai-ried 
t hci'e to Betsy (ilaspie, a iiati\e of the Em- 
pire state, and in 183;") he removed westward 
to .Michigan, enlei'ing from the govci'nment 
a ti-act of land on the bounihiry line between 
<)aklan(l and .Macomb counties. This was cov- 
ered with timbei'. but he at once cleared away 
the tl'ees for a log house, liiiilt fences and be- 
gan the cultivation of the soil so that in due 
course of time I'ieb harvests weri' gathered. 
His father, .lohn l.awn'nce. joined him liere 
a few years latei' and also bought land in 
Macomb co\ni1\. one and a lialf miles east. 
They traded farms later, their removal being 
made in 18.'")1. .loliii ('. Lawrence was a thrif- 
ts' and successful agriculturist and I'cU' iiiaii\' 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\Lf»LCOMB COUNTY 



467 



yrars cai-i'ii'd o\\ tlii' wurk of tilliiiL; IIh' mhI. 
iu><;'li'ctiii^ nil I't'fort that woulil iiiakr liis Imsi- 
iR'.ss a protitahlf one in liarnuiny with luinnr- 
ahlc and straiirhtt'oi-ward nu'tlnxN. At Icniitli 
lu' rciiKivcd fi'cini the farm to l\(iiiicii. when' 
111- livcil ri-tircd until liis dcatii. wiiirli nr- 
furiH'd in iSlti;. His wit'e had pas I away 
in 1890. Tlieir sun Ili'ni-.\. ninc> years cildcr 
than Warren, died oi eaneer of the face in 
ISTfi. and theii' ilau^htei'. Aliee. died at thr 
aiic of two years. 

Warren l^awrence. tlieii- iinl\' living; cliild. 
was reai-i'd upon tlic lioiiie farm in Washiui:- 
tou township and his pi'i'liniinar.v echieation. 
ac(|uireil in the common schools, was su|)ple- 
mented hy study in the Oxford liiuli seliool. 
He remained with his fatlier through tlie pe- 
riod of liis boyhood and youth, working' in the 
fields wiien not enji-atied with tile duties of 
the schoolroom. Following the attaiiiiiient of 
his lua.iorit.v he was married in \V;ishiii<;ton 
township. 1)11 tile 7tii of June. 18t)2. to l\Iiss 
Piioelie A. (iiiiiek. wiiose l)irth occurred in 
Wasiiiniiton townsiiip. wiiile her fatiier. Wil- 
liam (iiiliek. was a native of New Jerse.v. 'I'iie 
.voiing coiijde iiegan tlieir domestic life upon 
the old hoiiiestead farm and Mr. i.,a\\ irner 
eontinned its cuitivatiou for twenty yeai's. 
on tile e.xpiration of wliicli jieriod tiiey left 
tile farm and removed to Homeo in 188"). Here 
.Ml-, i.awrencr liegan tlealin.i;' in agricultural 
im]iieiiients. continuing in tiiat l)usini'ss for 
ten years. He also liought a lot and built a 
residence in I880. erecting a neat and com- 
fortaiile iiouse wliicli he stili occupies. Since 
selling ids store in Romeo he iias spent the 
snnimei' montlis in traveling for a harvester 
company, tile .Milwaukee. He bought and still 
owns eighty acres of land in Wasliingtou 
townshi]) and has another farm of eighty 
acres in ( >aklaiid township, both being well 
impi-ovi-d iirojierties. whicii return him a 
i;iiod income, and thus he realizes a irood 
prolit ujion Ids iuvcstnient. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Lawrence have one son, .lolui 
('. Lawi'cnce. wliii has been twice married, 
anil has four children: Helen and Omer. 
liorn iif the lirst marriage: and Warren and 
(icorLie. Iiiirn of the ^"econd marriage. He is 
now a resident of Piiiladeipiiia, i)eing em- 
ployed liy the Ameriean Road iMacliine Coiii- 
paiiy of Kennett Sipiare, Pennsyivania. 

I'olitically Mr. Lawrence is ;i reiuiblican 
wiiere national issues are involved and his Hi'st 
presidential iiallot was east for Abraham fjin- 
eoln. He lias never desired office for liim- 
sell'. as his lnsiness affairs iiave claimi'd his 
time and energies. He lieloims to tile !\niL;lits 



of i'ytliias Ji'ati-i'nitN of liomeo. has filletl 
all of its chairs and is now serving as past 
ehancelior of the lodge. His life history is 
anothi'i- illustration of tlie fact that success 
comi"s as the legitimate resiiit of well-applied 
energy, iiiiHagging dctciinination and perse- 
vei-ance in ;i course of action wiicu once de- 
cided iiiion. Slic smiles not upon the idler 
or dreamer, and iinl.\ the man wlio has .justly 
Won iier favor is cinwncd with her bless- 
ings. In ti'acing tiie liistory of Mr. Lawrence 
it is [)iainly seen tliat tile pros|ierity whicii 
he en.ioys lias been won by the cnmmendable 
qualities altove mcnl iimcd. loL:ctlier with other 
traits of cliaracti'r which lia\c also won for 
him tile hiiili e^tceiii of those who know him. 



DAVID F. JONES. 



DavitI F. Jones, who is one of the substan- 
tial agricuitiii-ists of the township of ;Ma- 
coniii. where lie owns a good farm of aliout 
one luindicil acres, maintains his residence 
in Meade. He was iiorii near the old home- 
stead i)ro]iert,v in .Macomb township. ^lay 
7. IS.'ii]. His father was James Jones and 
lie is a brotiier of Charles H. and Robert N. 
Jones, whose histories are given elsewhere 
in this volume. liis youtli was spent like 
that of the othi-r memliers of the family — in 
work uj)on the iiome farm and in attendance 
at tlie district sciiool. Tiiere lie learned the 
best methods of jilowing and planting and 
of caring for tiie crops in the autumn. He 
remained with liis falhei- on the old iionie- 
stead and afterwartl carried on the farm for 
him and iatei- received a deed from his moth- 
er to tile liome ])iace. Ill his work he kept 
in toucii witii the ideas of modern progress 
along agricultural liiu's, iie built a good 
Iiouse and barn on the old liome farm and 
continued the \,-,irk of repair and improve- 
ment and ])laced his lields uniler a high state 
of iMiltivation. There he continued to re- 
side until I'M)'!, when he retired from the 
farm and located in .Meade, where he ownis 
a good residence. He still looks after the 
farm pro])erty. lio-wcNcr. and ids careful sn- 
pei'xision is indicated by the well-kept ap- 
liear.uice of liie placi'. 

David i'^. Jones was married in .Macomli 
county. May 128, 1S74. |i> .Miss FJIa Furtoii, 
a daiigiiter of John i"'urton. wliose ski'tcli is 
given on aimtiier |iaL;c of this work. ^Irs. 
Jones is a native daughter of .Macomb eonn- 
1y and by her iiiarriaiic she lias become the 
mothi'i- 111' I'oiir chihli'cii: Jnnia. the wife of 



468 



PAST AM) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Claude AVright. a nierehant of Davis, iliclii- 
gan: Ida E.. a teacher of Maeoiiib eoniity -. 
Ona F., also a teaeher: and Ruth, who is at- 
tending school. 

ilr. Jones votes \vith the democracy and 
keeps well informed on the questions and 
issues of the day, as every true American 
should do, but does not desire office as a re- 
ward for jiarty fealty. He and his wife and 
dausihters are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church in Meade and he has taken 
a very active pai-1 in its work, serving as 
class leader and for a number of years as 
Sunday-school superintendent. He has a 
wide ac(iuaintance in the county of his na- 
tivity, lie was reared on the old family 
homestead, to the ownership of which he 
later succeeded, and there his children were 
all born and reaicd. lie has been a resident 
of the same neighborhood throughout his en- 
tire life and in his career he has demon- 
strated the possession of qualities which are 
commendable and which class him with the 
best citizens of his (•(immunity. 



LOUIS a:\ieel. 

For numy years Louis Annuel was actively 
identified with the business interests of 
]\Iount Clemens, but is now living retired, 
enjoying a well-earned rest. He is a native 
of Belgium, born in 1825. It was on the 
13th of July. 1854, that he came to :\richi- 
gan and took up his residence in Detroit, 
where he worked at the tailor's trade for 
three months. 

At the end of that time Mv. Ameel came 
to ^Mount Clemens and for two years was 
in the employ of ;Mr. Williams, a tailor, of 
this place. During the following three 
years he worked at his trade for eight dol- 
lars per month. Believing that he coiild 
do better at some other occuiiation he then 
erected a building on Ca.ss avenue and em- 
barked in the saloon and grocery business, 
but disposed of his store in ISIill and for 
two iiioiilhs lie again worked at his trade. 
He ]iext opened ;i liarber shop, which was 
the first establishment of the kind in Mount 
Clemens, and contiinied to carry on Inisi- 
ness alcnig that line for thirty years, or un- 
til his retirement from active labor in 1805, 
since which time his son Frank has con- 
ducted the shop. Success has attended his 
well-directed efforts in life and he acquired 
a comfortable competence, which now en- 



ables him to live in ease and cpiiet at his 
pleasant liomc at No. 65 New street. 

On the '22d of November, 1859, Mr. Ameel 
was married in Mount Clenums to ]\liss Anna 
AViuklcs. and they have become the parents 
of twelve children, of whom eight are still 
living. 



HENRY PRATT. 



Few men are more familiar with the 
pioneer history of ]\]acomb count.v than 
Henry Pratt, who was brought here in his 
early boyhood days and was reared amid the 
wild scenes of pioneer life. Although now 
[tosscssing a handsome competency, he was 
a mtnnber of a household in his youth that 
had hardly the necessities of life and all the 
hartlships, i)rivations and difficulties that fall 
to the lot of the early settlers were borne by 
the Pratt family. His birth occurred in 
Westminster, Upper Canada, February 13, 
1845, his parents being Josiah and Charlotte 
(Waun) Pratt. One of his ancestors was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary war. His pater- 
nal grandfather, Josiah Pratt, Sr.. was a 
native of ilassachusetts. while Josiah Pratt, 
Jr., was born in Vermont, January 8, 1793, 
and there spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth and acquired his education. He went 
from the (Ireen Mountain state to Lower 
Canada, afterward returned to Vermont and 
later went to Upper Canada, where he was 
married to Charlotte Waun. He arrived in 
ilichigan in 1848, and purchased foi-ty acres 
of land in Berlin township, ]Maeomb county. 
He afterward sold that and returned to Can- 
ada, but two years later he again came to 
this county, locating on section 1, Armada 
township. Here he purchased eight.v acres 
of land, liiil subse(|uentl.y sold thirty acres 
of this. He was in very straitened finan- 
cial circumstances. He had a team of horses 
which he traded for the land, gave the har- 
ness for a cow and ten bushels of wheat and 
liic wagon for a yoke of oxen. The first 
ye:!!' he planted two acres, raising thirt.v- 
two bushels of corn and the family liv('(l 
largely on Johnnycake. The father was a 
verv hariiy man, performing a vast amount 
of Inbor. Between his home and Memphis a 
.Ml'. Kix iiad built a mill ami about five miles 
from his honu^ Mr. Pratt found a tree that 
was forked. This he cut down, leaving the 
trunk long enough for a tongue and then 
boi'ing holes in the foi'ks he put in ui)rights 
and on those built a kind of crate to hold 





MR. AND MRS. HENRY PR.\TT 





MISS NELLIE PRATT MR. AND MRS. HARRY J. PRATT 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



473 



four or live sacks of wlu'at. and in this way 
they wouhl drive with their oxen to mill and 
have the hreadstutt's for the family i;round. 
They had to blaze a road throu.uli the forest 
to the mill. As the years passed, however, 
the family prospered and in course of time 
the father was enabled to purchase a wa^on 
for \\hich he paid one hundred and ten dol- 
lars — the first was'ou he had owned since 
ti'adin*;- the one in which he came to llichi- 
iian for land. The wolves could be heard 
howling' at nisht (hu-int;- the first winter. 

Josiah Pratt was married three times and 
had twenty-three children, of whom the fol- 
lowinar are living': Henry; Elizabeth, the 
wife of C. B. 11. Spencer, a farmer of Riley 
townshij), St. Clair county, ^Michigan, by 
whom she has four sons and three daugliters ; 
Kdward, who is living in Lapeer county and 
had three children, of whom two are living; 
Luther, a farmer living near i\Iount Clemens, 
who is married and has five children ; Susan, 
wife of Edwin Talmage, a farmer of Riley 
township. St. Clair county, l)y whom she has 
one child: and (ieorge. a resident of Deford, 
Tuscola county, ^Michigan, who is nuii'ried 
and has two children. 

Henry Pratt atteneleel the schools of Ar- 
mada township but did not have the privilege 
of continuing his studies after he was twelve 
years of age. He has worked in the i)ine 
woods and has led a very active life as a 
fai-nu'r. He shared with the family in the 
hardships and trials resulting from the fron- 
tier condition of the county and the finan- 
cial position of the father and early felt the 
necessity of providing for his own support. 
He resolved, when a lad, that he would gain 
a competency in his manhood and he has 
worked earnestl.v and pei'sistently to this 
end. To the original home farm he has 
added one hundred and seventy acres, so 
that he now owns two hundred and twenty 
aci'es. constituting one of the excellent farm 
l)roperties of Armada and Richmond town- 
shiiis. 

On tlic ITth of .March. 1880, I\h'. Pratt was 
married to Miss Helen, daughter <if John 
and Sophia (Puterbeauh) Stonehouse, of 
Brockwa.y, St. Clair county. She was one 
of eight children and was born in Ontario. 
Canada, October 14, 1844. was educated in 
St. Clair county and died .lainutry 11, IIIOI. 
They had two children. Xellie S., born 
March 25, 1881, is a graduate of the Armada 
high school, has been educated in music and 
has taken the domestic economy course in 
the Jjansinii- Acricultui'al Collene. She is 



now keeping house for her father. Harry 
J., born January lit, 1888, was educated in 
the district schools in Armada and in the 
Young ^Men's Christian Association day 
school in Detroit, the first institution of the 
kinil in Anu-rica. He has always followed 
farming. He was married, March 9, 1905. 
to Addie L., daughter of William Riley and 
;Mary (Parker) Cleveland, of New Haven, 
^lichigan. He is living on home place with 
father and is a nnMiiber of Hai-niouv lodge, 
143, A. F. & A. M. 

]\[r. Pratt has always been a stanch demo- 
crat. He is a JIason, having for ten years 
bekmged to Harmony lodge, No. 143, A. F. 
& A. M.. at Armada, and for five years of 
that time was worshipful nuLster and at the 
end of that tinu' was pi-esented with a solid 
gold watch and chain. He likewise belongs 
to Romeo chapter. No. 17, R. A. ]M., the 
Eastern Star chapter at JMeniphis, and Romeo 
commandery, and is a member of the Odd 
Fellows lodge and the Independent Order of 
Foresters. His daughter belongs to the 
Eastern Star at Armada and both hold mem- 
i)ership in the ^lethodist chiu'ch. For two 
years he has be(^n presitleiit of the Armada 
Agricultural Society, of which he has been 
a member for twelve years, and is also a 
member of the cemetery board. Li his busi- 
ness career he has prospered, carrying out 
the determination formed in his youth to 
win prosperity if it could be acquired 
through persistent, honorable effort. He 
has allowed no obstacles to brook him in his 
purpose and is to-day the owner of a valua- 
ble farm as the result of his unremitting 
labor and carefully managed business aiiEairs. 



ADAjM a. BENNETT. 

Among the native sons of .Maconil) county, 
who, ])referring to continue their I'csidence 
in this ])art of the state ha\r become repre- 
sentative and valuetl citizens of tlieii' respec- 
tive couununities, Adam A. Bennett is num- 
liei'ed. He was boi-n in the village of New 
Haven. February 5. IHHlS, and is a son of 
Adam aiul Olive S. ( Dusett) Bennett. His 
father was born in Chateaugay, Franklin 
county. .\ew Yoi'k. .Man-h 18, 1832, and his 
|)arents were Adam and .\gnes Bennett, na- 
tives of Scotland, whence tlu'y came to Amer- 
ica in the early part of the nineteenth century, 
settling in the state of New York. 

The father of our subject was reared in 
the Emy)ire stati>. but believing that he might 



474 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\IB COUNTY 



have better business opjioi-tuiiities in tlic 
west, came to ]\Iae<inil) iMnuity in IS.");). Here 
he followed railroati eoustruetion. a work 
whieh he had first undertaken as a youug 
man cm the Great Western & Canadian Rail- 
road. His home in this county was in New 
Haven, where he took up the work of build- 
ing the (Irand Trunk Railroad. Followinji 
the completion of the line he was nuule road 
foreman and in that capacity acted for a 
number of years, when failing sight compelletl 
him to give up railroad work. He then turned 
his attention to general merchandising as a 
pai-tner of I. N. Cook and opened a store in 
a building near where the postolifice now 
stands. That building wa.s afterward de- 
stroyed by tire and they opened another store 
where the barber shop is now located. They 
continued in merchandising for ten years and 
al.so engaged in purchasing grain and prod- 
uce. On the expii-ation of that decade they 
sold out and ^Ir. Bennett turned his attention 
to the real estate business and conveyancing. 
He was also administrator of many of the old 
estates and his advice was widely sought on 
legal questions. It was conscientiously given 
to all alike, uiunixed with per.-ional pre.judice. 
and his honoi-able treatment of those with 
whom he came in contact gained for him the 
strongest regard and friendship. In politics 
he was a stanch democrat and in the 80s, in 
connection with H. Canfield. of Jlount Clem- 
ens, ill- turned the township, which had hith- 
erto been .strongly I'cpublican. over to the de- 
mocracy. In lSIt4 he was elected on tiie dem- 
oci'atic ticket to the state legislature from 
the first district of Macomb county. In 1896, 
however, having been again nominated, he 
was defeated, with the remainder of the tick- 
et. On the organization of the village of New 
Haven in 1860 he was chosen first assessor and 
was afterward elected president. For many 
years he was very active in township nuitters 
and filled the offices of supervisor, township 
clerk and township treasurer, while at the 
time of his death he was serving as .iustice of 
the peace. He was also veiy prominent in 
church work, bcinu' a meinl)er of the New 
Haven Congi-egational church and in its 
woi-k he took ;i most active and helpful ])art. 
filling the positions of Sunday-school super- 
intendent, deacon, trustee, clerk and treasur- 
er. His ettorts were so interwoven with the 
activities of the rhurch that his death was 
most (lee|)ly icgrettetl in its membership and 
his place lias been ditticult to fill. He was a 
lllemher of .Mniint ('lelliens lodge. No. (). A. F. 



lie A. .M.. anil also of .Mount Clemens chapter 
No. (iH, K. A. M. 

His first wife, the mother of Adam A. Ben- 
nett, died December 2(i, 1865, and in 1867 ilr. 
Bennett was married to I\Iiss Amanda M. 
Worden. of Monroe county. Michigan, by 
whom he had four children, three yet living, 
luunely : ^Irs. Esthei' V. Lewis, of Toledo, 
()hio; Edwin J., who is living in Springfield, 
Ohio; and ilabel il., of Ann Arbor. Michigan. 
.Mr. Bennett died September 30. 18!)!). and 
was laid to rest with ilasonic lionors, about 
forty of his brethren of the fraternit.v at- 
tending the funeral. Many relatives and a 
large concourse of fi'ieiids gathered to pa.v 
their last respects to .Mr. Bennett, who had 
long lived in their midst and w'as honored and 
respected by all who knew him. He had ever 
been a fearless champiou of the right, an ad- 
vocate of reform and jirogress, and had con- 
trilnited in substantial measure to the social, 
the nuitei'ial, political and moral advance- 
ment of the connnunity. His name is a syno- 
nym for integrity, and initarnished was given 
;is a precious legacy to his children. His 
widow afterward removed to Ann Arbor, 
where she lived with her daughter luitil her 
death. August 2!». l!l():5. 

Adam A. Bennett su])i)li'mented his e;irly 
education, acquired in the di.strict school, by 
study in the high school of New Haven., from 
which he was graduated with the cla.ss of 
1881. He is also a graduate of the Detroit 
Business University of the class of 1890 and 
he entered upon his business careei- as a 
teacher in district No. 7, Chesterfield town- 
ship, where he remained for two .vears. He 
then accepted a position as bookkeeper for 
II. R. Hazelton in a general store at Wash- 
ington, where he spent seven years, after 
which he occupied a similai- ])osition with A. 
.M. Salliotte, a hunber meri-hant of Detroit, 
with whom he spent two years at Ashley atid 
one year at Detroit. He then resigned his 
position in order to accept the appointment 
of postmaster at New Haven, acting in that 
capacit.v for thre(> years, when he returned 
to his former employer, ;\lr. Salliotte, but four 
years later was again compelled to resign on 
account of ill health. He was, however, re- 
tained by .Mr. Salliotte as his auditor and 
still fills that position. On giving up the ac- 
tive work of hookkeepine he once more took 
u|) his abode in New Haven, .\lthough but 
a young man his legal advice is sougiit li.v 
many. He is coiuiected with vai'ious imjior- 
laiit pi'mI e-tate t ransaet ions and now has 



AST AND 



F.SFA"!' OK ^rACO.AIB COI'NTV 



475 



.■ilidiil lil'trcii jicrcs of his |ii-(ipci1 y diviilril 
into villajic lots. lie has thorou^lily iiifi)riiic(l 
hinisi'lf i-oiKHTiiiiit;- realty values and is en- 
abled til help his patrons make judicious in- 
vestments, lie is likewise a direetor in the 
.\'iw Haven Savings Bank and is re.sai'ded as 
one of the representative and eajiahle busi- 
ness men of his native villa'ai'. 

Like his fatlier Mr. Bennett has always 
been interested and aetive in political alfairs 
and gives his suppoi't to the deiuoeratie par- 
ty. The fii'st ofHee to which he was called was 
that of postmaster of New Haven in lSii:5 and 
in ISit.'i he was elected township clerk-, being 
the onl.\' ciiiiilidate on the ticki't chosen for 
office that year. Again he wa.s electeil in ISDIi 
and once nioiv in lltOO, and in 1901 he was 
elected supervisor and lias since been elected 
for five eonseentive terms. He has also been 
councilman in the village for ^ix years and 
in the discharge of the varied duties which 
liax'c thus been assigned him hr has ever bi^eii 
found prom))t. faithful and eajiable. In his 
fraternal relations, where he has been hon- 
ored with otiKce. he belongs to Mount CltMuens 
lodge. Xo. (5. A. F. & A. M.: .Mount Clemens 
chapter, .\o. (ilt, H. A. M.-. Court (ieorge 
Washington. Xo. 1408, 1. O. F., of Xcw Ha- 
ven; and New Haven lodge, Xo. 46;"), 1, ( ». ( ). 
F. Til the last named he has filled all the 
principal chaii's and has twice been clcclcd 
representative to the grand lodge. 

On the 15th of September, 1885, Mr. Ben- 
nett was married to ]Miss F. Adella Dryer, a 
daughter of John F. and Thankful E. (Cole ) 
Dryer, of Lenox township. Her father was 
born in Xew York in 1828 and was a son of 
Thomas F. Dryer, who came to ^lacomb coun- 
t.v in 18.S7. settling in Lenox township, where 
he took up lanil from the goverinnent, per- 
forming the arduous task of developing a 
new farm amid pioneer environments. He was 
pidmineiit both in church and township af- 
fairs and was the first clerk of Lenox town- 
ship, being elected in 1887 and serving con- 
tinuously in that office until 1847. He was 
also a member of the Xew Haven Congrega- 
tional church and for many years served as 
one of its deacons. John F. Dryer was quiet 
and unassuming and very industrious, and in 
his far-ming operations met with success, ac- 
cunudating a competence that enabled him in 
.March, 1884, to put aside further businc^ss 
cart's and live retired in Xew Haven. Thci'e 
he passed away December 14, 18!)!), leaving 
a widow and two children: Charles, a i-esi- 
dcnt of New Haven; and ^Irs. liciuictt. I'nto 



.Mr. .111(1 .Mrs. liciiurtl have been burn two 
suns. .\(lam .1. and Xeil. 

The intcM'esIs which li.ive made claim iipnii 
the time and attention of ^Ir. Bennett have 
been varied, for everything which tends to 
the bettiMiiH'iit "f conditions of nuinkind, 
for the stimulus of iiuitei'ial progress or the 
ini])roveinent of his village and county re- 
ceives his endorsement and assistance. He 
stands to-day as a rejiresentative of an hon- 
ored pioneer famil.v and .vet it is his personal 
worth that has gained f(U' him the good will 
and warm friendship of those with wlinm he 
has been as.sociate(.l. 



ludwk; slmox. 

Ijudwig Simon, a real estate dealer of 
.Mount Clemens, is a native of Rhine-Ba- 
varia, Germany', born Xovember 19, 1856, 
and is descended from an old Huguenot fam- 
il.v, who were driven out of France on ac- 
count of their religious views and located 
in Khine-Bavai-ia. His j)arents were Justice 
and Wilhelmina ((iotthold) Simon, also na- 
tives of Rhine-Bavaria, where the.v spent 
their entire lives. The father was a mer- 
chant, conducting a large and profitable 
business, and was prominent in his commun- 
ity. He died in 1873, at the age of fifty^-two 
.vears, while his wife passed awa.v in 1869, 
at the age of thirt.v-nine years. In their fam- 
ily were fifteen children, seven of whom 
reached adult age, namely: Louisa, the wife 
of George Feinthel, of the province of Rhine- 
Bavaria ; Carl, a retired merchant of Rome. 
Xew York: Ludwig; Eliza, deceased: (Jus- 
tav, of Milwauk(H^ Wisconsin; Wilhelmina: 
and Henry, of Rhine-Bavaria. 

Ludwig Simon purstied his ctlueation in 
the province of Rhine-Bavaria, attending 
the public schools and a business college 
there. He served in the (ierman army for 
two years, holding the rank of corporal, and 
he entered upon his business career in his 
father's store, where he remained until his 
father's death. 

In July, 1881, Mr. Simon came to the 
United States, settling lirst in I'tica, Xew 
Y(U'k, where for (uie .\-ear he worked in a 
book bindery owned b.\- A. J. I'urvis. He 
then entered up<ui an indejx'iideiit business 
venture, ]iurchasing the book- biuderv of 
Xoble & Kell.\-. which he conducted until 
1892 ill partnership w-ith Fred E. Barmiin, 
under the name of Simon t*i Barnum. In the 
vear mentioned he sulil out and came to 



476 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



]\ronnt Cleiiiciis to take the baths, sulit'erinff 
from rlieuiiiatisiii. He was much benetited 
here and ediu-luded to remain, so that he 
soon afterward opened a real estate office 
and has since engaged iu this business, meet- 
ing witli gratifying success. lie now has 
a good clientage and is tlioroughly informed 
concerning realty values in this city and 
the surrounding districts. He has nego- 
tiated many impoi'tant realty transfers and 
is a most enterprising, wide-awake business 
man. In 1904 he built the first house of 
cement in ]Mount Clemens and is now occu- 
pying this attractive residence. 

On the 13th of March. 1893. at St. Cath- 
arines. Ontario. :\Ir. Simon was married to 
Miss Netta Dolson. who was educated in 
the public schools and in St. Joseph's con- 
vent at St. Catharines, receiving instruc- 
tion in French. English and domestic sci- 
ence, iu addition to various classical studies. 
Unto them lias been born a son, Lndwig 
Carl Goodfellow. 

Sanuiel Goodfellow Dolson. ^Irs. Simon's 
father, is a native of Lewiston. New York, 
and of Holland Dutch lineage. In 1830, 
■when al)out three years old, he accompanied 
his parents on tlieir I'emoval to St. Cath- 
arines. Ontario, where he grew to inaiibood, 
becoming one of the jjrominent l)usiness 
men of that jihu'e. He owned and conducted 
a large lumber yard, aud as a contractoi- 
and architect has erected three hundred 
dwellings, ranging in cost from four 
hundred to ten thousand dollars: twen- 
ty business blocks; one l)ank; a Jla- 
sonic temple; an Odd Fellows building; four 
churches: six lai'ge schoolhouses ; a twenty- 
live thousand dollar convent: a courthouse: 
manufacturing buildings aud hotels. He is 
now supervising architect of the u(>w armory 
at St. Catharines, costing eighty tliousand 
dollars. He has served as a niembei' of the 
city council of St. Cathariiu^s; has tilled the 
office of assessor for thirty-seven consecu- 
tive years; aiul has been a meud)er of the 
board of health for fifteen years. For fifty- 
three years he has been a member of the 
Odd Fellows society; has pa.sscd ;ill the 
chairs in the subordinate lodge: and lias also 
lield office in the grand lodge of Ontario, 
being graml secretary, grand master, grand 
reiiresentative to the su|)reme grand lodge 
of till' United States, grand patriarch in the 
grantl eneampinent of Ontario, and grand 
representative of the jiatriarclial brancli of 
the T'nited States. At the age of twenty- 
four years lie also .joined the Jlasons aud has 



attained the degrees of the Royal Arch 
chapter, in which he has held the jirincipal 
offices. He has passed all the chairs in the 
blue lodge. 

When twenty-four years of age ;\lr. Dol- 
son married IMiss Henrietta ]Molfatt. who was 
born in Watertown. New York, and was then 
nineteen years of age. On the '23d of Octo- 
ber, 1901, they celebrated their goldeu wed- 
ding, there being about eighty guests pres- 
ent, and it proved a very enjoyable event. 
Unto this worthy couple were born nine 
daughters, of whom seven are still living, 
namely: Eliza Ellen, the widow of Fred- 
erick Witbeck and a resident of Lockport, 
New York : Frances 'SI., the wife of Isaac 
Usher, who is connected with the large ce- 
ment works at Queenstown. ()ntario; Addie 
Louise, the widow of Thomas W. Cole, of 
Chicago; Carrie, the wife of Harry Stork, a 
juagician. of Rochester. .\'ew York; Har- 
riett S.. the widow of .lames (;. Frank, of 
Chicago: !Mrs. Simon: and Josephine, the 
wife of Lewis Charles Roeber. who is inter- 
ested in the oil fields of Salt Lake City, 
Utah. Those deceased are [Marietta and Jen- 
nie. 

.Mr. Simon belongs to ;\Ioiiiit Clemens 
lodge. No. 6, A. F. iS: A. M.. and was made 
a Mason in Oriental lodge at Utica. New 
York, in 189"). He was confirmed in the 
(ferman Lutheran church at the age of thir- 
teen years, while his wife is a member of 
the Presbyterian church. Although many 
have longer been connected with the busi- 
ness interests of Blount Clemens, none are 
more ty])ieally rejiresentative of the busi- 
ness interests of the city than Mr. Simon, 
who by his enterprising methods aud keen 
business discrimination has gained success, 
becoming a leading resident of his ndojited 
i-itv. 



SIMON IT. HEATH. 



Simon 11. Heath, who is filliiiu tin- position 
of po.stmaster at Richmond, is a native of 
the Empire state, his birth liaviiiL: occurred 
at Carleton. Oi'leans county, on the Ttli of 
August, 1840. His paternal grandrather. 
Simon Heath, a native of New llampshire 

was one of the luM-oes of tllr lu'Volllt iolUlI'V 

war anil rcmovetl from the old (iranite state 
to Vermont, while later lu> became a resident 
of Orleans county. New York', when' liis 
death occurred. His son, .loliii Hr;ith. born 
in \'erinont. remained a resident of New 
York for a number of vears and on eiiiiarat- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IMACOMB COUNTY 



477 



ing to ilichipui loc-iitrd near Hillsdale, whci-c 
he tiii'iK'd his attfiition lo I'aniiiiii;. Ilr 
weddetl ilary E. Strickland, wlio was iioiii 
ill tlie state of New York. 

Simon II. Heath of this review spent his 
boyhood days in the old farm home at Hills- 
dale, where he remained until twenty-one 
years of age, when he came to Kiehmond and 
was engaged in elerking in the I'ionec^r store, 
a general store anil jjostottiee. lie was thus 
employed until Jul.v, 18(1-1. In Jidy, ISIil, 
he had ottered his services to the govei-nment 
in response to the call for ninety thousand 
troops. His half-brother having enlisted and 
the regiment being full when he enrolled, 
Simon H. Heath came to Kiehmond and ac- 
cepted the position which liis half-hi'other 
had tilled. After three years, however, he 
.joined the army as a niemb(>r of Company 
II, Fourth ^lichigan Infant I'v. under Colonel 
Hall, and was mustered in at Adrian, .Michi- 
gan. The command went to Nashville. Teu- 
nes.see, and afterward to Ueeatnr. Alabama, 
being engaged largely in jiicket duty. Con- 
tinuing in that section of the countiy for 
about a j'ear he was then honorably dis- 
charged in Sejitember, ISK."). and returned to 
his home in ill-health, owing to the hard- 
ship.s and rigor.s of war. For about a year 
thereafter he was incapacitated for business 
life. 

In 186(J he came to Kiehmond and returned 
to his old employer. He continued clerking 
here until 1871. when he made a trip to 
Kansas, w^here he spent two years and upon 
again coming to Richmond he onee more fol- 
lowed elerking. In ISTG. however, he Ijegan 
business for himself, conducting his .store for 
seven years. He was then appointed and 
served as justice of the peace and subse- 
(juently he re-entered connnercial cii'cles in 
Richmond, piii'chasing a book store and new's- 
stand. In July, 1889, he was appointed post- 
master of Richmond by President Harrison, 
lining the position for four years, and was 
again appointed by President INFcKinley and 
on the 1st of January. IflO;!, was i-eapi)ointed 
by President Roosevelt, at which time the of- 
fice was raised to the third class. He is now 
acting in this capacity and gives a practical 
and satisfactory administi'ation to the pa- 
trons of the ofifice. For many years he has 
been engaged in the conveyancing and insur- 
ance business and he has acted as executor 
in the settlement of many estates. Fre(|uent- 
ly his appointment was unknown until the 
will was read. He is a man of unquestioned 
integrity in all business affairs and because 



of this many i'\i(lences of public trust and 
I'ontidenee have been bestowed upon him. 

.Mr. Heath was married in 187fl to Miss 
Aiuia O. Beebe. of Kiehmond. .Michigan, a 
• laughter of Alexander Beebe, the eldest of 
the three Beebe brothers who were pioneer 
settlers of this i)lace. Fnto Mr. and Mrs. 
Heath have beiMi born the following named: 
J. Alexander; Chai-les II.. who is now in the 
postal service on the rural free delivery 
route: and .Maud 1., deceased, Mr. Heath, 
aside from the postofiiee, has tilled other local 
oflices. having bei'u township treasurer for 
seven years and township clerk for two 
terms. He was .justice of the iieace for 
twenty-two years, his incund)ency outlasting 
that of any other man who has filled the 
position. His decisions are strictly fair and 
impartial, being leased upon the evidence, the 
law in the case and the equity involved. He 
holds member.ship with the Grand Army of 
the Republic and for fort.v years hfis "been 
a ilason. exemplifying in his life the public 
spirit of the craft. He is a leading and in- 
fluential citizen of his community, his 
friends recognizing his genial spirit and 
worth and according him their confidence and 
good will. 



FRANCIS J. :\IILLEK. 

Francis J. IMiller. a member of the lirm of 
F. J. Miller & Brother, dealers in hai-dware, 
farm implements, paints and oils at Center 
Line, w^as born on a farm near the village, 
October 7, 1870, and is of (ferman lineage, 
his jiaterual grandparents being John Peter 
and .Margaret ( Vous])ender ) Aliller, who were 
natives of the fatherland and with flu'lr fam- 
ily came to America in 1842, settling oii s.>c- 
tion 22. Warren townshij). .Macomb county. 
^Michigan, in what is now the Center Line 
district, which was then an almost unbroken 
wilderness in which the Indians were en- 
<'amped and in which wild animals had their 
liaunts. Owing to the (h>ath of the grand- 
father the year following his arrival in this 
country the toil and hardshijjs of clearing 
the homestead fell upon the mother and her 
four children: Joseph, now of Detroit: Pe- 
ter, who died in 1898: .Mary Ann, now the 
wife of Jacob Kramer, of Warren township: 
and ]\[athias. who was then only seven years 
of age. 

^lathias ililler was born in Prussia, Ger- 
many, ]\Iarch 7, 1836, and was therefore only 
six years of age when his jJariMits crossed the 



478 



PAST AXD I'KESKXT OF MACOMB COIXTY 



Atlantic to the new woi'ld. llis cilneation 
■was only suc-li as the ilistriet schools of those 
early tlays atforiled and as soon as old 
eiioufih to work he assisted on the farm, 
of which he took cliaruc in ISoo. afterward 
earinfi: for his mother nntil her de;ith in 
187t), and thns repayinji' her in part foi' the 
care and traininjr which slie j;ave him in his 
yonth and for the sacrifices she made for 
her family. lie is a inem])ei' of St. ("lemeiis 
church at Center I^ine and also of St. Clem- 
ens Aid Society. 

On the 17th of .lainiary. lS(i.'>. .Malhias 
Millel' was iiiari-ied to .Miss Klizahctli Neu- 
jrahanei', who was horn in i'nissia in \f<-i.j 
and in 185.'^ was i)ronulit to Macomi) county 
by her parents, Francis Joseph Xeuiiahaner 
and llis wife, of \Varren townshi]). Hy this 
niarriajsre the following;' children wei'c horn: 
Joseph, who is en^a^ed in the grocery busi- 
ness in Delray, .Micliigan; Francis J.; Rob- 
ei't A., who is a mend)ei' of tlie firm of iMiller 
Brothers: ^Irs. Joseph Jerou, of "Warren 
townshiii: IMaruiiret, a Sister of I'rovidence 
in St. Mary's of tlie Woods Convent, at St, 
Mai'y"s. Indiana; Mrs. .|ose|)h Murphy, of 
Sterlinfi' township: Katherine, of Center 
Line; John William. Irene and Edith, all on 
the home fai'ui. All of the children are 
prominent in musical circles and nearly all 
are mend>ers of the choir of St. Clemens 
church, while ;\Irs. Midler is jiresident of St. 
Mary'.s Aid Soricty. 

Francis .1. .Miller was etlucateil in St. 
Clemens school and remained with his father 
on the farm until ISitl, after which he on- 
j>'aKed in the saloon business until ISIHl. lie 
then returned to the farm, but after a yeai' 
opened an imi)lement and hardware store in 
Centei' Line, carryiiii;' a lai'Uf liin' of farm 
imi)lements. y-enei'al hardware. ]iain1s and 
supplies. In liMI-J he admitted his hrother 
Koliert til a partni'rship under the pi'escnt 
firm style of F. .1. .Miller i; Brother. .Miv 
Miller has proved himself ;\ man of exci'|i- 
tional business ability and has succeeded in 
buildiiiL; up an extensive ti'ade. His success 
is attrihutalile to his own efforts and to his 
earnest efforts to meet the wishes of his 
patrons. 

On the I'lst of October. ISIHi. .Mr. Miller 
was mari'ieil to Miss Sophia Krairier, a 
daughter of Kdward and Kli/.abeth Kramer, 
of Detroit 'I'liey havi' six children: ('on 
stance, Leoiia, I'l-ban. .Mildretl, Kdward and 
Marjiaret, all at In one. Mrs. ^liller is a sis- 
ter of Rev. John v. Kramer, of St. Clemens 
i-lini-ch, and lielmiiis to St. .Mar\'"s .\id So- 



ciety. Jlr. Miller is also a communicant of 
that (diurch and belonjis to St. Clemens So- 
ciety, He is affiliated with the (Jerman Ar- 
beiter, of Wai-ren, and Warren tent, No. 
i)'.i'>. K. O. T. M.. and in jiolitics is a demo- 
crat. In 1S!I.") he was elected township treas- 
urer and the following' year was re-elected. 
His history presents a t.vpe of civic and 
(dnu'ch loyalty, of devotion to his family and 
of I'eliabilitv in l)\isiness relations. 



ELMER Y. SFTTOX. 



Elmer ^'. Sutton, who is filliujj' the oflice 
of register of deeds, was born in Richmond, 
ilacomb county, February 23. IStiiS. He be- 
longs to one of the old pioneer families of 
this locality, his paternal grandfather, James 
H. Sutton, having settled in Ray towu.ship 
in 1839. There lie secured land and began 
farming, but subsequently he i-emoved to 
Richmonil township, where his remaining; 
days were passed. His death occurred in 
1883, when he was seventy-eight yeai-s of 
age. He had taken a heljjful jiaiM in the 
early progress and imiu-ovement of this por- 
tion of the state and because of his activity 
and material assistance his name should be 
inscribed high on the mil of honored pio- 
neer citizens of IMacond) county. His son, 
Charles H, Sutton, was liorn near Hatavia, 
New York, A]iril 13, 1835, and was. there- 
fore, quite young when brought by his par- 
ents to ilichigan. Here he was reared upon 
the home fai-m amid i)ioneer environments 
and he lieeame familiar with the labor neces- 
sary to the development and cultivation of 
the fields, lie mai-i'ied Eli/a A. Stnai-f, also 
a native of .New York, her birth occurring 
in the vicinit\- of Batavia, Jid\- !l. 1837. She 
was a (laughter of William R. and Ann;i H. 
iN'ictoryi Stuart, a native of the Em|)ire 
state. \\]]n ill 1S44. removed to St. Clair 
county, -Michigan, where his death occurred. 
.Mr. and Mrs. Chaides II. Sutton hecame the 
parents of tlli'ee (diildren : John K.. liiUMi 
October 13. 18(iO. who was eh-cled on the 
repiililiciiii ticket ;in,l is serving as asses.sor 
o\' Adams county. Colora<lo: Klmei- V.: and 
('liarles S.. who was horn Fehruiiry 12,1874. 
and is engaged in farming near Richmond 
on the ohl homestead. 

I'lliiiei- \'. Sutton spent his early life on 
the home f;iiiii in Riidunond township, began 
his edui'.ition in the district schools, and 
eoiitinui'd his studies in the high school of 
tlh' village (d' Riidnnond, whiM'e he was grad- 




EL.MKi; V. SITTOX. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



481 



ujitrd Willi tlir chiss of 18S:i. He ai'lorwai-d 
spent two years in Denver. Colorailo, where 
he was engaged in tlie ilairy business. He 
went to the west in Mai-cli. 1S!)0, and re- 
mained there until June, 189:2, when he re- 
turned home and took charge of his father's 
farm, whieh he operated for two years. On 
the expiration of tliat periotl lie removed to 
Richmond, where he was engaged in the 
hiundry t)usiness for .seven years, or until 
lildl. lie then gave his attention to vari- 
ous pursuits until the fall of 1!)0'J, when he 
was elected to the ofifiee of register of deeds 
of ilaeomb eount.v on the republican ticket, 
receiving a majority of two hundred and 
thirty-two. On the expiration of his first 
term he was re-elected l)y the largest ma- 
jority ever given to any candidate on the 
republican ticket in ^Macomb eount.v, hav- 
ing a plurality of about sixteen hundred and 
fifty three, his home town of Richmond giv- 
ing him a plurality of three hundred and 
forty-five. His opponent only received one 
hundred and two votes of the entire num- 
ber cast in that township. At his Hrst elec- 
tion he received in the township of Rieli- 
mond four hundred and four votes, while 
his opponent only received ninety-four. He 
had made an excellent record as an oiScer 
and his elections have certainly l)een proof 
of his personal popularity and the confidence 
reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. He 
is careful and systematic in the work of 
the ofSce, faithful and true to every trust 
reposed in him and through his official serv- 
ice has won the high commendation of tlie 
general i)ublie. The office is managed on 
strictly business principles and he has more 
than fulfilled the claims of his friends. Tliat 
he has become popular is shown by the fact 
that he carried the city of Mount Clemens 
by a majority of two hundred and two, when 
it usually returns a strong democratic ma- 
jority. Promptness and courtesy character- 
ize his treatment of all wlio have business 
to ti'ansact in his office, and his genial and 
unassuming manner and kindly spirit well 
qnalify him for the duties of his i)osition. 
He lias also held offices in his town.ship, hav- 
ing served as clerk and as treasurer for 
two years each. 

The home life of Mr. Sutton has been very 
])leasant. He was hapi)il\' married on the 
19th of June, LSDi', to .Aliss Cornelia Eng- 
land, a daughter of John and Cornelia (Ste- 
vens) Enghind. of this county. Their chil- 
dren are: Malic! S., born .May 1:2. 1893; E. 
:Merlc>. Januai'v 1. 1S!I7: Ihi V.. October 'JO. 



1S98; and .Mildred .\., ( )ctoiicr 4. 1904. Fra- 
ternally .Mr. Sutton is connected witli the 
Knights oj' .M;iccabecs, the Woodmen of the 
World, and tin' Indc|)cn(lcnt Ordei' of Odd 
Fellows, while in the .Masonic fraternity he 
has taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter 
and council in Jlount Clemens. He served 
as secretary of the lodge at Richmond, also 
of the Odd Fellows' loilge there, ^fr. Sut- 
ton does not belong to that class of political 
leaders who court public favoi- at the ex- 
pense of their private opinions, but through 
true nobility of character has gained the 
confidence and good will of his fellowmen, 
aiul enjoys the warm personal regard of 
many with whom he has been brought in 
contact socially, politically and through 
business relations. 



JOII.X IIK.XKV WILSON. 

John Henry Wilson is among the worthy 
citizens that Englantl has furnished to ]\Ia- 
comb county, his birth having occurred in 
Nottinghamshire, October 12, 1834. He now 
resides in Armada township, successfully 
following the occupation of farming on sec- 
tion ti. He is a son of John and Sarah 
(Cook) "Wilson. His father, a native of Lin- 
colnshire, came to America in 183() and for 
some time thereafter was a resident of De- 
troit, whence he removed to Jloiint Clem- 
ens. Ill 1S42 he took uj) his abode in Bei-- 
liii, St. Clair counts', .Michigan, walking 
through the woods frmii .Mount Clemens in 
company with his .son Joliii II., who was 
then eight years of age. They drove with 
them a cow and had to make their own path 
as there were no roads at the time. The 
father built a log cabin sixteen by sixteen 
feet, with bark on both sides of the logs, 
and there was also a bark roof and stone 
tii'eiilaee. The floor was made of split bass- 
wood logs. In those days the Indians were 
very lunnerous in this part of the state and 
th? entire district was largely in its primi- 
tive condition. Bears were frecpiently si>en 
in the forests and there were man.v deer ami 
wild turkeys, so that the settlers did not 
lack for meat on their tables. The father 
died in Jvdy. 187."), at the age of eighty-one 
years, and the mother in November, 1890. at 
the same age. 

John Henry Wilson was rearctl amid pio- 
neer conditions, sharing with the family in 
all the hardships and trials that ai'e im])osed 



482 



PAST AND PRESENT OP^ MACOMB COUNTY 



by fi'ontier life. lie assisted in the arduous 
task of develojiiim: a home farm and in 1858, 
when he was about twenty-four years of 
age, he pureliased forty aeres of land on 
section 6 and began the development of the 
farm upon which he now resides, although 
he has since extended its boundaries from 
time to time until he now owns one hun- 
dred and eighty-six aeres of land. His edu- 
cational privileges were few. but to a lim- 
ited extent he pursued his studies in an old 
log schoolhouse. He possessed, however, 
strong determination and energy and won 
success in the business world. Throughout 
his entire life he has followed farming and 
is to-day classed with the substantial agri- 
culturists of his eommunit.v. having an ex- 
cellent tract of land, well e(iuipped with 
modern improvements. 

On the 13th of October, 1860, Mr. AVilson 
was imited in marriage to ]Miss Mary Shep- 
herd, who was born in Perthshire. Scot- 
land, October 5, 1839, a daughter of David 
and Annie (Lamond) Shepherd. Her father 
came to America in 185tj and settled in Ber- 
lin township, St. Clair county, Michigan. 
Unto 'Sir. and ^Irs. Wilson were born nine 
children: Albert X., born July 21, 1861, 
is a farmer, of Armada townshii). He mar- 
ried Addie Powers and they had three chil- 
dren, but one has [)assetl awa.v. EUora. who 
became the wife of AVill H. Berk, a produce 
merchant, of Detroit, ami died December 1. 
190-i, leaving a daughter, Lois E. Cyrus T. 
was born Mav 6, 1863, and died ilarch 17, 
1864. Peter '11., born December 31, 1864, 
and now follows farming on section 5, Ar- 
mada township, married Addie Draix'r and 
has three children. ;\Iary J., born January 
7, 1867, engaged in teaching school for a 
few years, then pursued a business educa- 
tion at Ypsilanti and is now a bookkeeper in 
Detroit. John T., born October 26, 1868, 
is a farmer of Berlin township, St. Clair 
county. He mai-ried Rose Draper aiul had 
three children, of whom two are living. Rob- 
ert A., born June 1, 1872, lives at home, but 
owns a farm on sections 8 and 9, Armada 
township. Sarah, born July 3, 1875, taught 
school for four .vears in Macomb countv and 
one year in Lapeer county. Slie was a stu- 
dent in the .Normal Conservatory at Ypsi- 
lanti and taught music tor one year, but is 
now at honu' keeping house foi' her father. 
David S., born June 23, 1877. and James W.. 
born October 4, 1879, have fornunl a part- 
nership and ai'c engaged in the niillin>»' b\isi- 
ness at Smitli. St. Clair conntw 



ilr. Wilson votes with the republican 
party, having sup]n)rted its presidential can- 
didates since casting his tirst vote for John 
C. F'remont. He is identitied with the 
(irange and holds to the religious faith of 
the Society of Friends. His Avife was a 
member of the Presbyterian church and was 
to him a faithful companion and hel])mate. 
sharing with him the hardships and trials 
as well as the pleasures of life. Her noble, 
self-sacrificing spirit was felt not alone in 
the home but throughout the whole com- 
munity, where she was familiarly and lov- 
ingly known as Grandma Wilson. She died 
on the 19th of February. 1904. 

;\Ir. AYilson has spent almost his entire 
life in [Michigan and during the greater i)art 
of the time has been a resident of ;\Iaeomb 
county. Almost three score years and ten 
have passed since he was brought by his par- 
ents to this state and he has therefore wit- 
nessed the greater part of its development 
and improvement. The knowledge that oth- 
ers have gained concerning the growth and 
upbuilding of the state through reading and 
the study of history has come to him as a 
matter of experience and observation and he 
is therefore acquainted with the chief events 
of what have formed the ainials of Maconi!) 
county. 



.AIRS. HARRIET E. CUYLER. 

'Sirs. Harriet E. Cu.vler. who is widely and 
favorably known in Alount Clemens and 
throughout the surrounding countiy, was 
born in Norwich, Canada. Ai)ril 15, 1853, 
and is a daughter of Eli W<iodrow, a native 
of Pliiladel[)liia, Pennsylvania, and of Qua- 
ker descent. He was born in 1811. and in 
early life went to Canada, where he mar- 
ried Catheriiu^ Rooney. whose liirth occurred 
in Ireland in 1S(I7. slic bciiii; twenty-five 
years of age when she came to the new 
world. This M'orthy couple became the par- 
ents of nine children, all liorn in Canada, 
namely: .Mary J. is now the wife of John 
Collins, a farmer of jjapeei' eount.v, .Michi- 
gan, and their chikliMMi are .Xetlii'. .Mary. 
Rila. Fred. Ida. Daniel and Emma. Mr. and 
.Mrs. Collins hold membershi|) in I lie .Metho- 
dist Ei)iscoi)al chui'eh and he is a democrat 
in iiolitics. .\m<is Bidwell Woodrow. who 
was a lumberman of .Menominee. .Michigan. 
was Ivilled at Badaxe. He was a supjiorter 
of the republican part.v and was a inember 
of till' .Mi'tliodist Ei)is(Mipal ciiui'di ami llir 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



483 



]\Iasonii' fraternity. For his first wife ln' 
married Naney Harris, by whom lie liad one 
(laughter, Enaila Cecilia, and his second wife 
was Louise Kobertson. Nancy A. Woodrow 
married William llusner, who was a farmer 
by occupation and was a soldier of the Civil 
war, and they have a son, W. W. Ilosner, 
of ^Mount Clemens, who first married Jennie 
Hall, now deceased, second married Edna 
Faj', of Stratford, ()ntai-io. William 
Hosner is also a Mason and a sup- 
porter of the republican part.y, while his 
wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
chTirch. Joseph E. Woodrow, a millwright 
and carpenter, of Lapeer county, has been 
twice married and by the first union had 
one daughter, Ada, now the wife of Dr. Ed- 
ward G. Vandawalker, who is a graduate of 
Ann Arbor Universit.v and is now engaged 
in practice at Suttons Ba.v, Michigan. For 
his second wife Joseph E, Woodrow married 
Hattie Thomas, a native of Canada, and to 
them were boi'n two sons: Henry E., who 
nuirried Ketta Bradshaw and is a dentist 
of Lansing; and Herbert, who married Ag- 
nes Papenau and is a fireman on the Pere 
IMarcpiette Railroad, living at Port Huron, 
Louise "SI. Woodrow has been quite a mu- 
sician since a small child and has engaged 
in teaching that art. She is a member of 
the ^lethodist Episcopal church and a resi- 
dent of North Branch, ^Michigan, where she 
owns a farm. Emnui A. Woodrow married 
Elijah Barrett, engineer in a sawmill in La- 
peer county, and she died leaving one son, 
pjdgiir. wild is engaged in lumbering with 
his uncle. She was a member of the ]\retho- 
dist Episcopal church and her husband is a 
democrat in politics, A. B. Woodrow is de- 
ceased, ]\Irs. Cuyler is the youngest member 
of the famil.v now living. Two children, 
iLitilda and James, died in infancy. 

Mrs. Cu.vler was jirincipall.v reared and 
educated at Attica, Lapeer count.v, Michi- 
gan, and when a young lad.v learned dress- 
making. On the Tilth 111' .\])ril, 1S72, she 
gave her hand in m;irriage to William B. 
Cuyler, who was born in Newmarket, Can- 
ada, March 23, 184(5, and came to Michigan 
in LSfilJ. locating ;it Attica, where he was 
em])loyc(l as head sawyei- and engineer in 
his father's mill foi' two years. At the end 
of that time he turned his attention to pho- 
togi'ajih.v, and being a natural artist he met 
with great success in that undertaking. He 
conducted a studio at La])eer for a time and 
then removed to Romeo, .Maccjinb count.v, 
where he successfnllv enL':iL;eil in business 



until ill liraltli forced him tn leave. During 
the folldwing live years he was a resident 
of Colorado, where he was engaged in mak- 
ing views of outdoor life, and at the end c>f 
that time he located at Delphi, Indiana, 
where he carried on a photographic gallery 
for about two years. He next opened a 
fine stuilio at (ireenfield, Indiana, where in 
connection with i)hotograi)hy he also does 
portrait work and oil ]»ainting, and is meet- 
ing with marked success at that place. By 
his ballot he sujiports the men and measures 
of the democratic party, and he afTiliates 
with the ^lasonie fraternity, the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevo- 
lent and Protective ()i-der of Elks. 

Unto ]\Ir. and ^Irs. Cuyler were born tlir<'e 
children: Nina Kittie, the eldest, was born 
November 19, 1M74, and was graduated at 
St. Mary's Academy at Windsor, Ontario. 
On her return home she was ill from over- 
study and died on the 13th of November, 
1898, being laid to rest in Clinton Grove 
cemetery. Laurctte M., born ]\Iarch 27, 1878. 
is also a graduate of St. IMar.y's Academ.y, 
Windsor, Ontario. She was married April 
19, 1904, in Detroit, to Richard B. Remer, a 
composer and music publisher now living in 
Mount Clemens, He was born in ilonaca, 
Peniis.vlvania, -May 8, 1881, and is the onl.y 
child of August C. and Emma (Blatt) 
Remer, the former a native of France and 
the latter of Monaca, Penns.ylvania. The 
father was only eleven years of age when 
he came to America. Richard B. Remer 
casts his ballot with the republican party. 
Fraternally he is connected with the Benev- 
olent and Protective Order of Elks, the 
Knights of the -Maccabees, the Woodmen of 
the World and the Independent Ordei- of 
Odd Fellows, and religiously he is a member 
of the English Lutheran church, while his 
wife belongs to the First Presbyterian 
church of Mount Clemens. Zoe Letta, the 
.voungest daughter of ilr. and ]Mrs. Cuyler, 
was born August 8, 1881, and died October 
12, 1892, her remains being interred in Clin- 
ton Grove cemeteiy. 

While her husband was engaged in busi- 
ness elsewhere 'Sirs. Cuyler conducted a jiho- 
fographic galler.v in Blount Clemens for 
seven years, and in carrying on the busi- 
ness she displaye(l marked ability' and ai-tis- 
tic taste. She finall.v sold out in 1894 to A, 
C. Novess, who in turn sold to A, F. Mann, 
the present jiroprietor. Since then ^Irs. 
Cuyler li;is lived i-etired and now makes her 
home with liei- (biuehtei', .Mrs. K'emer. at 



484 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



122 Cass avenue. She is a woman of niaiiy 
admirable traits of ehai-acter and has a host 
of friends in Blount Clemens. 



CALVIN D. CHURCH. 

Calvin D. Chnreh. a member of the firm 
of St. John & Church, of Utica, was born 
September 5, 1858. in Shelby township, ]\Ia- 
eomb county. His father, Ha.swell Church, 
wa.s a native of Vermont and came to Michi- 
gan about 1840, making the journey by way 
of the Erie canal and across the country to 
his destination. He was a carpenter, .joiner 
and millwright and he worked in Jlount 
Clemens, Utica and other places in the coun- 
ty. Finally he settled upon a farm in Shel- 
by township and successfully carried on ag- 
ricultural pursuits. In 1864 he was elected 
sheritf by the soldier vote, but this vote was 
thrown out. In 1866, however, he was again 
a candidate and was elected at that time and 
again in 1868. thus serving for two terms. 
He held the office of township treasurer for 
a number of years and while thus engaged 
lost some money by receiving wildcat cur- 
rency. He figured prominently in industrial, 
mercantile and political circles at an early 
day and was a valued resident of his com- 
munity. He married Mary Ann Davis, a 
representative of one of the oldest families 
of Macomb county, the first of the name here 
coming from New York when few were the 
settlements which had been made in this part 
of the state. The grandfather, Calvin Davis, 
arrived about 1812 and was a man of marked 
influence in his comnranit.v, his career re- 
flecting credit and honor \ipon the state 
which honored him. He was a member of 
the first state legislature and was the first 
postmaster in the town of Macomb. Unto 
Mr. and Jlrs. Church were born the follow- 
ing named : Frank S., a member of the po- 
lice force and a custom house officer at Bay 
City, ^fichigan. is married and has three 
.sous and two daughters: Fannie and Nettie 
died in infancy: Hattie is the wife of A. E. 
Van Eps, an abstractor, of Mount Clemens, 
and they have one daughter; Johnnie E. 
died in infancy: Calvin D. i.s the next of the 
family; Sylvia was the wife of James H. 
St. John and died in 1884; Jennie L. is the 
wife of E. IT. Conner, a traveling man of 
Blount Clemens, and has Iwo sons; Florence 
is the widow of John Weltz and with one 
daughter resides in IMount Clemens; Pisk 
H. died at the age of twelve vears. 



Calvin D. Church continiiecl his studies in 
the schools of ]\rount Clemens and Davis and 
after ptirsuing a high school coui'se he began 
farming at Davis, following that pursuit for 
ten or twelve years. He was afterward in 
the hardwood and lumber business at differ- 
ent points, buying and shipping all over the 
state and when two years had passed in that 
manner he came to Utica, where in 1894 he 
formed a partnership with James II. St. 
John and has since been engaged in the coal, 
lumber and grain trade. The firm has a large 
business in handling these connuodities and 
they en,joy an excellent reputation as alert, 
enterprising and progressive business men. 
]\Ir. Church is also owner of a farm lying in 
the corporate limits of the village. 

In April. 1892. Calvin D. Church wedded 
Parmelia St. John, a daughter of James and 
Myrtie (Wright) St. John, of Shelby town- 
ship, this county. She is a graduate of the 
Utica high school, was educated in the De- 
troit Conservatory of ilusic. was a pupil of 
Professor Ilahn and taught music in the 
vicinity of Utica for several years. She 
has superior talent in that direction and is 
a valued factor in social circles here. Mr. 
and ^Irs. Church have two children : Fisk 
St. John, born February 26, 1895: and Clar- 
ence Ilai'ry. born December 29. 1896, both 
in school. ;Mr. Church has always been a 
republican and he belongs to the Foresters 
of Utica, and the IIoo lloo. Ilis wife is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
Without extraordinary family or pecuniary 
advantages at the commencement of life he 
has battled earnestly and energetically and 
by indomitable courage and energy has 
achieved lioth character and a competency. 



AUGUST R. HAHN. 

In every community are found men of 
enterprise and energy whose business activ- 
ity proves an important element of j)ublic 
prosperity and progi-ess. To this class in 
Utica belongs Mr. Hahn. who was born in 
Pasewalk, in Pomerania, Germany. Decem- 
ber 26, 1856, his parents being Frederick 
and IMary (Eugel) Hahn. The father was 
captain of a boat sailing on the lakes and 
rivers of Germany and followed that occu- 
pation during the greater part of his life. 
In 18()9 he cro.ssed the Atlantic to America, 
settling four and a half miles west of Mount 
Clemens, where he purchased land in j\la- 
comb townshi]! and began the develoi»ment 




AUGUST E. HAHN. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



487 



of a fjinii upon which lu' still i-rsiilrs. lie 
has now been :i Iradiiit;' aKi-ii-uiturist of liis 
I'oiiuiiuiiity for thirty-six yi'ars and is well 
known in liis part of the county. His wife 
dii'd in lliiiii. In tlieir family wim-c four 
sons and three dauf^rhters. and of this luim- 
ber six are yet living', as follows: August; 
Elizabeth, the wife of John llavel. a resi- 
dent of .Maeonib townshij); Augusta, the 
wife of Chris Kaniien. a farmer of the same 
township: Ernst, who is married and lives 
in Utiea. whei'c he is engaged in business 
with his brother August: William, who is 
employed in a hartlware store in I'tiea : 
John, who is marrieii and lives on the old 
family homestead. 

August K. Ilahn. the oldest member of 
the family, juirsued liis education in Ger- 
man\', where for si.x years lie attended seliool 
and was a jnipil of the same teacher who 
directed his mother's education in her early 
girlhood. He was twelve years of age at 
the time of the removal of the family to 
America and here he worked upon a farm 
for four years, after which he began learn- 
ing the miller's trade. He began as a rousta- 
bout, but after about a year was promoted 
and was gradually advanced, in recognition 
of his ability and capable service, until he 
was made head millcMv Subsequentl.v he 
leased the mill, which hi' operated for two 
years, and then with the eajiital which he 
had ac([uired through his own labors, he 
eiidiarked in the hardware trade in 1888, 
purchasing the hardware stock of John 
Hasely for twenty-six hundred dollars. This 
stock he continually increased to meet the 
growing demands of the trade until he now 
carries a stock valued at eight thousand two 
hiuidreil dollars, and he has also erect(*d a 
large and substantial building for the ac- 
commodation of his business. He carries 
not only shelf and heavy hardware but also 
a good line of farm impleiiieiits. and draws 
a gratifying trade from the village and sur- 
rounding eounti'y. He has the largest hard- 
ware store in I'tica and in atktitien to this 
he owns stock in the I'tica Crianiery and 
good property in the town. 

On the 4th of January. 1881. Mr. Halm 
was married to Jliss Kred(M-ieka Hoettehei-. 
a daughter of Christoph and Dorothea 
{ Bresiem ) Boettcher. Her ])arents were res- 
idents of I'omerania. (lermany. where ^Irs. 
Ilahn was boi'ii. There are seven children 
of this marriage: Albei't. twenty years of 
age, who was educated in the high school 
of I'tica and is now a elerk in his father's 



store: l)oi-(ithea. sixteen \ears of <ige: Ag- 
nes, (ifteeii: Henno, twelve: Hugo, who was 
born in 1890: (iertrutle. who is ten years 
of age: and William .McKinley. born in 1896. 
With the eXeei)tion of the eldest all of the 
cllildiM'n ari' still in school. .Mr. Ihilin iias 
been a stanch republican from the time when 
age gave to him the right of franchise. He 
served as township clerk, was a member 
of the school board for ten years, was dep- 
uty sheriff four years, under sheritV for four 
,veai-s and is now county deputy sheriff and 
president of the village of Utica. He be- 
longs to Utiea lodge. No. 75, A. F. & A. M., 
in which he is serving as secretary, and 
both he and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church. In the field of political 
life and commercial activit.v he has won 
prominence and is to-day numbered among 
the leading, influential and successful citi- 
zens of Utica. 



FRANK SCOTT CHURCH. 

This is a utilitarian age antl is jire-emi- 
iiently the epoch of invention. Mechanical 
ingenuity has reached a high state of per- 
fection and has given to the world many 
valuable devices for the saving of labor and 
resulting in more jierfeet workmanship. Mr. 
Church of this review has a national reputa- 
tion because of his efforts in this direction 
and he has j)laced upon th(> market vari- 
ous devices which are the outcome of his 
inventive genius. He is yet a young man. 
whose efforts are continually reaching out 
to other lines, anil undoubtedly his useful- 
ness in the woi'ld of invention has not >et 
reached its height. 

A native of Michigan, he was born in 
Chesaning. October 18, 18tit), and is a .son 
of Willard H. Church, of Disco, Michigan, 
who was married to P^sther M. Sutherland, 
a native of this county. The grandfather, 
Umphrey Church, was born in Vermont, 
and when twent.v-tive years of age be- 
came a resident of Livingston count.v, 
Michigan. He afterward removed to Jla- 
eomb county, where he spent his remaining 
days, passing away at the very venerable age 
of ninet.v years. Tlirt)ughout the gi'cater part 
of his life he followed fainiing. Willard II. 
Chui'ch lived in Chesaning and in Livingston 
county and in various othei- localities to 
which his business called him. He was a 
carpenter and builder and had iin extensive 
pafi'onage, erecting buildings, in many parts 



488 



PAST AND PR?:SEXT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



of the state. At the time of the Civil war 
he espoused the I'niou eause, eulistiii? in 
the Tenth Jlieliifrau Infantry, with whieli 
he served until discharged on account of 
fever. After his recovery he enlisted in the 
Twenty-second ilichigan Infantry and con- 
tiinied at the front until the close of hos- 
tilities. He took ]iart in many ini])ortant 
I'liuagenients, including the battles of Bull 
Run, Shildh, the "Wilderness and oth(>rs. He 
also suffered wounds and other injiu'ies dur- 
ing his niilitarv experience, and he died May 
9, 1904. His" wife, p:sthcr M. Sutherland, 
was a daughter of Silas and ;\Iary Jane 
(Wineger) Suthei'land, the former of Cay- 
uga county. New York. He was of Scotch 
lineage, his ancestors living in Sutherland- 
shire, Scotland, antl tradition says they were 
descendants of the house of Suthei'land, at 
the head of which was the duke of Sutlicr- 
laiiil. The Wiiieuer family was of German 
lineage ami its re])resent;itives possessed sii- 
perior musical talent. Esther Suthei-lanil. 
who hecaiiu' 31i's. Church, was a teacher in 
the jniblic schools of .Maeondj county at an 
early day and her sisters also followed the 
same ])rofession. In the family were six 
children. ]\Irs. Church being llie third in 
order of bii'th. By her nuirriage she becanu' 
the mother of one son and one daugliter. 

Frank Scott Church, the elder, who was 
named in lionoi' of his nuiternal uncle. Div 
Fi'ank .Scnit Sutherland, spent his boyhood 
days in the schools of central ^Michigan and 
afterward went 1i> Detroit. His inventive 
genius develojied ;it a very early age. Even 
when a schoolboy the toys which he made 
for himself attr.icted much attention and 
later he began ex]ierimenting along mechan- 
ical lines. After daily stiuly of the locomo- 
tive he made a wlieid with the ci'ank motion 
siiiiilai- til that of a bienmiitive and used 
it as othei' boys use a luMip. He also 
ma(h' a bean tln-csher out nf a paint keg, 
attaching it to a grindstone, its only weak 
jn)int being that the beans could not be 
foiiiiil a Tier being put through the machine. 
Later, liowever, his efforts as an inventor 
took a more practical tiu'n. His first in- 
vention was a wagon gear, the front and 
I'ear axle moving in o]iposite directions, en- 
abling it to be turned in a small sjiace. Quite 
a number were made, but the noise occa- 
sioned by the reaches connecting the wheels 
and the additional expense prevented its 
adoption. The next important invention of 
Mr. Chui'ch was a cash and package car- 
rii'r. on which lie has taken out a large num- 



ber of patents. He has sold his rights in 
this invention. He had the cai-riers manu- 
factureil in Detroit and afterward went to 
Boston, setting up his plant in the Tremont 
Hotel, where, unsolicited, he obtained or- 
dei's to the amount of three hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars. He afterward sold 
his interest to a C(unpany which continues 
the luisiness. He next invented a motor for 
running exhibition i)honographs. lieing 
equip])cd with a iihitform on which stood the 
])arty listening to the phonograph, his weight 
on the platform ])roducing the power to 
opei'ate the machine. This he also sold. He 
next invented a frictionless roller bearing, 
constituting three sets of rollei's. one set 
rolling on to]i of the others from the cen- 
ter, increasing in circumference. These were 
|iut (111 a parlor ear at an expense of twenty 
thousand dollars and proved a great suc- 
cess. Dr. Fitz Hugh Edwards, of Detroit, 
who was ;Mr. Church's i)artner in the inven- 
tions, died about that time, holding some 
twenty patents. Recently Mr. Church has 
invented a smoke consumer which burns the 
smoke, successfully doing the work. It was 
sold to R. A. Demnia. He has also invented 
a inunber of coin operating machines, usual- 
ly called slot machines, and is interested in 
quite a number of those devices at the pres- 
ent time. The dials for practically all the 
slot machines in use are framed from his 
original diagrams or plans. 

Mr. Church was married September 28, 
1899, to Frances Gertrude Groat, of Meni- 
l)his. ^Michigan, a daughter of Ira C. Groat, 
and they have oiu* scni. Kenneth Frank. 'Sir. 
Church is interested in community affairs 
and served as president of his village in 
1904-'). He is a man of marked energy, very 
active anil energetic, and undoubtedly the 
futun' has in store for liim still greater suc- 
cesses, while his value in the inventive workl 
will no doubt increase as the vears go bv. 



EDWIN C. CHUBB. 



Ivlwiii C. Chubb, who is familiarly called 
Ed by Ids numci-ous friends in Macomb 
count.v, is living on section Ifi in the town 
of Kay, not far from the village of Romeo 
and is ther(> cultivating a farm of one hun- 
di'ed and twenty acres. Like many of the 
substantial citizens of this part of the state he 
is a native son of I\Iacond) county, his birth 
having occurred in the town of Ray, January 
2, 1S40. He is a son of Josei>h Chubb, who 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



489 



was horn in New Vufk, and mi coniini,' ti) the 
west I'litei'cd six Inuidri'd and forty acres 
of land from tlie ^Dverninent. Not a furrow 
had lii'cn tiirni'(l or an improvement made 
upon the phice, but witli characteristic en- 
ergy lie began to clear his fields and prepare 
them to produce rich luirvests. He was mar- 
I'ied thi-ee times, his first union being: with 
Louisa Fan-, of New ^'ork. who died soon 
after their marriage. lie then married 
Asenath Stephens, of New York, who died 
in ^Michigan, and later he married her sister, 
^laria Stephens, who survived him for some 
time. Ilis death occuri-ed in 18:^9, before 
the bii-th of his son tldwin C. Tlis wife, 
surviving him. reared her family in this 
county. There were three sons of that mar- 
I'iage. the eldest being David, a farmer of 
Kay township, and the second p]lijah. who is 
living in Wayne county. 

Edwin C. Chubb was reared and educated 
in the place of liis nativity, attending the 
connnon schools. He enlisted in August. 
IStil. ^vhen twenty-one years of age, in de- 
fense of the T'nion caus(\ .ioining Company 
A of the Ninth ^Michigan Infantrj', Avith 
Avhicli he went south with the Army of the 
Cumberland. He was made a sergeant and 
meritoi-ious conduct on the field of battle 
won him promotion to the rank of first lien- 
tenant. He veteranized in 1863 and was 
granted a leave of absence of thirty days 
because of iU health. He then rejoined his 
regiment at Chattanooga and participated 
in the battle of Stone River, where six com- 
l)anies of his regiment were taken prisoners 
but were paroled on the field. They were 
then sent to Colnmbns. Ohio, where they re- 
mainc(l until exchanged, re.ioiniug the regi- 
ment at ^Mnrfreesboro. Tennessee. Mr. 
Chubb also participated in the engagements 
at Chickamauga and Resaea and was at 
General Thomas' headquarters for nearly a 
year and a half, doing genei-al prevost duty. 
^Ir. Chubli lost the sight of one of his eyes 
while in the army, this being caused b.v in- 
flammation and other illness. He was hon- 
orably discharged at Chattanooga, Novem- 
ber 24, 1864. and at onee returned to his 
home, having done his duty as a faithful de- 
fender of the Union cause. The following 
year he began farmitig upon the place where 
he now i-esides. 

^Ir. Chubb was mari-ied upon this place in 
1862, when home ui)on a furlough, the lady 
of his choice being Miss Arabella Roliinson. 
a native of Ray townshiji, IMacomb comity, 
her liirlh occnrrini;- Fcbruarv 2. 1845. She 



is a daughter of Josiah T. Hohiiison, one 
of the earl\- settlers of .Michigan, coining to 
tliis stale from .Monroe county. New York. 
She inherited this farm on which they now 
live from her father. Josiah T. Robinson. 
^Ir. and Mrs. Chub!) have four children liv- 
ing, as follows : Lola, the wife of Charles 
Selleek of Romeo, by whom she has a daugh- 
ter. Elossie Selleek: Tjouise. the wife of 
Eraiik F. Ritter, of Clieijoyban, .Michigan, by 
whom she has two children, (iii.v and Helen; 
Bernard L., who is living in Romeo and has 
a son, Donald; and Rena, the wife of Jerome 
Priest, a farmer of Ray township. Mr. and 
]\rrs. Chubb also lost one child. Lester, who 
died in early life. 

Politicall.v Mr. Chubli is a republican 
where national issues are involved, but at 
local elections he votes independently. He 
has no aspiration for office, yet is always in- 
terested in everything that pertains to the 
improvement and u]ibuilding of his com- 
munity. He belongs to the Crand Army of 
the Republic at Romeo and is as true to his 
counti-y and her liest interests in da.vs of 
jieace as he was when he followed the stars 
and stripes upon southern battlefields. 



ROBERT A. RANDALL. 

Robert A. Randall, residing on section 6. 
Lenox township, was born in Richmond 
township, ^lacomb county, ^Ma.v 5, 1847, and 
thus the period of his residence here cov- 
ers almost six decades. His parents were 
Felix and Maria ( Iiigrabaiii) Randall, the 
former a native of the slate of New York 
and the hillcr of Canada. Tliey came to 
Macomb county in 1837. .Mr. Randall hav- 
ing purchased oiii' hundred and sixty acres 
of land from llic goviM-nment in Richmond 
township about two years previ<iiis. For 
more than a half centvirv he continued a 
resident of the coniit.v, being long identified 
with its agricultui-al interests. Here he 
passed away ^^'brna ry 23. 1889. In his fam- 
ily were eight children, of whom the follow- 
ing are .vet living: .Mrs. ^Tansfield 'S\. Har- 
ris of Richmond : IMrs. Jolin T. Hodges, of 
Richmond townshi]); P^dward. who is living 
in the same township: .Mrs. M. P. Bates; 
and ,\rlhur. who is living on the old home- 
stead in Richmond township. The other 
member of the faiiiil.v is Robert A. of this 
review. The Randalls are of a verj' old 
famil.v of the east and representatives of the 
name have lieeii ])i'oiiiiiient in public afTairs. 



49° 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



I{i)ljert A. Randall hefian his edut'atiou in 
tlie district scIiodIs and in his youth he was 
also instructed in the work of the farm, 
painino; jjraetical experience which well 
fitted him for carrying;' on a farm of his 
own, when in 1870 lir purchased the Francis 
farm in Lenox township. He has since re- 
sided thereon and the improvements have all 
been made by him. The place presents a 
splendid appearance, for the fields are well 
tilled, givini,'- jiromise of golden harvests, 
and the iiuildings, fences and everything 
about the place are kept in good rejiair. In 
1887 ^Ir. Randall erected his present resi- 
dence and in 1904 built his large barn, which 
has every modern etiuipmeut for the care of 
stock. He has always given his attention to 
general farming and stock-raising and both 
branches of his business have proved profit- 
able. 

Robert A. Randall has hem nuirricd twice. 
He first wedded Miss Mary L. Harris, a 
daughter of Solon and ]\Iaria Harris, of 
Troy township, Oakland county, IMiehigan. 
They became the parents of one son, Frank 
A., who is now at home. The wife aiul 
mother died September 18. 1889. and in 1891 
^Ir. Randall was nuirried to Miss Hattie B. 
Harris, a daughter of John S. and Harriet 
Harris, of Lenox township. She died De- 
cember 26, 1902, leaving one child, Horton 
F. The elder son. Frank A., began his early 
education in the district school and was 
graduated from the Richmond high school 
with the class of 1895. He has always re- 
mained at home, assisting his father in the 
operation of the farm. He was married De- 
cember 13, 1899. to Miss Persus Drake, a 
daughter of Owen Drake of Armada and 
they have one child, ^lary JIarguerite. Frank 
Randall is a member of Armada lodge. No. 
492, I. O. (). F. He served three years on 
the township boai'd of school inspectors, is 
director of his school district, aiul both he 
and his wife are nu'uibers of the First Meth- 
odist Episcopal church at Armada. His wife 
is a descendant of Thomas Drake, a brotlier 
of Sir Fraiu'is Drake 

In connnunity atfaii's Robert A. Kandall 
has taken an active and helpfid part. H<' 
believes firmly in republican i)rinciples. The 
cause of education finds in him a warm 
friend and he has doiu' effective service in 
ts behalf while tilling the positions of di- 
rector and treasurer of tin' scliool board in 
district No. 10 fractional. I'Vatcrnally he 
is affiliated with Court of Liberly. Xo. :{13, 
I. O. F. of Richmond, lie mav well br classed 



among the pioneer settlers of the county, 
having for thirty-five years resided within 
its borders. This covers the period of its 
greatest development and he has not only 
witnessed the changes that have been 
wrt)ught but has also borne his part in bring- 
ing the county up to its jiresent state of 
advanced imiu'ovement. 



FRANCIS PREYOST. 



Francis Prevost. now living a retired life 
in .Mount Clemens, was born in France on 
the 1st of ;\Iay, 1831. His parents. George 
and ^lary (Berry) Prevo.st. were both na- 
tives of France, where they spent their en- 
tire lives. In their family were four xthW- 
dren. namely: Louis, who was a farmer 
of Saginaw county. Michigan, was born in 
France and nuirried ]\[iss Beamonsh, by 
whom he had eleven children. His death 
occurred iu this countiy. Julia became the 
wife of Dr. Juefe, who is now a retired far- 
nu^r in Wayne county, Michigan. Their 
children are Titine, Emma, George, Caroline, 
Ilosea, James and Frank. (Jeoi-ge. after 
coming to this country, returned to Prance 
for his bride and died in that counfiy. 
Francis is the next of the family. 

Francis Prevost spent the first ten years 
of his life in his native country and in 1841 
cauu' to America with his stejifather, JMar- 
tin Pidcher. The family home was estab- 
lished in the Empire state on the Indian 
rivei-. f(nu"teen miles from Watertown, and 
in 1846 they came to Jlichigan. Jlr. Pulcher 
purchased a farm of sixty acres of wild land 
in Wayne county. This he cleared and im- 
pioved, erecting thei'con a sm.dl frame house 
which in course of tiiiu' was replac<>d by a 
more commodious aiul substantial brick res- 
idence, this home being situated about seven 
miles from the city hall iu Detroit. He 
planted an oreharil and carried forward the 
work of imjirovement along all lines of mod- 
ern agricultural pi'ogress and in the labors 
of the fai'iii was ably assisted i)y Fi'ancis 
Prevost and other members of the family. 

Francis Prevost remained on the old home- 
stead in Wayne county until tweiily-three 
years of age. when be started oii< upon an 
independent business career, inirciiasing a 
general store in Detroit, \\liicli lie c(Uiducted 
fov three years. He then traded his dry- 
goods store for a wholesale store at the cor- 
nel' of Brush and (iratiot strei>ts jiiid con- 
ducted the trade along wholesale and retail 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IMACOMB COUNTY 



491 



lines until tin- stnre iind its cdntcnts witc 
(lestrined li\- firi- in ISTiS. He had vi'ry lit- 
tle insurance and tlierefore sustaijied lieavy 
losses. Folldwiiiu this he eondneted a hotel 
foui- miles tlistant from Detroit, known as 
the Four ilile House, carryiiij;- on liusiness 
alonjr that line for ten years, at the end of 
whieh time he removed to Sa^'inaw, Michi- 
gan. There he establisheil and carried on a 
soft drink mainifacturini;- iihuit for three 
years and on the expiration of that period 
he returned to Mount Clemens, where he 
established the first steam brickyard at this 
place. He continued in that business for 
three years, after whicli he disposed of his 
interest and is now livinj;' a retii-ed life. 
Whatever he has undertaken has claimed his 
luidivided attention and enerijy and his care- 
f(U maiuiyemeiit and well-directed labors 
resulted in briniiiny- him most yr.itifying' 
success. 

On the 16th of .May. 18.").1 .Mr. I'revost was 
united in niarriaue to Miss .Mary Jfoross. 
who was born in ;\Iount Clemens. October 
19. IS'Mi. She is a dau.irhter of Antoino 
iloi'oss. now deceased, wlio was one of the 
tirst settlers of Jlount Clemens. Her grand- 
father. Ignace Moross. was one of the first 
settlers of Detroit and assisted in building 
Fort Wayne. He served as caiifain in the 
army there and was drafted for service in 
the war of 1812. Antoine Moross was only 
thirteen years of age when he enlisted in 
defense of his country and proved a valiant 
soldier during the second war with England. 
Following the close of hostilities he married 
^liss Cecilia Trombly. and they had eight 
children, four sons and four daughters. He 
followed the oceu])ation of farming in Clin- 
ton township for many years and his well- 
i reefed labors at length brought him a com- 
fortable competence that enabled him to live 
retired and he enjoyed a well-earned rest 
in Mount Clemens up to the time of his 
death, which oecurretl in 1871. when he was 
seventy-two yeai's of age. His daughter. 
IMrs. Prevost. is a graduate of a medical col- 
lege and is now engaged in the pi'acticr of 
medicine at Moiuit Clemens. She has alwa\s 
resided in this city, making her home here 
both prior to and since her marriage. 

]\Ir. and .Mrs. I'l-evost have five childiiMi : 
Joseph, who was born in 1855. married IMiss 
Tina Denwherth and they have twelve chil- 
dren, lie is engaged in the real estate and 
laundry business in .Mount Clemens. Fran- 
cis, born in 1857, is a liveryman of ]\rount 
Clemens. He mai'i-ied Kva .Tenes and thev 



have line child, .lames, lioi'ii in lS5lt, mar- 
i-ied .Mary Petti/.er and has four children. 
He is ;i nuiT-ine engineer. Richard, born in 
18()ll, married Cloe Stevens and followed the 
tratle of brick-nuUving in ilount (.'lemens un- 
til his death. John, born in 1870, married 
Catherine Lynn and had one child. He en- 
gaged in the livei'v business in Mount ('lem- 
ens until called to his final rest. 

Both ^Ir. ami Jlrs. Prevost hold mi-mber- 
ship in the Catholic chui'ch. They are high- 
ly esteemed in the city where they have long 
resided and wln're both have been well 
known because of business as well as so- 
cial coiMiections. Having carefully man- 
aged his affairs througli an active business 
career Jlr. Prevost luis ])ros]>ered in his un- 
dertakings and is now en.joying the fruits 
of his former foil. 



ARTHUR F. RANDAIJ.. 

.\i'thur F. Randall, who cari'ies i>n gen- 
eral farming and ttairying for which i)urpose 
he raises fhoi'oughbred llolstein stock, was 
boi'u November 3. 1858. on the old farm 
homestead, whieh he now owns, his parents 
being Felix and Mai'ia (Ingraham) Randall, 
who settled upon the farm in 1837 and who 
are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Arthur 
F. Randall olifained a district school educa- 
tion. He has never been absent from his 
farm for a longer period than four wi>eks. 
devoting his time and energies unremitting- 
ly to the labors incident to its development. 
He worked with his father until 1881, when 
he was given the farm as his own and al- 
though he has made many imi)rovenienfs 
ujion it some of the first buildings are still 
standing as landmarks of the locality and as 
unite reminders of pioneer conditions. In 
addition to the tilling of the soil — -and his 
fields are always under a high state of cul- 
tivation — he has devoted much of his time 
to dair\' work and f(M- this |)ur|>ose kee|)s a 
small herd of thoroui;hbrcd llolstein cat- 
fh'. 

While his pei'sonal business iiderests have 
claimed inucli of his attention Mr. Randall 
has also found time and opportunity to de- 
\'iite to public inti'rests. He has taken an 
active part in school work as a dii-ector of 
district No. 7. lie is also a mendier of the 
.Mae<)mb County ]\lutual Fire Insurance 
Comj)any and tor three yeai's was a member 
of its board of directors, after which he was 
appointed connt>- agent atid is still acting in 



492 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUXTY 



that eapauity. lie lielmigs to Arcade tent. 
No. 155, K. O. T. 'SI., oi Riehinond, is a meui- 
ber of Ar])or No. 255, Ancient Order of 
Gleaner.s of the Highbanks. filling the office 
of chief gleaner for two years and that of 
chaplain for one year, and is a iiiend)i'r of 
Armada (irange. No. 4-15. 

Ml'. Kandall was married Xovemljt'r -i, 
1S81. to JMiss Ella Ostrander. a daughter of 
George and Sarah (Hughes) Ostrander, of 
Capac, St. Clair connty. ^Michigan, who were 
natives of Canada and England respectively. 
They became residents of St. Claii' county 
ill 1861 and there spent their remaining days. 
]Mr. Ostrander i)assing away in ISil.S. while 
his wife died June 7. 1895. The living mem- 
ber.s of their family are: Andrew E., of St. 
Clair county : Francis D.. of Gladwin coun- 
ty. Michigan; ]\Irs. Ben.iainiu Steinhoti'. of 
Sanilac county, this state; ^Irs. Hugh Oli- 
ver, of Gladwin connty ; John A., of Dick- 
son, Tennessee; ^Irs. A. A. Patch, of St. 
Clair county; and Richard W.. also of Dick- 
son, Tennessee. 

'Sir. and IMrs. Randall have two children: 
S. Adele and Hazen II.. born November 2-J:. 
1882. and .Marcli 1. LSItti. respectively. The 
daughter until recently has been engaged 
in teaching in district No. 12, after taking 
a correspondence course in the Fentou Nor- 
mal School, and has now returned home to 
take care of her mother. There have been 
few leisure hours in the life of 'Slv. Ran- 
dall, who has been a mo.st diligent man, 
working untiringly in the improvement of 
his farm and for the benefit of his family. 
He has always lived upon the old homestead, 
which is yet his place of residence, and its 
carefully improved condition is the result 
of his well-directed energies and thoi-ougb 
understanding of the best iin'tluids nf prn- 
iiioting agricultural development. 



ADELBERT 0. HARRIS. 

Adelbert O. Harris, who is engaged in ag- 
ricultural pursuits on section 35, Washing- 
ton township, was born in the town of Shel- 
l)y, Ai)ril 10. 1832. His paternal grandfather 
was Jacob Ilai'ris and his father. Jonathan 
W. Harris. The latter was born in Genesee 
county, New York, and when a lad of ten 
years accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to ^lichigan and was reared to man- 
hood in Macond) county. He was married 
here to Priscilla 'SI. (Jrover. who was like- 
wise a native of (ienesee county and located 



on land in the town of Shelby. He there 
opened uj) what has remained the family 
home for many years. He lost his first wife 
there and later married again and still re- 
sides u])on the old home jdace. He is to-day 
accounted one of the well known pioneer 
settlers of ^lacomb county, having witnessed 
its growth and improvement from an early 
epoch in its history down to the present 
jieriod of i)rogress and prosperity. 

Adelbert 0. Harris is one of a family of 
ten children, eight of wh<un are yet living. 
He spent his youth like the others upon the 
home farm, assisting in such tasks as are 
usually assigned to farmer boys. He re- 
ceived his education at the old Disco Acad- 
emy and in I^tica high school and remained 
with his father until he attained his ma.ior- 
ity. Having completed his own education 
he engaged in teaching and followed that 
]irofession for some time in ^lacomb county. 
lie also spent one year as a teacher in the 
high school at Hancock on Lake Superior, 
but eventually he put aside the work of the 
schoolroom in order to give undivided atten- 
tion to agricultural i)ursuits. In 1877 he 
bought the farm where he now resides, com- 
])rising eighty-eight acres of land which is 
rich and arable, but it was not until some- 
time after this that he ceased teaching in the 
winter months, while the sunnner seasons 
were devoted to farm work. He located on 
the farm in 1882 and has since, through 
building operations and agricultm-al im- 
provements, developed a valuable jn-opcrty. 
He has fair buildings here, well idled fields 
and also two good orehartls. 

Mr. Harris was married April 13, 1884, to 
]\rrs. Emeline R. Goodison. a widow, and the 
daughter of Lcnuiel P. 'I"ii\\( r. one of the 
early settlers of Oakland county, who en- 
tei'cd land from the government there and 
opened up a farm on which he reared his 
fanuly. ]\Irs. Ilairis was reared and mar- 
ried in Oakland county, and by her first 
marriaue she had three children, namely: 
Adcll. tile wife of D. Tripp: Alfred, of De- 
troit, and Artlnu' A., who is living in Roches- 
ter, ilichigan. 

In his jiolitical affiliation .Mr. Harris has 
be(>n a lifelong re])ul)lican and served as 
townshi]) superintendent of schools, but oth- 
erwise has neither sought nor desired office. 
He is a ^Master iMason, belonging to the lodge 
at Davis and he has served as its secretary 
for tweidy years. He is well known in 
Blount Clemens and ^facond) county, and 
his friends I'ecogidze in him a man liouest 





MR. AND MRS. A. O. HARRIS 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ^klACOMB COUNTY 



495 



and unassiuiiiiii;'. of ueiniiiif worth and ru- 
joyiiig' the confidi'iu'c ;uul csti^'in nl' the I'oiii- 
iiiuiiitv. 



GEORGE A. SKINNER. 

(ieorgi' A. Skinner, whose intense and 
weil-di7-eeted aetivity has made him one of 
thi' representative citizens of Mount Clem- 
ens, figured prominently in financial circles 
and also in connection with movements 
wliicli have fiirthei'ed i)ul)lic protiress and 
improvement. His hd)ors have been par- 
ticularly lielpful in promotiui;' the .system of 
l)uhlic education, and he has many times 
given tanijible evidence of his public-spirited 
citizenship. 

.Mr. Skinner was born in Jefferson county. 
New York, .Maicli l!l. 1854. a son of Thomas 
D. and Hhoda E. (Barnes) Skinnei', tlu' foi-- 
mer a native of Vermont and the latter of 
the p]mpire state. His paternal arandfather. 
Amasa Skinner, of Vermont, removed to 
New York and later to Wisconsin, wliere he 
died at the age of eighty years. In 185(1 
Thomas I). Skinner came to Michigan, set- 
tling at Port Huron, wliere he engaged in 
the lumber business until 1879. He llii'n 
turned his attention to farming, which he 
followed throughout the remaindei- of iiis 
active business career. His death occurred 
Septend)er 14. 1904. Unto him and his wife 
were boi-n four children: Alide. the widow 
of J. \\. Porter: (ieorge A.: Carrie M.. the 
wife of John Otto, a resident of California: 
and Fraidv K.. who is living in the state of 
AVashington. 

Following his mastery of the common 
English branches of learning George A. 
Skiiuu^r continue(l his studies in the high 
school of Port Huron and spent two yeai's 
as a student in Albion College at Albion. 
Michigan. He was graduated from 
Bryant & Stratton's Business College 
at Detroit in 187l2 and then entered bis fath- 
er's ottiiM'. wliere lit" rem.iined until the 
s]iring of 187(i. when his br'othei--in-law. Mr. 
I'oi'ter. opene(l a bank in .Mocuit Clemens 
under the name nl' .John W Porter & ('oin- 
jiany. .\ year later this was merged into 
the .Mount Clemens Savings liank, of wliieli 
Mr. Porter became cashier and ;\Ir. Skinner 
bookkei'per. Aftei' the amalgamation of the 
business .Mr. Porter- became the cashier of 
the .Moiuit Cleiiiens Savings Hank and .Mi-. 

Skiinier was continued ;is I kkeeper. I<'ol- 

lowing the death of .M i-. Poi-ter. .M i-. Skin- 



nei- became his sucees.sor in the position of 
cashiei- aiul the present officers of tlie bank 
are: Oliver Chapoton, president; F. (i. Ken- 
drick, vice ])resident ; and (Jeorge A. Skin- 
ner, casliier. This is the oldest and largest 
bank in the city of Blount Clemens, being 
capitalized for fifty thousand dollars, while 
the surjilus and profits amount to one hun- 
dred thousand dollars. A general banking- 
business is carried on, and because of his 
])roiriptness, unfailing courtesy and effort to 
|)lease the bank patrons, Mr. Skinner has 
contributed in no small degree to the success 
of the hank and is one of its jxipnlar offi- 
cials. 

In his i)olitical views Mr. Skinner is a 
republican and for eighteen years he has 
served as a member of the school board, 
has been treasurer for twelve years and 
moderator two years. The cause of educa- 
tion finds in him a warm friend and he has 
ever been the champion of pi-ogres.sive meas- 
ures in connection with the public school 
system. He has also labored for improve- 
ment along other lines, wherein his eff'orts 
have been of much avail. He is treasurer 
of the Chamber of Commerce and has been 
treasurer of the Blount Clemens Club since 
it.s organization. Prominent in Masonry, he 
became a member of the ci-aft in 1886, affili- 
ating with Mount Clemens lodge. No. (1. A. 
F. & A. M., in which he has filled all the 
chairs, being master of the lodge for four 
years. He has also been high ju-icst of the 
chapter and thrice illustrious master of the 
council and he belongs to Dama.scus com- 
mandery, K. T.. and the Mystic Shrine, both 
of Detroit. 

In 187() 'Slv. Skinner was nnirried to Miss 
Ellen M. Smart, a daughter of the late Rev. 
Dr. J. S. Smart, of the Detroit confer(>nee 
of the .Methodist Episcopal church. The.v 
ar<' the parents of six children: Alice L., 
Harriet L., Helen M.. Georgia, Florence C, 
and George A. Mr. Skinner is a man of fine 
social ipialities, which combined with his 
ability, executive force and ready under- 
standing of needs and jiossibilit ies in muni- 
cipal interests. hav(> rendered him a leader 
in eoiiiiiiuiiit V a I'l'ait-s. 



FREDEl.MCK C. BK'OM.M. 

Frederick G. Hi-oiinii. who is engaged in 
the real estate and insurance liusirii'ss at 
.Mount Clemens, is a native son of Romeo. 
.Maconil) couiit\-. born .\iigust (i, 1858. His 



496 



PAST AND PRP:SEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



father, ]\Iifhael Hroiiiiu. was a native of Ger- 
many and was the first representative of the 
family to settle in ^Miehigan. locating first 
in Port Huron, whence he afterward re- 
moved to Romeo. He married Nannie Tres- 
sa Bottom, a native of Canada and a daugh- 
ter of :Mrs. Eliza (Oarleck) Bottom. Her 
mother was born Ajiril 12, 1808, and died 
Xovemher 2(1, IS!)."). Mrs. Bromm was the 
younger of two children, her brother being 
Eli.jah, who resided in Victoria county, On- 
tario, for many years, but is now deceased. 

Frederick G. Bromm acquired his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Romeo, com- 
pleting his course in the high school and at 
the age of si.xteen he entered the services of 
the Grand Trunk Railroad Company, iirst 
as section man and afterward in the shops, 
being employed in the locomotive depart- 
ment. Later he ran on a construction train 
for two years, after which he became a 
clerk in the (lci)ot. He was subsequently aji- 
pointed agent for the company at Rochester. 
^Michigan, where he remained for eight years, 
when he was transferred to Eraser, Michi- 
gan, where he spent three years. He then 
came to ]\Iount Clemens as agent and acted 
in that capacity for nine years. Each change 
in his business career brought him jiromo- 
tion and thus gradually he worked his way 
upward, his increased ability gaining him 
larger responsibilities and better remunera- 
tion. Upon retiring fi-om the office of sta- 
tion agent of Mount Clemens he turned his 
attention to the real estate and insurance 
liusiuess in 1900 and has since been a rep- 
resentative of this line of industry. He also 
conducted a store on Stapleton street, but 
afterward disjjosed of liis mercantile inter- 
ests to devote his undivided attention to his 
other business. He conducts a general real 
estate business and he represents the West- 
ern Insurance Company of Pittsburg, Penn- 
sylvania. He has thoroughly informed him- 
self concerning real estate values and is 
thus well (|ualified to assist the public in 
making investments and securing the ]iro|i- 
erty that may be desired. 

On the 2'M of November. 1884, at Lapeer, 
Michigan, Mr. Broiiuii was mai-ried to ^liss 
Frances A. Ti-ii)p. a daughter of Allen Tripp, 
who was l\ined at the l)attle of Gettysburg, 
thus laying down his life upon the altai- 
of his count I'y. Mr. and I\Irs. Bromm have 
two children: Genevieve iNTary, born Jan- 
uary 2;"), 18!)2: and Gwendolyn Teressa, hmii 
Jaiiuary 25. 1904. 

Ever'vwhere in imv land ai-e t'oiuid men 



who have worked their own way upward 
from humble and lowly beginnings to 
places of leadership, and the example of 
such a man is counted of much worth and 
value til the commonwealth. Such a ca- 
reer incites others to emulation and in this 
respect the life record of ^Mr. Bromm fur- 
nishes an excellent example. His faithful 
performance of each duty that devolved 
upon him, his promptness and his reliability 
have constituted the stepping-stones by 
which he has mounted upward and at all 
times he has so ordered his life as to gain 
and maintain the contidence and esteem of 
his fi^Jldwnien. 



ABRAHA:\r M. RIVARD. 

Abraluini .M. Rivard. who has assisted in 
opening up ^lacomb county, clearing away 
the timber and reclaiming the land for cuti- 
vation. was born at ( irosse Pointe. ^Michigan. 
April 2;{, 18:36, and is a son of ^[itchell and 
Tresia iDecante) Rivard. The father was 
born in 1794 upon his father's farm at 
(ifrosse Pointe. His parents were of German 
and French descent and were among the first 
settlers at (iro.sse Pointe. where the grand- 
father followed the occupation of farming. 
Mitchell Rivard remained at home until 
about 1820. when he came to Chesterfield 
township and bought a tract of land from 
the government on what is called the Ridge 
road, but there were no roads opened up at 
that time, so that he had to cut away the 
timber in order to make a path sufficientl.v 
wide for a wagon. He had considerabl(> 
difficulty in disposing of the timber, there 
being little market for the product at that 
time, but he cut the trees into logs," staves 
and cord wood, selling most of it at Salt 
River, where it was shipjied to Detroit and 
other i)oints along the i-ivei- and lake. Be- 
ing close to the New Baltimo!-(» Indian Re- 
serve there wei-e many i-ed men in the vicin- 
ity at that day but the Rivard family always 
found them friendly, for they treated them 
with kindness, and ^li's. Rivard could talk 
to them in their own language. Mr. Rivard 
was an iniluslrious. hard-woi-king farmer 
and his unremitting diligence brought him 
a comfoi-table conqietence as the years ad- 
vanced. He was drafted for service during 
the war of 1812, but owing to his extreme 
youth was not called out for action. He died 
February 8, 1888, at the age of ninety-three 
years, and his wife |)assed away March 2, 
1891, in the seventy-t'ighth year of her age. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB (JOLNTY 



497 



Aliriilunii .M. liivanl spi'ut his boyhood 
days at hard work mi tho farm, assistiuii' 
his fatlier in tlio arduous task of idoariny- 
tlie hmd and dcvtdopiiitr tlie fii'lds. He re- 
mained ui)on tlie okl liomestead until t\vent.\- 
iive years of asre, when he bought his j)resent 
farm on section 14, Chesterfield township. 
It is located on Telewraph road and conven- 
iently near the Rapid Railway. It was cov- 
ered with a den.so srrowth of timber when it 
came into his pos.session but he at once be- 
iran to clear away the trees and prepare 
the land for cultivation. In 1S61 he built 
his house and moved from hi.s father's home 
iuto his own. He has since made steady prog- 
ress in general farming and a few years 
ago added forty acres to hi.s original tract 
of land. He has also been practical in his 
methods of working his place and now has 
a well develoi)ed ]iro])erty. the highl>' culti- 
vated fields yielding him a good financial 
return. 

ilr. Rivard assisted in building the first 
schoolhouse in the Salt River district. It 
was erected about fifty years ago of logs 
but has since been replaced by a substantial 
bi'ick building. About IS.IS he heljjed to 
open up his part of the county by building 
the Telegraph road by placing logs across 
the road in corduroy fashion. He also aided 
in building St. ]\Iai'y"s Catholic church in 
New Baltimore and thus he has assisted in 
substantial measure to the material, spiritual 
and moral progress of his connnunity. Mr. 
Rivard was married August 5, 1861, to Vic- 
toria Blay. a daughter of Peter and Eliza- 
beth (Socia) Bla.v, of Chesterfield township. 
They have thirteen children, of whom twelve 
are living, namely: Jeffried, born in 1861. a 
resident of Sault Ste. ^farie ; Adolph. born in 
186:5. a resident of Alpena : Anna, born in 
186(>. at home : Lizzie, born in 1868, the wife 
of Alexandei' GuUett, a farmer of Chester- 
field township : Celia, born in 1870, at home ; 
Victor. ])orn in 1872; Ida. born in 1874, the 
wife of William John of St. Clair, ^Michigan, 
who is employed on the Rapid Railway; 
Mitchell, born in 1875. of St. Clair: Emma, 
born in 1877. the wife of "William Rhadigan, 
of ]\Iaryville, Michigan; Jerome, born in 
1879, ait home; Albert, born in 1882, of 
Lansing; and Julia, born in 1884, at home. 
The third daughter. Louisa, born in 186;"). 
was married to Adol])h ]\leldrum of Ches- 
terfield townshiii and died December V.]. 
18!t:l Victor is the main sujiport of his fafhei- 
on the farm, endeavoring to relieve him of 
the hard work. I'ni' alt lioii'_;h .Mr. Rivard is 



still an active man, he has not the endurance 
that he possessed in his \ounger years. Vic- 
\<']- is a member of Lakeside tent. No. 51. K. 
< >. T. .M .. and he is a most enter])rising 
young agi'iculfurist. 

.Mr. Rivard and his family are stanch mem- 
l)ers of St. Mary's Catholic church of New 
Baltimore. He is indeed one of the worthy 
jiioneer settlers and a representative of an 
h(irioi'(>d frontier family, its members having 
taken an active, practical and helpful part 
in the work- of (levelopiiig this jiortion of 
the state. 



JAMES (i. WHITE. .M. D. 

Dr. James (i. White, who prepared for his 
])rofession in some of the leading medical 
colleges and univei'sities of the continent 
and whose skill places him in the foremost 
I'ank among the distinguished physicians of 
eastern ^Michigan, Avas born in the province 
of Ontario, Canada, May 18, 1857, and after 
mastering the elementary branches of learn- 
ing taught in the common schools he con- 
tinued his studies in the Aylmer (Ontario) 
high school. HaviTig completed his more 
specifically literary education he was ap- 
prenticed to the drug business for a term 
of four years, and when this period had 
ended was graduated from the Ontario Col- 
lege of Pharmacy, in Toronto, Canada, in 
1877. During two years of that time he 
also attended lectures in the College of Tech- 
nology, at Toronto. 

Having gained a thorough knowledge of 
the drug business, as preparatory for a med- 
ical cmirse he entered Trinity ^fedical Col- 
lege, from which he was graduated and was 
admitted by examination as a fellow of that 
college. He was also graduated as a Doctor 
of ^ledicine and Master of Surgery from 
Trinity University. He became a member of 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 
the Northwest Territoi'y of Canada and he 
has been licensed to practice by the Illinois 
state l)oard of Invilth and the board of medi- 
cal examiners of Wisconsin. Aside from 
his college dijilomas he has taken several 
j)ost-graduate courses and is also a gradu- 
ate of the Illinois School of Electro Thera- 
peutics. All of the medical colleges from 
which he has gi-adnafed are recognized as 
among the best on the continent and thus 
his cai'cfid and thonnigh i)reparation well 
ciiuipped liiiii I'oi' his clioscn life work. 



498 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACO:\IB COUNTY 



Dr. White came to Mouut Clemens teu 
years ago and seeing an opening for se- 
curing a large elieutage among bathers he 
gave up the general practice, deciding to 
treat only such cases as came for the bene- 
tit of the baths. He keeps abreast of the 
times and his office is fully equipped with 
all the latest appliances generally used in 
sanitarium practice, such as electric ap- 
pliances foi- administering X-ray. faradic. 
galvanic, high frequency and sinusoidal 
currents, mechanical vibration, phototherapy 
and inhalation machines. When any of 
these methods are required patients may 
make special terms for a course of treat- 
ment, and most excellent results have fol- 
lowed his efforts, owing to his comprehensive 
knowledge and skill in his practice. During 
his residence here he has attained prominence 
as a consulting physician and has had un- 
usual success in his practice. His experi- 
ence in the profession and his thorough and 
continued college work fit him excellently 
for the busy career he finds here. Dr. White 
is a member of the American JMedical As- 
sociation, ^Michigan State iledical Society 
and Macomb County iledical Society. He 
is also a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity, in which he has attained the Knight 
Templar degree. He belongs to the Inde- 
pendent Oi'der of Odd Fellows, the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights 
of Pythias and the Dramatic Order of the 
Knights of Korassan. lie enjoys the respect 
and good will of his professional brethren. 



GEORGE C. FENTON. 

(ieorge C. Feuton is a native of Blount 
Clemens, boi-n January 21. 1855, and his ed- 
ucation was ol)tained in the public schools 
of this state, lie early became connected 
with the shoe trade and established the first 
exclusive shoe store in ]\lount Clemens. In 
later years his attention was attracted to the 
business possibilities that arose because of the 
fame which -Mount Clemens was acquiring 
in connection with the medicinal properties 
of its waters and their curative powers. To 
meet the demands for fir.st-class hotels he 
erected The Feuton. which he opened in May, 
1892. This is one of the finest hostelries of 
the city and is also one of the most centrally 
and pleasantly situated. Adjoining are the 
beautiful Olympic and Clementine liath- 
houses on Cass avenue, and only a block away 
is the courthouse square and nearby are the 



i)anks. postotfice and telegraph offices. The 
streetcar lines of the city pass the door of 
The Fenton. The hotel contains eighty rooms 
for gue.sts. together with large offices, parlors, 
reading and waiting rooms, and all these are 
elegantly furnished, while the l)edrooms are 
tastefully e(iuipped for every j)ossible con- 
venience and comfort of the guests. The 
guest-rooms are arranged single and en suite 
and the fir.st and second floors of The Fenton 
are connected with the Olympic and Clemen- 
tine bathhouses by passageways which are 
heated by steam. Mr. Fenton in his manage- 
ment of the hotel has manifested the spirit of 
the pioneer who seeks out new and improved 
methods, and his business has constantly 
grown because of this. The Fenton being a 
credit to the city as well as a monument to 
the enterprise and business capacity of its 
builder. 



ANTHONY SEIBERT. 

Anthony Seibert, owner of one of the lead- 
ing retail stores in Mouut Clemens, is a na- 
tive of Chesterfield township, ]Macomb coun- 
ty, born ^larch 7. 18(38, his parents being 
Phillip and Rachel ((iragott) Seibert, who 
were natives of Germany and came to 
America about 1860. They were married in 
Harrison township, this county, in 1864, and 
^Ir. Seibert began farnung, which he fol- 
lowed for many years. He <lied in 188il at the 
age of fifty years and is still survived by his 
wife. They were the i)arents of six children, 
those living being: (iertrude, the wife of 
Peter S. Greiner, of Clinton township, Ma- 
comb county ; Anthony ; and Lena, the wife 
of Victor Eckhout. of ilount Clemens. Three 
cliildi-en died in infancy. 

,\nthony Seiliert pursued his education in 
the district schools of Chesterfield township 
until twelve years of age, attending, howevei", 
oidy through the winter months, while in the 
sununer seasons he worked iipon the farm, 
lie continued to assist in the cultivation and 
di'velo])iiieiit of the homestead place and after 
his marriage in 189:i he took chai-ge of the 
farm, which he conducted until 1896. lie 
theu removed to Blount Clemens and entered 
the emi)loy of the firm of Haller & Dahm, 
gi'ocers and marketmen. He continued with 
that house for six years, at the end of which 
time he entci-ed into partnership with Frank 
N. Touscany. undei- the lii-m Jiame of Sei- 
bert & Touscany. They opened a general 
grocery and |)nivision stoic in the Czizek 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COITNTV 



499 



block, and aftei- nine moiitlis they removed 
to No. 75 North Gratiot aveuuo. Here they 
increased their stock in order to meet the 
•rrowing demands of the trade and also add- 
ed a meat market, having hoiitrht out Au- 
LTUst Pi'iunitz. They have siiu-e conducted 
i)oth departments of the business and are to- 
day proprietors of one of the best stores in 
the town. They are progressive merchants 
and their store is neatly and tastefully ar- 
i-aiiired. their attractive display drawing 
many customers, while their straightforward 
dealing and reasonable prices insun' them a 
continuation of a large trade. They have 
been successful from the beginning, display- 
ing marked energy and enterprise, and pros- 
perit.^' is always a legitimate outcome of those 
characteristics. 

On the I'.lth of October. 1893. Mr. Seibert 
was married to Terresa. a daughter of An- 
thony and ^largaret (Giarade) Deigel. of 
(4ratiot township. Wayne county, ilichigan. 
Her father was a farmer by occupation and 
died in 1901 at the age of sixty-six years, 
while the mother is now living in Detroit. In 
their family were twelve children, eight of 
whom are living. ^Irs. Seibert being the fifth 
in order of birth. Both ^Ir. and IMrs. Seiljert 
hold membership in St. Peter's Catholic 
church and he is connected with the Catholic 
^lutual Benevolent Association, lie also be- 
longs to the Knights of Columbus and the 
Woodmen of the World and he gives his po- 
litical support to the democracy, although he 
takes no active part in its work aside from 
exercising his right of franchise. He is of ge- 
nial, social temperament and is regarded as 
one of the solid, substantial young business 
men of ^loiuit Clemens, having already at- 
tained a measure of success that many a man 
of oldci' vears might well envv. 



LOUIS A. GUIETTE. 



Louis A. (Juiette. whose well directed efforts 
have been of material benefit to the city of 
Mount Clemens, his public-spirited interest 
in the general welfare being nuinifest in tan- 
gible labors for the upbuilding and improve- 
ment of the city, is a native of Detroit, his 
birth having there occurred March 23, 1840. 
His parents were Jacob Dennis and Martha 
(Moss) Guiette. both of whom were natives 
of Prance, and when young they emigrated 
to the Cnited States. The father was a job- 
ber and contractor and after his removal to 
the west took a contract in 18-13 to construct 



a part of the old Clinton and Kalamazoo ca- 
nal, but in this he lost five thousand dollars 
and had nothing remaining. Later in the year 
he removed to .Mount Clemens, where he spent 
his last days, lie had beconie a resident of 
Detroit in 1833 and remained in Michigan for 
forty-five yeai's. pa.ssing away in this city in 
1878, at the age of .seventy-eight years. His 
wife survived him until 1884 and was ninety 
years of age at the time of her death. In their 
family were ten children, of whom three are 
living: John, a resident of Saginaw. Michi- 
gan: Thomas, of .Murphysboro. Illinois; and 
Louis A. Those deceased ar(> Jacob. J\Iary, 
Nelson, Joseph, Julia, Zehedee and Soi>hia. 

Louis A. Guiette received but a limited edu- 
cation, attending school two, three or four 
months each >'ear until he was about ten years 
of age. After that it was necessary for him 
to earn his own living and he had no more 
school training, but in the school of experi- 
ence he has learned m<iny valuable lessons 
which have made him a practical and success- 
ful man of alfairs. After he had completed 
his fii-st decade he began working for John 
ilay. a butcher of Mount Clemens, and that 
he was faithful and capable was shown by the 
fact that he renuiincd in his service for six 
years. He then became cabin boy on the pas- 
senger boat Albion, which ran between Mount 
Clemens and Detroit, being thus engaged for 
two seasons. He afterward went into a lum- 
ber mill at Capac. i\lichigan. The mill was 
located in the midst of a forest and he was 
there engaged until the following spring, 
when he secured employment in a stave mill 
in ilount Clemens, near where the Chambers 
& Stewart store now .stands. In ]\Iarch, 1865, 
he put aside business considerations and en- 
li.sted as a recruit, becoming a member of 
Company D. Twenty-second ^lichigan Infan- 
try, with which he was mustered out in Sep- 
tember, 1865, at Detroit. 

Following his return Mv. (iuiette worked on 
the first test well for oil in Blount Clemens, 
but this proved to be a mineral well instead. 
Tie was thus employed from September. 1865, 
until July. 1866. At that period the owners 
of the well undertook to manufacture salt 
from its waters, but this ventui'c proved un- 
.suceessful. In the fall of 1866 Mr. Guiette 
retxirned to the stave mill, working for Bruno 
Van Landeghern until 1881. In the mean- 
time the firm became Van Landeghern & 
Son. 

In the sj)ring of 1881 Jlr. Guiette was 
elected street commissioner of ^Mount Clem- 
ens on the democratic ticket and served in 



5O0 



PAST ^M) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



that otiKfL* until 1884, Ijeiug: the first iiic-uiii- 
heiit ill iloiint Cleiiieus to fill the positimi 
for that length of time. In the fall of 188« 
he beeame engineer at Linwood. Miehigan. in 
the mill of Edward (iyde. and there eontiimed 
until April. 1887. The following year he 
was with the Bitter Water Company on East 
sti-eet at the "original well" and continued 
in the manufactnrinii' business for making 
both salts and mineral soaps. In the succeed- 
ing autumn he again accept eil the position of 
engineer at the mill in Linwoinl. but in the 
following spring he returnetl to Blount Clem- 
ens, where he opened a boarding house at the 
corner of Park avenue and Franklin street, 
conducting this with success until 1902, when 
he sold out to the Park House Company. In 
the meantime he was again chosen for public 
office, being elected aldernum of the third 
ward in 1888, and liy re-election he was con- 
tinued in that position until he had served for 
twelve consecutive yeai's. He has been iu- 
s])ectoi' of public works and in the various 
positions which he has filled he has labored 
untiringly and effectively foi' the welfare and 
progress of his cit.v. He was the first man 
who advocated brick paving in ilount Clem- 
ens and he continued the agitation of the sub- 
ject until he won. He has voted for all the 
A'arious franchises that have been granted and 
has introduced into tiie council many impor- 
tant measures which have had a far-reach- 
ing effect and which have added much to the 
substantial appearance and improvement of 
]\Ioiiut Clemens. He laid out the beautiful 
park of this city, known as ?ilount Clem(Mis 
I)ark. 

On the 22(1 of Api'il. 1863, Mr. Cuiette was 
nuirried to .Miss ^lartha "Willett. a daughter 
of Thomas and Fannie (Beach) Willett, her 
father a native of England and her mother of 
France. They lived for some time at Grosse 
Pointe. ^Michigan, but both are now deceased, 
ilr. and ^Ii's. (iuiette had five children, but 
Louis A., the eldest, died in 18!)!). leaving a 
widow, whose maiden name was Lydia Cop- 
persmith and whn lived in Bay City, Michi- 
gan. There aic two childi'cn of that marriage 
— Jlartha and Louis A. The other members 
of the family of ilr. Guiette are : Adele, 
the wife of Henry Denwetle, of Clinton 
township: Ellen, the wife of P^rank Dal.v, 
of Blount Clemens; Belle, the wife of Albert 
Iluttinger, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania: and 
Florence F.. at home. 

Mr. Guiette is a member of the Grand Army 
post at Mount Clemens and has served as ser- 
geant and senior viee-commandei'. He is also 



eonnccted witli the Knights of Columbus. He 
is well known in this city and has nuide for 
himself a credital)le record. In political 
thought and action he has always been inde- 
pendent, carrying out his honest views with- 
out fear or favor and in his public service has 
ijeen actuated b.v a strong interest in the pub- 
lic welfare and has ever placed the good of 
the communitv before self-aggrandizement. 



SANFORD C. LAWSON. 

Sanfcird C. Lawson. one of Macomb coun- 
ty's native sons, owns and operates one hvui- 
dreil and thirty aci-es of good land in Shelb.v 
township. He was l)orn August 11. 1870, 
liis parents being James S. and Paulina 
(Cannon) Lawson. The father was liorn in 
Septendjcr, 1828. on the fai'm where Sanforel 
C. Lawson now resides, and was a sou of 
James Lawson. an early settler of Shelby 
township, .securing land from the govern- 
ment. The old sheei>skin deed to the prop- 
erty is signed by Jolui Quincy Adams, then 
president of the I'nited States, iind is now 
in posse.ssion of our sub.iect. Both the grand- 
fathers of Sanford C. Lawson were natiA'es 
of New Jer.sey and Iw'came ])ioneer residents 
of .Michigan, assisting materially in the earl.v 
development here. 

James S. Lawson was reai'cd amid the en- 
xiromuents of pioneer life and aided in the 
arduous task of developing a new famu. He 
liecamc a noted man, possessing considei'able 
genius. In early life he was taught surve.v- 
ing liy George H. Cannon, with whim he was 
associated in the surve.y of the north shore of 
Lake Superior. He afterward engaged in 
surveying in the western states, including Ne- 
vada, California and Oregon, being appointed 
to this work by the governors of the various 
states. His associate, Mr. Cannon, said that 
he had the most renuirkable memory of any 
man he ever knew. He was self-educated, 
but gained much valuable knowledge thi'ough 
reading, experience, observation and travel. 
He was a man of stei'ling integrit.v and he 
enjoyed tiic Inve and confidence of his fel- 
lowmen in an exceptional degree. He did not 
greatly desire wealth nor strive for it and 
was a man of only modei-ate means. He was 
a itirect descendant of .M. B. Willis, his 
mothei' haxiiiL:' been a member of the Willis 
family. He married ^liss Paulina Cannon 
and the.v hecanu' the parents of four chil- 
dren : Omer, who I'csides in South Dakota : 
Leda, the wife of (ieorge Elvedge, residing 




JAMES S. LAWSON 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



503 



ti'ii miles wi'st of Sairiii;i\v in KviM-t. Mirlii- 
ijaii : Saiiford ('.: and Union \V., wlio is 
a ]iracticiim- physician of Wasliinuton. 1). *'. 

Saiifoi'il V. Lawson was filncali'd in tin' 
district schools of Washington and licjian 
earning his own living when quili' .Mumg. lie 
worked upon a farm and in early manhood 
he chose as a companion and helpmate for 
life's journey. Jlrs. Ella Tucker Carson, their 
nuirriage being celebrated October 5, ISIH). 
Slie was the widow of Ei-edei'ick Carson of 
.Macomb county. She pursued licr education 
in the district schools and wlieii nineticen 
years of age was first married, her husbanil 
being a farmer who died in Blount Clemens. 
Mrs. Lawson has five children : ]\Iabel, born 
May 9. 1886: ]\Iaud. born January 7, 1889 -. 
Robert. Novendier '-i. ISKII; (ilenn. July 2^^. 
18;iJ: and Elmer. January tl. ISi)."). The 
younger children are attending school. 

Sanford C. Lawson is a republican in his 
political views and to that party his father 
alsti gave his support and served as super- 
visor, .justice of the peace, and county drain- 
age connuissioner. He died May '2'i, WWi. 
at the age of sevent.v-three years, aiul thus 
passed away one of the hoiuu'ed pioneer set- 
tlers of Macondi county. Sanford C. Law- 
son yet follows farming on the old home- 
stead, where he luis a good tract of land, and 
his care and cultivation have made the fields 
very productive, so that he aiuiuaily liai'v<'sts 
good crops. lie utilizes modern methods in 
all that he does and is now meeting with very 
creditable pro.sperity. 



JOHN .McK.W. 

John .McKa,v. now activel.v and extensively 
interested in farming and stock-raising in Ma- 
comb county, owns and operates a valuable 
tract of land of three hundi'cd acres situated 
near Komeo. Since his boyhood da.vs he has 
been identified with the farming interests of 
this section of the state, his birth having oc- 
curred in Bruct' township, .Macond) count.v, 
August 16, 1843. His father, Robert :\IcKay. 
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this vol- 
ume, was a native of Scotland, boi'ii .March 
4. 1813. in Renfrewshire, near (ilasgow. Th(> 
l)atcrnal graiidpai'ents were John and Jane 
.McKa.v. descended from a long line of Scot- 
tisli ancestry, who weie memi)ei's of a high- 
land clan. 

( (ur subject was reared on the old home- 
stead in the usual nuuiner of farmer lads of 
that period and received his education in 



the conniKin seliouls an<l tliroULih experience 
and observation in iatei- life. He remained 
with his fatiier until lie iiad attained his ma- 
jority, assisting iiim materially in the im- 
provement of the old home farm, and in 1866 
lie removed to a farm id' his own. coiiiiirising 
three hundred acres in Armada township, 
which he began to cultivate and improve. He 
has since rebuilt and remodeled the house, has 
erected largi' barns and out buildings and has 
continued the work of imi)rovcment until his 
place is now one of the valuable farm prop- 
erties of the locality, lie is also engaged in 
the breeding and raising of shorthoiui cattle 
and is to-day the owner of a large herd. He 
has made a study of this breed for thirty 
,vears and luis owned some tine animals. He 
has also been identified with the Armada Ag- 
ricultural Society for a number of years, has 
been a member of the executive committee 
for thirty-one years and was its president for 
four years. He was also president of the 
State Breeders Shorthorn Association for 
several years and is now a member of the 
.Michigan live .stock sanitary commission, 
through appointment by the governor. He 
has ever exercised his infiuence for the im- 
provement of agricultural conditions and 
through the conduct oi' his own liusiness af- 
fairs has contributed always to tli(» general 
welfare. 

On the L'lst of February. 1866. Mr. McKay 
was married to .Miss Liicinda E. Da.v, who 
was born in Armada township, Macomb coun- 
ty, October 16, 1843, and is a daughter of 
Uriel and Olive (Sperry) Day, who are rep- 
resented on another [lage of this volume. ^Ir. 
and Mrs. McKay have two children: Robert 
I'., who married Ella H<ills. daughter of Cap- 
tain William and Alice Rolls, and resides in 
Romeo, where he is engaged in merchandis- 
ing: and Olive Jean, who is at home. 

In 190U Mr. .McKay removed to Romeo, 
where after two years he purchased the resi- 
dence that he and his family now occupy. 
He and his wife attend the .Slethodist Epis- 
copal church and contribute to its support. 
Politically he i.s a stanch republican and cast 
his first jiresideirtial ballot for Abraham Lin- 
coln in 1864 and has supported everv nomi- 
nee of the part.v since. Local i)olities have 
idso been a source of iiitci'est to him and he 
has never failed to cast a vote at each elec- 
tion. He was ai)i)ointed tiy (iovernor Luce to 
(ill a vacancy as a member of the Michigan 
live stock sanitarv commission and is now 
serving (Ui the board by ap]iointment of (lov- 
vcriKir P>li-s. lie is abio a member of the 



504 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACO:\IB COUNTY 



executive committee of the State Agricultural 
Society and since 1898 has been president of 
the Fanners JMntual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany, whlcli was organized liy his father. For 
tlie last thirty years he has been prominently 
identified with the (irange movement and has 
served as a member of the county and local 
Gi'ange. He is recognized as a prominent ag- 
riculturist of this portion of the state, suc- 
cessftd in the control of his business affairs 
and the promoter of varied interests which 
have proven of practical benefit to the eom- 
munitv. 



JOHN A. HENK. 



•Jiihu A. Ilcnk. whose thorough preliminary 
training, study and skill have gained him 
I'ank with the leading photographers of east- 
ern ^Michigan, is now conducting a studio in 
Mount Clemens. He is a native of Detroit, 
born .March 5, 1873, and a son of John and 
Johanna (Hellwig) Henk, who were also na- 
tives of Detroit, in which city they were mai'- 
ried in 1S72. Anthony Henk, the paternal 
grandfather, came from Prussia and settled 
in Detroit sixty years ago. lie was the owner 
of a large farm near that city and his realt.v 
possessions also included houses and other 
property in Detroit. He died in 1898, at the 
age of seventy-eight years, while his wife, Mrs. 
Margai'ct Henk, died at the age of seventy- 
two years. The maternal grandfather, Wil- 
liam Hellwig, was a native of Bavaria, Ger- 
many, whence they came to America, crossing 
the Atlantic in 1840. He entered the mili- 
tary service of his adopted country as a mem- 
ber of the regular army and was stationed at 
Fort Erie, l)eing a musician of the First In- 
fantry and a non-eonnnissioned officer. He 
was with his regiment in the Mexican war 
and rendered valuable service to the govern- 
ment. He met his wife in Buffalo. She bore 
the name of Christina Schmidt and was also 
a native of Bavaria. She accompanied the 
regiment as a nurse and while ^Ir. Hellwig 
was stationed at Fort Erie, in 1847, they were 
marrii'd. They became the parents of eight 
childi'eTi, the eldest being ]\Irs. Henk, who 
was born while hei- mother was with the army 
in company with her husband. Plis regiment 
was afterward ti'ansferred to Fort Wayne and 
nn the expiration of his term of service he 
embarked in l)usiness for himself as a mer- 
eliaiit at Deti'oit, Michigan, and later he con- 
dueteil a general store in that city. 

John Henk, father of our siibject, was em- 
ployed by the firm of Pardridge & Blackwell 



in a crockery store, making his home in De- 
troit and in the parochial schools of that city 
John Henk of this review pursued his edu- 
cation. He entered business life as an office 
boy in the eniplo.v of the Newcomb-Andicott 
Company of Detroit, l)ut after a short time, 
when thirteen years of age, he secured em- 
ployment in the Fulton Iron & Engine works, 
where he continued for seven years, starting 
fir.st as an office boy, later as stenographer and 
subsequentl.v as bookkeeper, and while act- 
ing in that capacit.v made his first investment 
in a photographic outfit and did amateur 
work. Early in 1894 he started in business 
with B. J. Iloleomb as an apprentice for two 
.vears. He was afterward with C. H. Smith 
for one year and then w-ent to Ann Arbor, 
^Michigan, where he spent a few months. He 
then began business with his outfit, doing 
view work. He came to ^Mount Clemens and 
spent the summer of 1897 in making views of 
hotels and the local scenery. He continued in 
this line of business for some time, visiting 
towns in rotation until he reached Ciuein- 
nati, Ohio. He remained in that city for 
some time, securing employment in the por- 
trait establishment of Portness & Locke. A 
few months later he entered the emjiloy of 
James A. Maxwell, of Springfield. Ohio, with 
\vhom he continued for a year, during which 
time he gained vahuible expei-ience in the 
work of enlarging portraits. On the 29th of 
January, 1889, he purchased the studio of 
Otto Seludtz in Blount Clemens, and in April 
1902, he fitted up his ])i-esent studio in Kos- 
kopp, being on JIacomb street, where he has 
since conducted business. He is the only pho- 
tographer in Blount Clemens who is a mem- 
ber of the National Photographers' Associa- 
tion and he attends many of its conventions, 
keeping;- in touch with all of the advancement 
matle in photograj)hy. He fui'nishes all the 
newest grades of woi-k, is the first to displa.v 
improved and new ideas in photography and 
in addition to the wcu-k which he does as a 
photographic artist he alsd deals in ]>hotog- 
raphi^rs' su|i])iies. 

-Mr. Henk is a niembei' of the Knights of 
Columl)us and has served as regent of the 
Ro.val Arcanum. He was married October 
10," 1900. to Emma L. Keller, a daughter of 
Conrad Keller, of Detroit, who is a contractor 
and buijdei'. Tlieii- eliildren are Alfi-ed AV. 
and Marcella C. Mr. llenk's interests are 
eeiitiM-ed in his business and family and to 
the weUaie of his wife and children he is 
most de\()te(l. In the line of his chosen pro- 
fession he has made rapid advancement and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



505 



t(i-(lay liis abilit\- i-aiiks him with tiic U'adiug 
phdtiiurapliic artists of western Micliit;an, 
while his success is the merited ivwartl of his 
si<iil. 



CHARLES I.. AXnRl'S. 

Charles L. Andrus, who is uiie of tlie thrifty 
and sueeessful farmers of Washington towu- 
siii|), owns and ojn'rates a valuable tract of 
land of one hundred and twenty-five acres 
which ailjoins the village of Washington. It 
was upon this farm that he was horn Septem- 
ber 11. 1855, his father being T. K'. Andnis, 
a native of New York, while his grandfather, 
Elon Aiulrus. was boiMi in the same state. 
The last named came to .Michigan about 182U 
and fi'om the government entered the land on 
which Charles L. Andrus now i-esides and 
the present owner still holds the original pat- 
ent, which was signed by Jame-; Monroe, then 
president of the United States. Klon Andrus 
had served as a soldier in the war of 1811i 
and after coming to Michigan he fought the 
battles of pioneer life and subdued the wil- 
derness, winning victory through his persist- 
ent labor in his attempt to devido]) and im- 
prove a good farm. T. 1(. .\)idi'us was 
brought by his parents to this state, where he 
helped to clear and im])rove the home fai'ui 
and in his later years he eared for his par- 
ents, thus i-epa.ving them for tin' attention 
which tlie.v bestowed U])on him in his younger 
years. lie was married in Troy, Michigan, to 
Miss Betsy Ilotham, a native of Phigland and 
a daughter of David Ilotham, who was born 
in that country and liecame a resident of 
^Michigan when this i)art of the state was a 
pioneer district. ^Irs. Andrus was seven years 
of age when she arrived here and was I'eai-ed 
in ]\Iacomb county amiil jiioneer surround- 
ings. T. R. Andrus continued to reside upon 
the old homestead throughout his active life 
and passed away about 1865. His widow still 
survives him and is now eight.v-two years of 
age. In their family were five sons aiul a 
daughtei', but the latter died in childhood. 
The sons are: E. W., who died in '['.HVA, at 
the age of fifty-eight .vears; (ieorge K.. a 
merchant of Evart: Pred IT., of Detroit; 
Charles L., of this review; and Truman, who 
is also living in Evart. 

In taking up the personal histoi'y of Chai'les 
L. Andi'us We present to oui- leaders the life 
record of one widely and favoi'ably known in 
Washington townshi]). He ])nrsued his edu- 
cation in the schools of the village and I'c- 



mained with his In-other, Iv W. .\mlrus, on 
the old home jjlace, purchasing the interest 
<(f the other heirs in the jjroju'rty. They 
farmed here for a numbi-r of years and after- 
ward sold some of the lots which were an- 
nexed to the town. They rebuilt and remod- 
eled the old home, built a barn and made good 
improvements in keeiiiiig with modern prog- 
ress along agricultural lines, raised high 
grades of stock and ])laeed the farm in splen- 
did condition. 

C. L. Andrus was married in l-iomeo, Au- 
gxi.st 28, 1895. to .Miss f ranees Hosuer, a na- 
tive of this count.N', born and reared near Ro- 
meo, while her education was eouipleted in 
the high school there. She became a teacher 
and successfully followed that profession for 
several years priiu- to her marriage. This 
union has been blessed with two daughters — 
A. ^Marion and Clara M. 

i'olitically a republican .Mr. Andrus has 
thus followed in the footstejjs of his father 
and grandfather, lie has never been an of- 
fice seeker but has served on the board of 
review. His brother. Iv W. Andrus, however, 
took an active \>:w\ in polities and was elected 
and served in a number of local positions of 
honor and trust. The brothers were account- 
ed successful farmers of Washington town- 
ship and togetlu'r they owned and operated 
the old homestead, being thus associated \uitil 
the death of E. W. Andrus in 1903. Charles 
L. Andrus has spent his entire life upon the 
farm which is yet his home and his interests 
have centered in Macomb count.v, in its de- 
veh)pnient and improvement. He takes great 
pride in what has been accom|dished here and 
in all matters of eitizcnshi]) he has been loyal 
to progressive measures and his aid has never 
been .solicited in vain. He and has wife are 
members of the [Tnion clinrch in Washington 
and the.v en.ioy in full measure the confidence 
of their fellowmeii. 



CllAHLKS A. \V1XKI,KK. 

Charles A. Winklei'. active in democratic 
circles and a pi-omineiit and progressive farm- 
er of Ilarri.son township, owns and operates 
a farm of sevent.v-fou r acres and is also culti- 
vating another farm which he rents. He has 
lived in ^racoiiib county since 1856. He was 
born in Prussia, -Inly "ll, 1842. His father, 
.lames Winkler, was born in the same country 
in 1810 and was there married to Miss Iled- 
wig Speer, a native of Germany. He emi- 



5o6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



grated to the new woi-ld in 1856. taking pass- 
age at Bremen on tlie sailing vessel John Lang, 
whieh I'eaehed the harlior of New York on the 
2Hth of October. lie made his way at ouee 
to .Michigan, joining a son in Detroit and later 
he came to ilaconih county, settling about 
seven miles from ilount Clemens, where he 
pureliased a tract of timber land. Here he at 
once began cleai'ing away the trees and j)re- 
paring the land for cidtivation and in course 
of time in the mid.st of a forest he hewed out 
an e.xcellent farm. Here he spent the last 
years of his life, passing away October 20. 
1882. and his wife survived him. her death 
occurring November 11. 1893. Charles A. 
Winkler is one of a family of three sous and 
two daughters, the eldest being Joseph, a 
miller, of Oakland county. ^Michigan, while 
the others are: Anna, the wife of Liouis 
Ameel, of Mount Clemens; Charles A.: Mar- 
tha, residing in ]\lonut Clemens : and Albert, 
who owns and operates the old homestead 
farm in Viacom!) township. 

Charles A. Winkler spent the first thirteen 
years of his life in the fatherland and then 
accompanied his parents on their emigration 
to the new world. He well i-emembers the 
voyage and different incidents of the trip to 
the new world, feeling a boy's keen interest in 
everything that occurred. He assisted his 
father in clearing the honu' farm and in de- 
veloping the fields, giving him his services 
until eighteen years of age, after whieh he 
started out upon an active ])usiness career, 
working l)y the month as a farmhand. 

^Ir. W^inkler was mai'i'ied in Van Buren 
county, ^lichigan. in October, 1864. to ;\Iiss 
Caroline Bedden. who was born in (ienesee 
count.v, ^lichigan. and is .i daughter of O. D. 
Bedden, a native of New England who set- 
tled in this state in iiioneer times. Following 
his marriauc .Mr. Winklei' worked on a farm 
in Cass comity for five yeai's and in 1868 
he returned to ilacomb county, locating in 
.Mount Clemens, where he followed carpen- 
tering for three years. He then clerked in 
a .store for two years, after which he took 
up his abode on a farm. Subsc(|uen11y he 
])iirehased a well improved tract of land of 
seventy acres. lie also farms a place where 
he now resides of seventy acres ami he 
has at pi'c'si'iil writing one hundred 
and forlv' acres in his home ])lace. 
He likewise farms a tract of one hundred and 
fifty acres ad.joining. and in connection with 
the tilling of the soil he is conducting a dairy, 
the product of which finds a I'eady sale upon 
the market because of its excellence. He is 



practical in all that he does and his methodi- 
cal work and pei-sistency of purpose have 
been sti'oug elements in gaining him pros- 
l>erity. 

Ml-, and .Mrs. Winklei- have four children, 
who are yet living: Anna, a young lady at 
lioirie; Etta, the wife of Harold Burton, a 
traveling salesman: Rosa, at home: and 
Charles, of .Mount Clemens. Mr. Winkler 
votes with the democratic party, which he 
has supported since 1896, having previous to 
that time been a republican. He was elected 
and served foi- several years as township clerk, 
filling the otrice of justice of the peace for 
several years, was also township treasurer and 
a nu'mbei- of the board of review. Re-election 
cotitinued him in all of those offices for some 
time and in the performance of his duties 
he was ever found faithful, prompt and re- 
liable. He has frequently been a delegate 
to county conventions and for twenty-two 
years has served as a member of the school 
boai'd. doing effective service in behalf of 
education. .All-, and Mrs. W^inkler were reared 
in the Catholic faith and belong to the church 
in Mount Clemens. He is one of the men of 
;\Iacomb county who has made his own way 
from his youth, for Ik^ started out in life with- 
out capital or the assistance of influential 
friends. He has by hard work, good business 
management and frugality become the owner 
of a valuable farm and a good home and 
he has likewise gained an honored name in the 
land of his adoption. 



ALBERT A. PARISOT, .M. D. 

Or. Albert A. Parisot. whose careful and 
thorough preparation for his chosen profes- 
sion has made him one of the successful physi- 
cians and surgeons of ]\Iouut Clemens, now 
giving his attention in large measure to a 
bathing practice, was born in Cliff' .Mine, Ke- 
weenaw county, .Michigan, April 'M). 18()4. His 
jiaternal grandfather, (iabriel Parisot, lived 
and died in France. The father. Theophile 
S. Parisot. was a native of France and came 
to .Michigan fifty-two years ago. settling in 
W'ayne county. Subse(|uent to his marriage 
he removed to the .North Peninsula and en- 
tered the I'liiploy of the Phoenix .Mining Com- 
jiaiiy. but in .\pi-il. ISTll. lie caiiii- to .MMcumii 
county. Here he engaged in farming. He 
died in \iW.i. at the age of sevent.v-six years, 
while his wife is now living in Mount Clem- 
ens. She liore the maiden name of Marieanne 
N'oilaiul and was also a native of France. Iler 
father Tliebeau X'oiland, was one of the earh' 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ]\IACOMB COUNTY 



507 



settlers of iMaeonib coimty. kjeatiiig hero more 
than a half eeutury ago and thrt)Ugh long 
years he followed farming, being one of the 
worthy pioneers who eoutrihuted in large 
measure to the material improvement of this 
part of the state. He died at the age of 
eighty-three years. Theophile S. Parisot had 
four brothers, three now deceased, while Ferd- 
inand J., who eame to this country from 
France, is now a resident of iliehigan. He 
is known as a veteran warrior, having par- 
ticipated in the Russian-Crimean war and 
also the Franco-Austrian compaigu in 1859, 
and from 1861 to 1866 he aided the Italian 
government in suppressing the guerrillas, for 
which he received the Italian medal of honor 
from Napoleon the third. All other meml)crs 
of this branch of the Parisot family lived and 
died in France. 

Albert A. Parisot is indebted to the public 
school system of ilaeomb county for the early 
educational privileges he enjoyed. After put- 
ting aside his text-books he returned to the 
scenes of his boyhood, being engaged in min- 
ing in northern Michigan for a short time. He 
afterward clerked for the firm of North, 
Kloeekner & Gardner, at Calumet, Michigan, 
spending two years in a general store, but 
realizing in the meantime the value of edu- 
cation he attended the Detroit Business Uni- 
versity, from which he was graduated with 
the class of 1888. He then became an ac- 
countant for the firm of B. Quello & Com- 
pany, in Red Jacket, ^lichigan, continuing 
with that house for a year. On the expira- 
tion of that year he removed to Montana, 
where he was engaged in mining in the em- 
ploy of the Amalgamated Jlining Company. 
He next liecame an accountant in a wholesale 
and retail store in Montana, in whicli he con- 
tinued for one year, and on the expira- 
tion of that period he came to Mount Clem- 
ens, hoping to recover his lost health. Here 
he did clerical work for the firm of Haller 
& Company for two years, when, having de- 
termined to enter the medical profession, he 
took up the study of medicine. During his 
vacations he sailed on the Great Lakes, being 
for three seasons purser on different vessels. 
He completed his course of medicine in the 
Detroit College of ]\Iedicine in ISS.") and iti 
order til still further promote his efficiency 
he pui'sued a course in the Chicago Clinical 
School in 1898. Every year he spends his 
vacation in Chicago or in the east attending 
clinical lectures and hospital work. 

On the 1st of January, 1896, Dr. Parisot 
entered upmi the practice of medicini' in 



.Mount Clemens as a partner of Dr. J. F. 
(VKeefe, of the firm of O'Keefe & Parisot, 
a relation which was maintained for two 
years. The partuershij) was then dissolved 
and Dr. Parisot continues in practice alone, 
being now located at No. 46 Macomb street. 
He conducts a general and bathing practice 
and has been very successful, notwithstanding 
the fact that he has had to make his own 
way in the world unaided from early boy- 
hood. He has been county physician since 
1899 and in his private practice he is accord- 
ed a large and liberal patronage, which is 
indicative of the trust and confidence reposed 
in him by his fellow townsmen. 

Dr. Parisot was elected mayor of Mount 
Clemens on the republican ticket in 1903 and 
held the office for one year, at the end of 
which he refused a re-election. He has, how- 
ever, been .somewhat active in political circles 
and he won his election by a handsome ma- 
.iority. 

On the 28th of September, 1898. Dr. Pari- 
sot was nuirried to Miss Frances C. Laeey, a 
daughter of Jlichael and Louisa (Bell) Laeey, 
of ]\Iouut Clemens. Their children are : Mer- 
lin A. and Leo J. Dr. Parisot is a meinber 
of the Knights of Cohnnbus. He also belongs 
to the ^Modern Woodmen of America, the In- 
dependent Order of Foresters and the For- 
esters of America. He was elected grand 
knight of the Knights of Columbus in 1903 
and served until January 1, 1901. He is 
also physician for that order, for the Wood- 
)iien and the Foresters of America. He is a 
member of the ^laeomb County Medical So- 
ciety and the ^Michigan State ]\lcdical Society 
and thus he keeps in constant touch with the 
advanced thought of the profession. He is a 
man of strong personality, uuirked individual- 
ity, cordial manner, kindly disposition and 
unfailing coiirtesy, and these qualities have 
gained for him the warm regaj-d of all with 
whom he has been brought in contact eithei- 
socially or professionally. 



WILLIAM CONKLIN. 

William Conkiiii was born Fel)ruary 18, 
1818, in Ilerkimei- county. New York, and is 
a son of Andrew and Pamelia (Scott) Conk- 
lin. The fathei- was born on Long Island. 
In the maternal line Mr. Conkiin comes from 
Scotch ancestry, three brothers of the name 
of Scott having emigrated from the land of 
tile heather to tlie new world. The nuiternal 
gi'andfather of our sulijeef was a soldier of 



5o8 



PAST AND PRETEXT OF :\rACO:\IB COUXTY 



the Revolutionary war. wounded in the battle 
of Bunker Hill, and other representatives of 
the name were soldiers of the war of 1812, 
while one was in the Black Hawk war and 
aftei'ward became manairer of the Terre 
Haute & Indiana Railroad. He was also one 
of the commissioners who settled the difficul- 
ties broutiht about by the Black Hawk war. 
Andrew Conklin remained a resident of the 
Empire state throuurhout his entire life, his 
death oeeurring: in Xiasiara count.v. Xew 
York. His widow afterward came to .Michi- 
gan with her son Delos Conklin. nuiking the 
trip in IS-l'i. and they also livetl for a year 
in ^Visconsin. Delos Conklin took up gov- 
ernment land, constitutin>r the farm upon 
which his brother William now i-esides. He 
was born in 1808, and for many yeai's was 
an enterprisiny airricultnrist of ilacomb 
county. Besides ^Villiam and Delos there wei'e 
five sisters in the family, one of whom is still 
living' at the age of seventy-five years antl is 
a resident of ^Memphis, Jlichigan. 

William Couivlin had but limited education- 
al privileges but his ti'aining at fai'm labor 
was not meager. AVhen a boy he began work 
in the fields and when also in his teens he 
learned the cooper's trade, which he followeil 
for a nundjer of years. He bought his first 
land in Richmond township, becoming the 
owner of sixty acres and later he purchased 
forty-two acres in Armada township. His 
brother owned one hundi-ed and fifty aci'es 
of laud which is now in po.s.session of 
a nephew of Williain Conklin. Through- 
out his entire luisiness career William 
Conklin has been identified either with 
coopering or with farming interests and his 
untiring labor and good business .iudgment 
have constituted the basis of his success. He 
is the owner of ei.trhty acres in Berlin tnwn- 
ship, St. Clair county. 

Delos Conklin was twice nuirried. his first 
union being with a Miss Stewart. Ft)llo\v- 
ing her death he married Eliza Spencer, by 
whom he had one child. Ilein-y D. Cimldiii. 
whose birth occurred July IS, Ls,"):i. TIh' 
n.other's death occurred oidy a few days 
later, but the fathei- survived until 1877, when 
he pas,sed away, b-aving his son Henry, to 
whom we are indebted foi- the early history 
of the family. He was educated in the schools 
of Armada and has always carried on general 
farnnng. l^ike his father he has been a sup- 
porter of till' re|)ublican ]>arly and filleil the 
office of jiathmaster. He attends the Congre- 
gational chui-ch, in which the family have long 
been identified, bis father having .struck thi' 



tir.st blow in the present Congregational 
church in Armada. The name Conklin is 
closely associated with the I'arly development 
of this part of the state and no history of 
;\lacomb county wouhl be complete without 
mention of the re|)i'esenfatives of the name. 



STEPHEX H. WHITXEY. 

Ste[)lii'n II. Whitney, living on section 8, 
;\Iac(indj township, has nuide farming his life 
work and is now operating a tract of land 
of two hundred and seven acres, which in its 
well improved condition indicates his care- 
ful nmnagement and capable methods. He 
was born in IMacond) township, ilay 12, 
1850. His father. John Whitney, was a na- 
tive of Xew Yoi-k and in early manhood 
came west to ^lichigan. casting in his lot 
with the pioneer settlers at a time when the 
greater part of this state was wild and un- 
improved. He entered land from the gov- 
eriniient in ^lacomb townshi]). becoming the 
owner of two hunilred and twenty acres 
which he soon transformed into a valuable 
tract, cai'rying on the work of improvement 
and ])rogre.ss until he owned an excellent 
property. He was married here to Miss 
Phoebe Nelson, a native of England, who 
came to this country when a eliild with her 
father. Richard Xelson. one of the early 
settlers of this poi'tion of the state. John 
Whitney and his wife reared their famil.v 
upon the old homestead farm and continued 
to reside there until called to their final rest, 
the husband surviving his wife for a niimbcr 
of .vears. Of their three sons and four 
dau.irhters, two sons and one daughter are 
yet living, the brother, Cortland Whitney, 
being a resident of iMount Clemens, while 
Electa ^I. Whitney is now the wife of Julian 
Axtell of Omaha. Nebraska. 

Stephen H. Whitiu'y was reared in the 
usual numner of farmer lads, obtaining his 
eilueation in the home schools and working 
in tile fields when not busv with his text- 
books. He remained with his father until 
he had attained his ma.iorify and then made 
ari'angements for having a home of his own 
by his marriage on the llth of April. 1872, to 
Miss Phnma S. Inimen, a nativi' of ^Macomb 
county, boi'u in Xew Baltimore. Her father. 
John II. Immen. was born in London. Eng- 
land, and came to ^liehigan when this was 
larg(dy an unilevelojied portion of the state. 

^Ii-. and ^Ii-s. Whitney began their life 
upon a fai'm which he rented for three .vears. 




MR. AND MRS. S. H. WHITNEY 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



511 



aud ill 1875 he bought where he uow resides, 
securing oue hundred aiid sixty-seven acres 
of land which he at once began to cultivate 
and improve. He made various repairs and 
changes, continuing the work of develop- 
ment until gootl Iniildings sheltered his grain 
and stock and the fiehls yielded liiiu rich har- 
vests. As he prospered in his undertakings 
and his financial resources were thereby in- 
creased he added to his laud from time to 
time until he uow has about two hundred and 
twenty acres, and in connection with the 
cultivation of the fields he raises good stock, 
making a specialty of high grade and pure 
blooded Uurham cattle. lie fattens and 
feeds stock for the market and his annual 
sales return him a good in<>ome. In his busi- 
ness relations he is found to be trustworthy, 
conducting all transactions so that while he 
realizes a fair i)rofit he never takes advan- 
tage of the necessities of his fellowmen. 

Mr. and ^Irs. Whitney have become the 
parents of .seven ciiildren : Florence L. ; 
Clara E., the wife of Orvil Davis, who is liv- 
ing at Davis, ^Michigan ; Bertha F., the wife 
of Robert B. Miller, who was educated at 
ilount Clemens and is a teacher of ]\lacomb 
county; (Jrace P.. the wife of John E. Hall, 
who is also a teacher and was educated in 
ilount Clemens; IMaude C, who is a gradu- 
ate of ;\Iount Clemens high school ; Clarence, 
who died at the age of thirteen years, and 
John H., a student in the ^lacomb school. 

Mr. Whitney's study of the political ques- 
tions and issues of the day led him to give 
his first presidential ballot in support of 
General U. S. (iraut and he has since been 
a stanch and earnest republican. He and 
his wife are members of the ilethodist Epis- 
copal church at Macomb and he has served 
as one of its trustees. He is affiliated with 
the Maccabees and the Gleaners, fraternal 
insurance orders, and he is well known so- 
cially, having many wai-m friends who es- 
teem him for the po.ssession of sterling ti'aits 
of character. 



KDWAKM) (iK.\ll.\.M FOi.SO.M. .M. I). 

Or. Edwaril (iraliam Folsom, engaged in 
the general practice of medicine in Mount 
Clemens, where he is also filling the position 
of ])ostmastcr, giving to the city a practical, 
businesslike adiiiinisl ration, was born in At- 
tica, Wyoming county. New Vork, ^ra\- 25, 
1S54, and in the paternal line is (k'scended 
from one of the old families of ]Massachu.setts, 



the original American ancestors coming from 
England in lti;iO. His fath.'r, (ieorge P. Fol- 
som, was a native of Biiffald, New Vork, and 
pursued Ids education in Williams College and 
the Auburn Theological Seminary. Being or- 
dainetl a clergyman of the I'l'esbyteiian 
ciiurcli, he entered upon the work of the min- 
istry at Attica, New York, in 1S.')2. His last 
da.ys were spent in Mount Clemens, where he 
died November ll2, 1904, at the age of seventy- 
eight years. His widow still survives him at 
the age of seventy -seven years. She bore the 
maiden name of Lillias Graham Eraser and 
was born in ScotlamI, her birtli|)lace being on 
the isle of Isla. She was onl.v three yi'ars of 
age when brought to America by her parents, 
who located first at Goderich, Canada. 

When Dr. Folsom was five years old his 
parents removed to Geneseo, New York, and 
lie afterward attended Temple Hill Academy 
until lS6il, when he became a student in Lake 
Forest Academy, at Lake Forest, Illinois. He 
pursued a course there and at the age of sev- 
enteen years he began clerking in the store 
of John V. Farwell, in Chicago. He was thus 
employed until October, 1871. when the great 
Chicago fire occurred. He afterward returned 
to Geneseo, New York, where he was employed 
in a store for three years, after which he en- 
tered upon the study of medicine, his reading 
being directed by James A, West, M. D., for 
a year. In the fall of 1875 he entered the 
Chicago Homeopathic College, from which he 
was graduated March 5, 1877. He began the 
practice of medicine in Alliion, New York, 
where he remained for a year, spent a similar 
period in Beloit, Wisconsin, and then located 
for practice in Oak Pai'k, Illinois, where he 
continued until 1882. The succeeding two 
years were passed in ^Minneapolis, ^linnesota, 
and in June, 1884, he came to Mount Clemens, 
where he has since engaged in the general 
practice of medicine. He is a member of the 
.Macomb Count.v, ^Michigan State and Ameri- 
can Medical Associations and has presided at 
various meetings of these organizations, keep- 
ing in close touch with the progress that is 
C()nstantl,v being made by the profession. 

During his residence in Mount Clemens, 
<'overing twenty-one .vears. Dr. Folsom has 
held oiiice for seventeen years. He was health 
officer for nine years, was secretary of the 
Macomb county board of pension examiners 
for four years and in 1901 was appointed 
postniMster by I'l'esideiit ;\IcKinley and is now 
lining that office, giving a most satisfactory 
administration. His ancestors were whigs and 
he has always been a republican, never faltei'- 



512 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



iiig' in his alU'^iancc to tlie party, while in its 
kical ranks he is known as au active and ef- 
fective worker. He has served for six j-ears 
as treasurer of the republican county com- 
mittee. 

On the 2t;th of December, 1878, Dr. Fol- 
som was married to ^liss Hattie F. Miller, (if 
Chicago, a daughter of Albion R. and [Mar- 
tha (Tanibling) ?ililler. formerl.v of Potsdaiu, 
New Voi'k. Tlieir children are Claude ]\Iiller, 
Elizal)etli (irahaiii. (leorge Albion. Edward 
Graham, Jr.. and Robert Fitch. Dr. Folsom 
and his family ai-e widely known and occupy 
an enviable position in the social circles of the 
city. He holds membership relations with the 
Knights of the ]\Iaccabees, the Jlodern Wood- 
men of America and with the I'resbyterian 
church, and his jirofessional career, his politi- 
cal record and his private life alike commend 
him to the good will and esteem of those with 
whom he is dailv brought in contact. 



CHARLES H. JONES. 

Chai'les II. Jones, who is living a retired 
life in ]Meade, and known for many years as 
a wide-awake, practical and progressive agri- 
cultiirist in Viacom b count.v, is still the owner 
of a farm of one hundred and fifty aci-es. 
which is well improved and constitutes a valu- 
able propert.v. His l)irth occurred in Ray. 
^Michigan. July 8. 1840. His father. James 
Jones, was a native of London. England, born 
in 1803. and there he was reared to manhood, 
locating in the state of New York when a 
young man. He was married in Hoehester. 
New York, to Miss Elizabeth Funnell, also 
A native of Eimland, wlio eainejto the United 
States on the same vessel im which her hus- 
band crossed the Atlantic. Tiu>ir acquaint- 
ance was begun during that v'Oyage and for 
a year after their marriage they remained in 
Rochester. New York, coining thence to iMichi- 
gan about 18:?(). They settled in .Macomb 
townshi|). .Maeiimb county, and later Mr. 
Jones returned to England, where he secured 
some mniiey and then again coming to Amer- 
ica hi' purchased government land and opened 
u|) a f;niii on section 12, Ray township. He 
at first had eighty acres fi'om which he cleared 
the lirush and trees and afterward plowed 
and i)hinted the fields until they I'cturned him 
good crops. Thus he opened uji a farm and 
later in life he extended its boundaries by 
the purchase of additional acreage. He also 
owned land in different counties, his posses- 
sions aggregating about five hundred acres. 



He was recognized as one of the trustworthy 
and influential farmers of his locality. He 
made several trips across the Atlantic to his 
old home, crossing the water thirteen times. 
He took great delight in ti'avel and visited 
everv portion of the United States, thus gain- 
iiii: ail iiifiiiiate knowledge of his atlopted 
country as well as of his native land. He was 
a financier, eajjable. alei't and enterprising in 
all business mattei's. and through the careful 
conduct of his varied interests lie won the 
.succe-s that enabled him in his later yeai's to 
live I'etired in New Haven. There he died in 
18y.'i at the ripe old age of ninet.v-three years. 
He was a democrat in his political affiliation 
where national issues were in\(ilved. His 
wife pass<>d away in New Haven in 1879. 
They were the parents of ten children, all 
<if whom reached mature years and of this 
number three sons and three daughters are 
yet living, nanu4y : Charles II.. Robert and 
l)a\i(l F.. who ai'c i-esidents of this county 
and are i-epresented im another page of this 
woi'k; .Mi's. ilary Brownlee. of Detroit; Celes- 
tia, the wife of Jolui B. Lafurgey. of Chester- 
field : ami Ida, the wife of i\ussell Hazelton. 
a fai'mer of Ray township. 

Charles II. Jones was reared to manhood 
in .Macomb township upon his father's farm, 
no event iif special importance occurring to 
vaiy the routine of farm life for him in his 
lioyliood and ycmth. He was educated in the 
country schools and renuiined upon the old 
homestead until grown, assisting materially 
in cai'i'viiiu on the fai'in. In early nuuihood 
he sought a comj)anion and helpmate for life's 
.journey, being married in Chesterfield Sep- 
tember "-'4. 1865, to Miss Celestia Hart, a 
dan<;lifer of Putiuun Hart, a native of New 
^'(irk. who came to Michigan when a young 
man and was nuirried here to Louisa Craw- 
I'ord. a native of the Empire state. She had 
arri\('d in Michigan when a nuiiden of eleven 
sunnnei's. .Mr. Ilai't followed farming in 
Chesterfield township and it was there that 
Mi's. Jones was born, reared and educated. 

Fcillowing his mari-iage Mi-. Jones followed 
farming in Clu'sterfield townsliiii for seven 
years, beginning his domestic life upon a 
small tract of land of fort.v acres. Later he 
sold thai propeii.v and located in Macomb 
township. There he had eight.v acres, which 
he began to farm, making substantial im- 
provements thereon. He l)uilt a good resi- 
dence and liain. ])lanted an oi'chard and sliade 
trees, set uji a wind-pump, fencecl his (ields 
and contiiuu'd tin- W(U'lc of imiirdvcment until 
liis cfl'iirts resulted in Ihc (le\'el(ipiiient of a 



PAST AM) i'KESEXT OF IMACOJIB COUNTY 



513 



tine iiriipcrt.N . lie raised yraiii and stock ami 
also I'oiuliictril a ilairy. and his business al'- 
faii's wi'ic tiiaiiat;i*(l with systciiiiitic care and 
l)reeision. llr iniioved from his farm in 
March, l'.h)'2. at which time he pureliased two 
acres of laud in Meade and built a neat homo 
there, since which time he has lived retired. 
having- rented his farm. 

.Mr. and .Mi's. Jones are the parents of ten 
children, of whom nine ai'e living;-, as follows: 
Fred J., who is enfraiicd in tlii- manufacture 
of lumljcr in (.'hattanooua, Tennessee; Frank 
P.. who is now connected with the Meade 
("reamei'V; Jessie, the wife of Ward Conklin. 
a farmer of iMacomb county: Jeiniie B., the 
wife of Clyde Keed. of Detroit: flattie, the 
wife of Merton Dennison. of .Macomb town- 
sliip: Louisa E.. the wife of ^larviu Ilouton, 
a lumliei' mei-chant of ilcDonald, Tennessee; 
Vena K.. the wife of Ward Switzer. a jeweler, 
of .Mount Clemens: Elizabeth Ann, a teacher 
in Macomb townshij): and Addie ]\1.. a stu- 
dent in the County .Normal at New Baltimore. 
They also lost one dauiihtei', Ella L.. who died 
in early womanhood, in 1895. 

Like the other members of the family 
Charles II. Junes i;ives hi.s political allegiance 
to the dciuocracy. but aside from easting his 
l)allot in support of the nu'asures of the party 
has never been active in jiolities. His labors 
in behalf of agricultural development, how- 
ever. ha\c been notable. He ha.s worked per- 
sistently and earnestly for the ac(iuirement 
of a comfortable competence and now that 
his labors have been rewarded he is enjoying 
a well mei-ited rest in the midst of the fruits 
of I'.is foniier toil. 



OS:\rAX B. EVANS. 

Osinan B, Evans, a traveling salesnum re- 
siding at Richmond, is numbered among the 
native sons of St. Clair county. .Michigan. 
his l)irth having occuri'ed in Kimball. August 
9. 185!l. He is a son of Charles Brison Ev- 
ans, who was boi-n in ( 'oi'k, Ireland, in is:i.'). 
He niari-ied Elizabeth ("loss, who beeaine the 
adojited daughter of Samuel Baker, a native 
of New York, who was a Methodist preacher 
and came to Micliigan in 184'2, locating at 
Kichmoiiil, where he spent his ri'maining 
days, his death occnri-iiii; in 18f)(). 

t harles H. Kvans was a little lad of six 
sumiiiers when brought to .\mei'iea in 1.S41. 
He became a residiMit of St. ('laii' county. 
Michigan, wliei-e be i-eniained until 18(10 

when he removed to .Maeiilllli eiiunt\'. set- 



tling two and a half miles noi-theast of Rich- 
mond on section 24, Kichmond township. 
There he contiiuied throughout his active 
life and the farm which he owned and op- 
erated is still in possession of the family. 
He was a man of genuine moral woi'th in 
all life's relations, and he hehl membership 
with the .Methodist chui-ch and gave his po- 
litical support to the re])ublican [)arty. He 
had fifteen childi'en, ten of whom were born 
of his first marriage and five by the second. 

Osman H. Evans, the eldest child, .spent 
his school days in St. Clair eonnty and con- 
tinued on the old homestead farm until his 
marriage, during which time he gained inti- 
mate and practical knowleilge of the best 
methods of tilling the soil, lie chose Miss 
.May A. Chublj as a eom]ianioii and helpmate 
for life's journey, their marriage being cele- 
brated .November '2. 18|)l'. She was born in 
Kay townshi]), ^lacomb county, August 6, 
18(i7. Her father, Joseph Chubb, was born 
in .Novembei'. 1822. and nuirried Clarissa R. 
L.athrop. who was born in Buti'alo, New 
York, in 1826. and died in 1894. The 
grandfather. Jose])h Chul)b, was born Sep- 
tember 1. 1780, and married Asenath 
Stevens. He had an ancestoi' who served 
in tlie war of the Revolution. The grand- 
father came to .Macomb county in 1825 
antl secured a homestead in Ray township, 
where he lived for many years as a respected 
citizen. P>y his first marriage he had three 
children, William, Joseph and Sallie. Fol- 
lowing the ilcath of his first wife he nmrried 
her sister, Alaria Stevens, and their children 
are David. Elijah, Mrs. Lucinda Lee, Polly. 
Edwin and Lucretia. The first two and the 
la.st two are ^till living and Elijah resides 
near Detroit, ivhile thi> others ai-e residents 
of ]\Iacond) county. 

Joseph Chubb, fafhei- of .Mrs. Evans, was 
entirely a self-made man. He did not learn 
his alphabet until he w;is foui'teen years of 
age and his education was obtained through 
his unaided efforts. While earning his own 
living he utilized leisure liours for study 
and spent a few wintei- seasons in scliool. In 
\H(>.i he entei'ed the .Michigan I'ni versify at 
-Vini .\rbor and was graduated fr(un the law 
de]iartment in 18()5. aftei- which he entered 
upon the i>racfice of his chosen profession in 
Ray township. In 1872 he removed to Ni'w 
Haven, where he continued in practice until 
1S7I>, when he removed to (he village of 
Hidgeway, now Richmond, hei'c I'l'siding un- 
til his death in 1892. Owing to a crijipled 
limb he was unable to enter the arm\' at the 



514 



?AST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



time of the Civil war but served for a num- 
ber of years as a reeruiting officer and was 
deputy provost marshal. In politics he was 
a stanch republican for a number of years 
and afterward a jjrohibitionist. having al- 
ways been a stanch advocate of the cause 
of tenijx'rance. Altlinugh handicapped some- 
what i)hysically he lived a most active and 
useful life and for ten years was extensively 
engaged in the lumber business. He had 
two children, the son being Theodore Chubb, 
now of Lenox township. The daughter. ^Irs. 
Evans, spent hei' school days in Richmond 
and was graduated from the high school in 
1886, after which she followed teaching for 
six years in Macomb and St. Clair coimties. 
In 1892 'Sir. and ]Mrs. Evans removed to 
Lenox, where they now have a pleasant home 
noted for its gracious and warm-hearted 
hospitality. For the past eight years he 
has been upon the road as traveling sales- 
man for the Port Huron Engine & Thresher 
Company. He has been a school trustee for 
four .years and in 1905 was elected president 
of the village. He belongs to Richmond 
lodge, A. F. & A. ]M.. and Blount Clemens 
chapter. R. A. ^I. He is also connected with 
the Knights of the ]\Iaccabees. the Imjn'oved 
Order of Foresters and the Knights of 
Pythias. His manner is social and cordial 
and he has become popular upon the road 
as M'ell as in the place of his residence, hav- 
ing many warm friends among his business 
]>atrons as well as among those whom he 
meets sociallv. 



PETER DANIELS LERICH. 

Peter D. Lericli is a representative farmer 
and the oldest living resident of ^Macomb 
county. His life has been no])le in many 
respects and no history of this portion of 
the state would be complete without his 
record. He was born I\[ay 20, 1810, in Green- 
wich township, "Warren county, Xcw Jerse.v. 
a son of Isaac and Elizab(>th (Daniels) Le- 
rich. The paternal grandfather was a na- 
tive of Bucks county. Pennsylvania, was a 
.soldier of the Revolution and served as a 
commissioned officei-. He had a great deal of 
continental money and with this he went 
to New Jersey to buy land. There he ac- 
((uired a large tract of land and for a num- 
ber of years engaged in the operation of 
Hour, plaster and sawmills. He had eleven 
children b.v his first marriage, six sons and 
five daughters, of whom Isaac Lerich was 
the second. Wlien Isaac was on his death 



bed he told his son Peter never to touch 
a drop of intoxicating liquor and this ad- 
vice the son faithfull.v followed. 

Isaac Lericli was a soldier of the war of 
1812 and 'Sir. Lericli of this review well re- 
members seeing his father in his uniform. 
He died in New Jerse.v, after which his 
widow became the wife of William Cougle. 
of that state, who also died in New Jerse.v. 
]Man.v experiences and hardships incident to 
pioneer life were borne b.v her and she ]ier- 
formed nnich arduous toil, aiding in shearintr 
sheep in her earl.v womanhood. 

Peter D. Lerich was the second of three 
children, his brother Robert d.viug in iNIichi- 
gan, while his sister Margaret Ann died at 
the very advanced age of ninet.v years. He 
is thus the onl.v survivor of the famil.v. He 
was educated in the schools of New Jers;\v 
in reading, writing and ai'ithmetii-. < hi the 
18th of April. 1835. he married Sarah Fish- 
bough, a daughter of Joseph and Margaret 
(Oglethorpe) Fishbough. the latter a lineal 
descendant of James Oglethorpe, the founder 
of the colony of Georgia. She was a noted 
singer and sang in public nian.v well known 
slaver.v songs, taking an active part in the 
anti-slaver.v movement. Mrs. Lerich "s father 
was of German lineage, was born in New 
Jersey and engaged in teaching, being a 
noted educator of that day. She received 
her earl.v education in the schools of that 
state and aniunniced her desire to attend a 
countrv rather than a town school, telling 
her guardian that the teacher of the former 
could instrxict her in geograph.v, while that 
branch of learning Avas not taught in the 
town school. She fed and milked five cows 
ever.v morning and evening in order to jia.v 
for her board and she walked two miles to 
the si-lioolhouse, often through snow and 
iiiu.i. She \\:is Ihu'ii nl' pdiii' parents in a 
Iiil;- cabin ami lici' iiiotliri''s birth was also 
ill a similar Imililint;. .Mrs. LiTJcli had one 
brothri- and one sister, the former being 
William, who liecaiiie a noted authoi-. his 
books being widel.v circulated. In earl.v 
manhood he was a Fniversalist preacher and 
later served as private secretai'.v to Andrew 
Jackson Davis. Elizabeth Fishbough, the 
youngest iiicmber of the famil.v, became the 
wife of Larman ('iiatfi(dd, a noted ]\Iethodist 
preacher of ^lacomb coiiiit.v, ^Michigan, who 
was numbered among the |)ioiieer ministers 
of this jiai't of tile state and afterward served 
as |)residing elder. 

.Mr. Lerich came west in 1835. traveling 
li\ watci' from Brunswick, New Jersev, to 



PAST AND I'RESENT OF :\rACO:MB COT'NTY 



515 



New York, thence up tlie llndson. by the 
Erie canal to Buffalo aiid hy lake to Detroit, 
which was then a small place. His mother 
had sold h(>r land in Xew Jei-sey and hou<rht 
land here. Mr. Lericli intended to sio farther 
west hut his wife fell from the watron and 
broke her arm when near Koyal Oak, thir- 
teen miles north of Detroit. This caused 
him to remain in eastern ^liehipan and he 
purchased land from Xathaniel C. Nara- 
more. upon which were two loir houses and 
a barn, the tract comprising two hundred 
and twenty acres. To this he afterward ad- 
ded one hundred and sixty-six acres, which 
is still known as the Springhill farm. lie 
also bought other land in Will coiuity. Illi- 
nois, near Joliet. and altogether had eleven 
hundred acres, a part of wliich he pnrchased 
for ten shillings pei' acre and afterward sold 
for twenty dollars ])er acre. 

Mr. and JMrs. Lerieh were the jiareuts of 
ten children but only three are living. Will- 
iam F.. born in 1840, was a member of the 
Fifth .Michigan Volunteer Infantry during 
the Civil wai' and was wounded at Charles 
City crossroads. lie married Elizabeth Par- 
rish, near Ftica, and died in 1883, leaving 
a son and daughter, William F. and Sarah. 
Isaac N., born in 1842, was also a member 
of the Fifth ^liclngan Volunteer Infantry 
and was wounded and lay on the battle-fiold 
for fourteen d;iys, after which he was taken 
prisoner. Following his convalescence he 
was made a captain and afterward major 
at San Antonio, Texas. There he married 
Emma Duller and died in 1883, survived by 
six children, ("leantha, horn :May 14, 1838, 
became the wife of (ti-ant Underwood, living 
near Kochester, ^Michigan. Later the.y re- 
moved to Nebraska. ^Irs. Underwood died 
in April, 1904. They had six sons and one 
daughter. Sarah, horn June 27, 1848, is the 
widow of Walter ililler and resides in Kene- 
saw, Nebraska. She had four sons and two 
daughters, but only thi'ce sons are yet liv- 
ing. Lillian, born -lulv 6. 1854, is an artist 
and the wife of Will'is Miller, of Oxford, 
Michigan, by whom she has one son, Mau- 
rice, ^largaretta, born ilarch 3, 1836, Hale 
born March 20, 1851, Joseph, born January 
25. 1850, and Jamie, born September 10, 
1858, all died in infancy. Libei'ctta PL, born 
January 20, 1S45. has sjx-nt most of her life 
in ^lacomb county. In 18f)5 she became the 
wife of Addison J. (ireen, the oldest child 
of Calvin and Louisa (Baldwin) Green. Cal- 
vin Green was an extensive farmer of Oak- 
land countv. Tie came from New York to 



^Michigan with his father, James Green, and 
settled in Oakland county at an early period 
in its development. Addison J. Green, also 
a progressive farmer of .Macomb county, was 
one of seven children, three of whom are 
still living, nanu4y : ]\lrs. INlary Sjn-ague 
and ilrs. Lucy Sprague, of Pontiac. Michi- 
gan ; and Mrs. Avis Keyes, who resides in 
that locality. Addison Green died May 25, 
1905, leaving besides his widow three sons 
and three daughters: Gerls T., who mar- 
ried Mary Kessel, of Oxford, and conducts 
a meat market at that place; Loa, a teacher 
of science in the high school of Big Rapids; 
Cleo, who was educated at Utica and after 
teaching school for two years near ]\Iount 
Clemens has resided in Utiea, caring for her 
aged grandfather since 1898: Benjamin C, 
of Lapeer, who married Josie llollistcr, of 
O.xford, and has a son and daughter : Wallace 
A., a stockdealer of Oxford ; and Bretta E., 
the wife of John L. Wallace, of Drumbo, On- 
tario, by whom she has one son. 

'Sir. and ]\Irs. Lerieh went through the usu- 
al experiences of pioneer life. ^loney was 
very scarce in those early days and was not 
to be depended upon, for it was issued by 
banks without apparent security by which 
the bills could be redeemed. They fluctuated 
greatly in value and land values were equal- 
ly unstable. The money was called red dog 
and wild cat currency or by other names 
equally fanciful. The people saw very hard 
times and starvation seemed to threaten many 
a family at an early day. In one year the early 
settlers used their ashes and got from them 
salt which they took to the town and traded 
for the necessaries of life. The rates of 
postage were exorbitant and ^Ir. Lerieh tells 
that the first letter he received had a postage 
of seventy-five cents upon it, hut the letter 
contained two hundred dollars, so that he did 
not demur in paying that amount. He has al- 
ways been a strong temperance man and 
would not sell his grain to the distilleries. 
At one tiTue he evidenced his dislike to the 
business by salting some corn with which 
he had to pay a note. This prevented the 
corn from fermenting quickly enough to be 
used for distilling purposes. The man to 
whom he gave the corn was very indignant 
and clainuMl he could not feed it to his stock 
as it might kill the hogs, but ]\Ir. Lerieh said 
that he would j)ay for all the hogs killed by 
salted corn. He has always been a champion 
of right and progress. He first voted for 
Birney, being one of the first seventy in the 
United Slates \vho cast a ballot f(U' the aboli- 



5i6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



tiou candidate. The second time liirney re- 
ceived about seven hundred votes. Mr. Le- 
rieh ^vas a very strong anti-slavei'v man and 
did all he could to further the cause, and 
when the crisis came he gave two sons to 
the Union army. 

In 1889, realizing that old age was fast 
coming upon them, ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Lerich sold 
the old home, Springhill, and removed to 
the Fishbough cottage, a half mile west of 
l^tiea, which 'Siva. Lerich had previously ]iur- 
chased and to which she gave her girlhood 
name. Here she i)assed away in ^lay, 181t8. 
ifr. Lerich is one of the most estimable men 
of Macomb county, of .strong character and 
stalwart purpose. He is to-day one of the 
oldest settlers in this part of Michigan and 
is the patriarch of ^Macomb county. With 
the efficient care of his granddaughter, iliss 
Cleo, he bids fair to i-each the centurA' mark 
onlv fo>u- vears awa\\ 



MERTON B. SMITH. 



There is no single agency which has exer- 
cised a more potent influence than the press 
in the promotion and conservation of advance- 
ment in all the normal lines of human i)rog- 
ress. The press is both the director and mir- 
ror of public opinion, and ilaeomb county has 
been siguall.A' favored in the character of its 
newspapers which have aimed to advance its 
interests and have assisted in laying fast anil 
sure the foundatinns of an enlightened com- 
monwealth. ]\Ir. Smith of this review is pop- 
ular in Romeo, where he conducts a well-edit- 
ed paper, The Romeo Observer, which is a 
worthy representative of .journalism in Mich- 
igan. 

^Ir. Smith was born October 25, 1868, in 
the city where he yet ivsides, his parents l)e- 
ing Ti'mothy A. and Mary L. Smith. The 
father came tn Michigan from Middletown, 
Connecticut, in 1852, and engaged in n\ov- 
cantile pursuits until 1875. when lie wcnl 
u]i(in the road as a traveling salesman, lie 
died .]u\\r 1. ISDI), ill the sixty-tifth year of 
his age, his birth having occurred in Dellii. 
New York, August O, 18:?1. His wife. .Maiy 
I^aurissa Prentiss, who was boi-n in Romeo, 
October 4, 18li'), passed away Anuust 27, 
1888. 

Mei'toii B. Smith was a student in the vil- 
lage schools until lil'lerii yciii's of age, when, 
having linislicd the work of the seventh grade 
in the high scliool, lie eiitereil the office of The 
Romeo Observer ;is a printiT and with this 



paper has since been connected as employe 
or owner. He purchased the plant and build- 
ing of the late George A. Waterbury, Decem- 
ber 4, 1894, and has since given his energies 
to the conduct of the paper, which in its 
make-up i>resents a neat appearance and in its 
eomjiosition is a bright, newsy journal, treat- 
ing in interesting manner the local events and 
the questions of national interest. The Ob- 
server is also the champion of republican 
principles, for Mr. Smith lielieves firmly in 
that party. He was elected on that ticket to 
the office of village president in 1895. serving 
for one term. He was village trustee from 
1901 until 1903 ; village treasurer from 1889 
until 1901 ; and was again elected to that 
office in 1903, serving until 1905, so that his 
incumbency in that position covei'ed four 
terms. 

,Mr. Smith was married December 19, 1894, 
ill Romeo, to ]Miss (irace I). ;\Iillen, a daugh- 
ter of Captain and ]\Irs. William F. ilillen, of 
Romeo. Socially he is connected with Ro- 
meo lodge. No. 41, A. F. & A. M., which he 
.I'oined in 1889. The following year he became 
a member of Romeo chapter. No. 17, R. A. ]\I. ; 
ill 1892 of Rome() commandery. No. 6, K. T.; 
in 1895 of ^Moslem Temple, Nobles of the 
]\Iystic Shrine of Detroit: in 1897 he joined 
the Independent Order of Foresters; and in 
1903 the Knights of the ilaccabees. Pie is a 
gentleman of kindly disposition and unfail- 
ing courtesy, enjoying the respect of all who 
know him and the friendshi]) of many with 
whom he has come in contact. 



OTIS B. .M.VLLOW, M. D. 

Dr. Otis B. Mallow, who is devoting his at- 
tention to bathing practic(> in ]\Iount Clem- 
ens and has now a liberal i)atronage, was born 
ill Washington Coiirthouse, Ohio, August 26, 
1875. His paternal grandfather, Simeon 
.Mallow, was a native of Frankfort, Ohio, and 
one of the pioneer residents of the southern 
part of the state, lie engaged in buying 
Mild selling live stock throughout his business 
career and died at tlie advanced age of oighty- 
si.x years. His sou, .lobii Mallow, was born 
in Frankfort, Ohio, and i'oi- many years was 
engaged in fai'iiiing and the real-estate and 
banking business. He also lieeami' a large 
landowner in that state, having a valuable 
farm of six hundi'ed acres in addition to other 
pro])erty. He mai'ried .Miss .lulia Bush, a 
native of Frankfort, and a daughter of Solo- 
mon Hush, who built the first stone hoiis(> in 




M. B. SMITH 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COFNTY 



519 



Cri'ciitickl. Oliiii. lie iiwiK'd tlu' hirgest sU)ro 
in 1> raiikfort. Oliio. jiiul he made his home iu 
those two towns. l)ein<i' an active factor in 
their material j)ro,u:i-ess and development, lie 
also nuilt several mills anil engaj;ed in the 
maniifactnre of cotton goods, while later he 
tnrned his attention to merchandising, lie 
reached the very venerable age of ninety-seven 
years. His daughter. Mr.s. ^lallow, passed 
away in l!S.S3. at the age of foi'ty years, and 
John Mallow is still living. 

Dr. Mallow of this review was a puhlie- 
sehool student of Washington Courthouse, and 
later entered the Riverside .Military School. 
of Poughkeepsie. Ni>w York, when si.xteen 
years of age. He was ;ifterward a student in 
Kenyon Militaiy Academy, where he spent 
one year, and the following year he entered 
the Ohio Wesleyan I'niversity, at Delaware, 
Ohio, where he pursued a three years" course. 
thereby completing his more specifically lit- 
erary education. He next began preparation 
for his profession, matriculating iu the Ohio 
Medical College, at Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
lie i)ursued the regular course. He also added 
to his knowledge through performing the 
services of interne at the City Hospital, at 
Cinciiniati. This covered a period of one 
and a half years. He was graduated from the 
Ohio .Medical College in May, 1901, and in 
August. 1902. he came to ^louut Clemens. 
Here he entered ui)on the practice of his chosen 
l)i-ofession and he now has a good general 
as well as bathing pi'actice. He is thoroughly 
in touch with the modern methods of the med- 
ical fraternity and is eoustantl.v broadening 
his knowledge by reading and investigation. 

!))•. ;\lallow is a member of the Nu Sigma 
Nu. a me<lieal fraternity, and he also belongs 
to the Macoml) County Medical Society and 
the AnuM-ican .Medical Society. Fraternally 
he is connected with the Mount Clemens lodge. 
No. 6, A. F. & A. M. He is a man of genial 
temperament, painstaking and I'eliable in his 
j)rofession and is prominent both socially and 
])i'ofessionally in his adapted city. 



WAHIJHX 



BLISS. 



\Varren L. Hliss. living on section H, .Ma- 
comb township, was lioi'ii Febiuary 20. IStid. 
on the farm which is yet his place of residence 
and is a son of .Jacob and Aim (Ives) Bliss. 
The father, born in Norfolk, P^ngland, in 
1828. was a son of John Bliss and was de- 
scended fi'om a long line of English ancestoi's. 
He was reared in the country of his nativity 



and there married .Miss Ives, also a native ol' 
England. Two children were born to them 
ere they emigrated to the new world about 
1>^41. They spent three years in the state of 
.\ew York and about 1845 came to .Michigan, 
settling ui)on a farm in ^lacomb lownsl\ip. 
.Macomb county. Later .Mi-. Hliss purchased 
forty acres of land, where his son Warren 
L. iu)w resides, and this he began to im- 
prove, tilling the fields. ])lanting his crops, 
and in due course of time reaping good har- 
vests. When his labors .justihed investment 
in more land he extended the bounilaries of 
his fai'iii until he had seventy-one acres well 
e(iuipi)ed with good buildings. He con- 
tinued his farming o|)erations until his life's 
labors were endeil in death on the 20th of 
April. 1901. His wife had jiassed awa.v sev- 
ei'al years before, dying on the 5th of ^lareh. 
1895. This worth.v couple were the parents 
of five sons and a daughter, who are yet 
living, and they lost two children in earl.v 
youtli. The others are: William, who is 
repi'esented elsewhere : Alfred, who resides 
in Benzie (Muint.v. ^Michigan: Squire Bliss, 
who is living in the same county: WarriMi 
L. of this review: Albert, a resident of Da- 
vis, Michigan: and Hannah, who is the 
eldest of the family and is the widow of 
George Davis of Benzie eount.v. The daugh- 
ters who died in childhood were Helen and 
Rosa. 

Warren L. Bliss was reared upon the 
home farm and pursued a district-school ed- 
ucation. When his time was not thus oc- 
cupied he assisted his father on the home 
farm, eventually resumed its management 
and at length succeeded to the ownership of 
the ]>lace. He was mai'ried in New- Haven. 
Macomb county, on the 11th of December. 
189:^ to ;\liss Rachel Avery, who was born 
and reared in this eount.v and is a daughter 
of Tilden Averv. a native of New York- and 
a gi'anihlaughter of Ben.iamin Avery, one of 
I he early settlers of this part of the state. 

Following theii' nuirriage Jlr. and Mrs. 
Bliss began their domestic life on tln' old 
homestead farm and have since lived ui>oii 
the place, his attention being given to gen- 
eral agricultural jmrsuits and to the raising 
and feeding of stock, his specialt.v being 
l)ure blooded Shropshire sheep. His busi- 
ness alVaii's have been capably conducted 
and his enter])rise and det(>rmination form 
the basic elements of his prosperity. He 
votes with the republican i)art.v but has 
never been an active seeker for office. He 
and his wif<' are members of the Methodist 



520 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



Episcopal cliuiT-li aud are well known in the 
locality where they have so long lived. Mr. 
Bliss having spent his entire life npon the 
farm which he yet owns and operates. 



IIAKVEY L. SCOTT. D. D. S. 

Dr. Harvey L. Scott, a dental practitioner 
of .Mount Clemens and lecturer on the anat- 
omy of the head and neck in the Detroit 
iledical College, was born in the city of 
Detroit. November 5. 1873. a sou of George 
and Sophia Scott. His jiaternal grand- 
father, (ieorge Scott, was connected with 
the Canadian government service as a mili- 
tary officer. His father. Captain George 
Scott, was born in Canada and became a 
sailor and master or lighthouse tender, thus 
representing the United States for thirty- 
five years. He was also a man of consid- 
erable literary aliility and was author of 
Scott 's Coast Pilot for the Great Lakes. He 
jniblished this for twenty-two years and his 
son. Harvey L.. has continued its publica- 
tion. Captain Scott was also a school 
teacher of ^lacomb county for several years. 
He came to the United States in early life 
and was a most highly respected and valued 
resident of the commimities in which he 
made his home. Captain Scott died July 7, 
1893. at the age of sixty-two years, while his 
wife, who is a native of England, is still 
living in Blount Clemens. They were mar- 
ried in this county. 

Harvey L. Scott at the usual age entered 
the public schools of Detroit aud continued 
as a high school student. He first sailed on 
the Great Lakes after putting aside his text- 
books anil later secured a clerkship in a 
drug store in his native city, spending a 
year and a half in that way and at the same 
time he attendetl the high school. Deter- 
mining upon a professional career he ma- 
triculated in the Detroit College of iledi- 
cine. Sejitember 23, 1891, and was graduated 
therefrom in April, 1894, having completed 
the regular course. He afterward re-entered 
the dental department of that college from 
which he was graduated in June, 1896, and 
thus he won the degrees of M. D. and D. D. 
S. He opened his office for the practice of 
dentistry in Blount Clemens in June, 1896. 
and has since continued here with marked 
success, having a constantly growing pa- 
tronage. He has a s])len(lidly e(|uii)ped of- 
fice, sui)plied with all the modei-n appliances 
of dentistry, and is most painstaking and 



careful in his i>rofessional service, while his 
work has given the utmost satisfaction to 
his many patrons. He is now lecturer on 
the anatomy of the head and neck in the 
Detroit iledical College, which position he 
has filled since 1896, and he is a member of 
the Delta Sigma Delta. 

Dr. Scott was nuirricd in Septemhci'. ]S99. 
to Miss Jennie Hartley, a daughter of O. K. 
Bartley of Blount Clemens. Fraternally he 
is connected with the Knights of Pythias 
and in ^lasonry with the lodge, chapter and 
council of Mount Clemens and Romeo com- 
maudery. K. T. He also belongs to the 
Miiuiit Clemens Club and is i)opular in these 
various organizations, his genial mainiei- 
and deference for the opinions of others 
winning him favorable regard. He has also 
figured to some extent in piiblic life here 
and in 1903 was elected to rejjresent the 
fir.st ward in the city council. He possesses 
a progressive spirit and indomitable enter- 
prise, which have been important factors 
in the upbuilding of the middle west, is a 
man of nnich force of character and is to- 
day recognized as a leader in his jirofession 
in ]\rount Clemens. 



URIEL DAY. 



Uriel Da\'. deceased, who was pi'oniinent in 
pioneer times in ^lacomb comity, was Ixirn in 
Otsego county. New York, December 10. 1810, 
a descendant of Kobei't and ^lary Day, who 
emigrated to America from England in April, 
1634, and settled at Newton, now Cambridge, 
^fassachusetts. His parents were Harry aud 
Nancy (Chambei'lin) Day, also natives of Ot- 
sego county. In early life he lived for nine 
years in Pennsylvania and in 1833 arrived 
in ^lichigan, casting in his lot with the pio- 
neer settlers who were reclaiming this region 
for the uses of the white man when hitherto 
it had been in the domain of the red race. He 
cleared and developed a farm on .section 7, 
Armada tt)wuship. ])lacing the land tmder a 
high state of cultivation and making his home 
there until his death. 

On the iL'th of September, 1S33. .Mr. Day 
was united in iiiai'i'iage to ^Ti.ss Olive Sperry, 
who was born August '22. 1812. In their fam- 
ily were four children: Emily, who was boi'n 
June 2."), 1834, and became the wife of Sanuiel 
llulett. their home being in Armada town- 
shiii; Coi-delia. who was liorn June 8. 1S37, 
and is the wife of Captain Henry Howgate, 
a resident of Washington, I). C; Caroline ^I.. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



521 



who \v;is horn Drci'iiiliiT Hi, ISlift, ami is the 
wife of Kohi'i't .McKay, who was living in 
Brnee township; and Lm-inda E., who was 
born Oetobei- Iti, 184.1, and married John 
McKay, of Honieo. riicl Day. the suh.jeet of 
this sketch, died May 14. ISStl, and his wife, 
Olive, died March :i(), l.S8(i. 

Mr. Day was prominent and iiilliiential dur- 
ing the early ejioch in the history of .Macomb 
county, lie did not confine his attention 
alouc to his farming interests but was pro- 
gressivi> in citizenship and business affairs. 
lie was a direetoi- and organizer of the Citi- 
zens National Bank of j-iomeo, Michigan. Plis 
political support was given to flii' republican 
part.\" and foi' inaii\' years lie was a consistent 
and helpful member of the .Methodist Episco- 
jtal church, eontril)uting liberally toward the 
erection of the houses of worship of that de- 
nomination in Homeo and Armada. Thtis his 
life was well spent and proved of value to his 
fellowmen. 



Tll().\rAS EDWAHl) COOK. 

Thomas Kihvard Cook, living on section 
84, Leiu).x township, is a representative, in 
both the maternal anil paternal lines of hon- 
ored pioneer families of ^laeomb county who 
have contributed to its development and 
have assisted in transforming it from a fron- 
tier region to a center of an enlightened 
civilization. He was born in the village of 
New Haven. Se])fend)er 19, 1873, a son of 
Isaac ;M. and Harriet K. (Phelps) Cook. The 
paternal grandparents, Thomas and Laura 
( .McDowell) Cook were natives of New 
York state and there Isaac ]\I. Cook was 
born June 4, 1824. He removed from the 
Emjiire state to Iowa in 1841 and in 1843 
came to ^laeomb cotmty. After several 
changes of residence he finall.v located in 
Lenox township, living on the Ed E. Phelps 
farm, where he began dealing in horses. He 
continued that business until 1854, when 
he fornu^d a partiu^rship with Adam Ben- 
nett and opened a general mercantile store 
in New Haven. After conducting that en- 
terprise for twelve years they disposed of 
the bu.siness and Mi'. Cook again devoted 
his time to buying and selling cattle and 
horses. In 1880 he purchased the Phelps 
homestead, wliicli lie farmed in connection 
with his stock-dealing, being thus engaged 
until his death in li)()4. His wife has also 
])assed away. She was a daugliter of Kdwin 
C. Phelps, who was born near Brooklyn, 



.New York, and came to .Macomb county in 
1830, settling in Mount Clemens, where he 
liveil for five years, when he took up his 
abode in Lenox towushij) and purchased 
from the government what became known 
as the Phelps homestead — the proj)erty upon 
which Thomas E. Cook is now living, lie 
began at once to clear his land and Iniilt 
the residence which is still standing. For 
many years he owned and controlled a 
part of the old Gratiot turnpike and the 
building which he used as a toll house is 
one of the landmarks on his farm. For ten 
years he engaged in the ojierafion of a saw- 
mill two miles north of his home, but the 
mill was destroyed bj- fire and he afterward 
gave his nndivided attention to his agri- 
cultural pursuits. He was always prominent 
and lu'lpful in township affairs and educa- 
tional matters, being the champion of all 
hi'lpful measures, and he also did much to 
promote the work of the Congregational 
church, of which he was a long devoted mem- 
ber. 

Thomas E. Cook pursued his education 
in the district schools and in the Detroit 
Business College and was thus well ecpiipped 
for the practical and responsible duties of 
life. lie lived with his father in New Ha- 
ven and assisted in the work of the farm 
until 1898, when he was given full charge 
of the place. He has remodeled the house 
and buildings and has made many substan- 
tial improvements. He has built wire 
fences, has drained the land and has secured 
modern farm implements to facilitate the 
work of the fields. He has always carried 
on general farming but is now largely^ mak- 
ing a specialty of dairying and intends to 
give still more time to that branch of his 
business, the products of his dairy finding 
a ready and jirofifable sale on the market. 

On the li)th of September. 1901, Mr. Cook 
married Miss Carrie M. Bates, a daughter 
of William and ]\fary (Van Voorhes) Bates, 
of New Haven, Michigan. They have one 
daughter. Harriet Eleanor, born February 
2(1, 190;"). .Mis. Cook's ])ai-ents were natives 
of Lenawee and Macomb counties, respec- 
tively, and her father came to this count.v 
in 1843, Mdien only six months old, his pa- 
rents settling in Chesterfield township. He 
lived on the old homestead there until 18fi5. 
when lie i-emoved to New Ifavim, where he 
has since followed the trades of a stone-ma- 
son and plasterer. lie was married, Decem- 
ber 2;), 1871. to ^riss !\Iary Van Voorhes, of 
Chesterfield lownshiii, whose jiarents came 



522 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACO:\rB COT'NTY 



to this county in 1846. ;Mrs. Cook is the sec- 
ond of their three living children, her broth- 
ers I)eing' Charles and Frank, who are livint; 
in Detroit. 

Mr. Cook has been iiathniasler of his dis- 
tricl but prefi'i's to leave office holding to 
otiicrs, while he concentrates his energies 
upon his business affairs, Avhich are now 
jn'oving jirofitable and which demand the 
greater part of his time and attention. With- 
out engaging in speculation he has won a 
desirable eom])etence and is known as one 
who is reliabli', accurate and just in all 
business transactions. 



JOIIX A. WOLF, SR. 



John A. Wolf, Sr.. was born in Sarentine, 
(iermany, ^lareh 17, 1815, and died in Mount 
Clemens, ^Michigan, July 22, 1902, at the age 
of fifty-seven years. lie was the only son 
of John and Elizabeth (Williams) Wolf, but 
there were nine daughters in the family : 
Mrs. Caroline C. Cladewitz, a widow living 
in Mount Clemens; Christina, who married 
John Ileide and died leaving two children 
to the care of the father ; Wilhelmine, who is 
the wife of John Dusse, of Mount Clemens 
and has four children; Rickie, who married 
Charles Gust and died leaving eight chil- 
dren; Mary, who died at the age of nineteen 
years ; Tine, who is the wife of Anthony 
Leach of Blount Clemens and has five chil- 
dren; anil three who died in Germany before 
the emigration of the family to the new 
world. John A. Wolf. Si'., was but nine 
years of age when they crossed the Atlantic 
and settled in Macomb county, Michigan. 
His father followed farming in Clinton town- 
ship for some years and both parents died 
in Mount Clemens. 

During his boyhood John A. Wolf, Sr., 
wiirki'd upon i\\o home farm, assisting in the 
labors of iii'ld and meadow, and as op])or- 
t unity iiffiM'c'(l he attended the public schools 
but bis cducalioual privileges were limited, 
lie rontinui'd to aid in the operation of the 
liiiMir fai'ni until the time of his marriage, 
when he canu' into ]ioss(>ssion of that tract, 
comprising one hundred and sixty acres in 
Clinton tewnsliii). There lu^ carried on gen- 
ci'al farming until 1895. He nuide man.y im- 
provements ujion the place and added all the 
ctpiipments and accessories found upon a 
model farm, while his fields were placed un- 
der a very liii:b slate of cultivation. In 1895 



he removed to ]\iount Clemens and Iniilt a 
house at No. 404 Cass avenue. 

On the 30th of May, 1873, Mr. Wolf was 
married to Jliss Wilhelmine Zabel, a daugh- 
ter of Gottlieb and Wilhelmine (Schultz) 
Zabel, both of whom were natives of Farm- 
wold, Germany. On emigrating to America 
they resided in New York state, afterward 
went to IMichigan and subsecpiently removed 
to .Miiuiesota, where their last days were 
passed, the father dying in 1903 and the 
mother in 1904. ]\[r. Zabel was a tailor by 
trade and thus jn'ovided for his family. Of 
his children ]\Irs. Wolf is the oldest, the 
others being: ilary, who wedded Joseph 
I'almer and both died leaving four children ; 
.Malvine, the wife of William Voelker, a resi- 
dent of ^Minnesota; Augusta, the wife of 
Fred Muckenhausen, of River Falls. Wiscon- 
sin : Tine, the wife of Joseph St. Peters, 
whose home is near Tacoma, Washington; 
Lena, who is married and lives in Washing- 
ton : William, who died at the age of twenty- 
one years; Louisa, who dii'd at the age of 
ten years; Albert, who married a Miss IIl- 
rich and lives in Pittslnirg; Bertha, who 
died at the age of eight years; and Rosa, 
who died at the age of five years. 

Unto Mr. and ]\Irs. Wolf were born six 
children ; Rosa, born ]March 6, 1873, was 
married October 31, 1896, to John Lucht- 
iiuin, of Mount Clemens, and died February 
2(i. 1902, leaving two children, ^label and 
Elmer. Lena, born March 28, 1875. was 
married December 6. l!H)0, to Fred Stadlet, 
of ;Mount Clemens, and they have one child, 
John. Mary, born April 28, 1877, was mar- 
ried February 19. 1900, to Joseph ililler, of 
Mount Clemens, and they had one child, 
Eleanore. who died in 1902. Elizabeth, born 
April 1. 1880, was married September 7, 
1904, to (ieorge Lovejoy, of Detroit. John 
A., Jr., born October 17, 1883, and Albert, 
born June 21, 1887. live with their mother 
in Mount Clemens, having a comfortable 
home at 404 Cass avenue. By a previous 
marriage Mr. Wolf had one son, William, 
who is working on the homestead farm in 
Clinton townshi]i. Tie was born March 26, 
1869, and was nuirried September 6, 1895, 
to BiM'tha Drover, by whom he has one cliild. 
Irene. 

Ml'. Wolf was a member of the German 
Evangelical church of Mount Clemens, to 
which his widow still belongs. His political 
support was given to the republican party 
but he was never active in seeking office. 
While on the farm he always ])ri>ferred to 



PAST AXI) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



523 



give his nndividrd atlnilion tti his business 
ali'aii-s ami liis well directod ell'drts brought 
to him a yratifyiug nu'asure of sufi-css. wliile 
his integrity in business and his unremitting 
energy eommended him to the respect and 
contidenee of all. 



CHAELES S. FEREIX. 

Few men are more prominent or more 
widely known in the enterprising eit.y of 
Mount Clemens than Charles S. Ferrin. He 
has been an important factor in business 
circles and his popularity is weir deserved, 
as in him are embraced the dmracteristics 
of an unbending integrity, unabating energy 
and industry that never flags. He is now 
proprietor of a large hardware store and is 
conducting an extensive and growing busi- 
ness. 'Slv. Ferrin is a native of Fort Gratiot. 
JMichigan. born April 15, 1868. his parents 
being Samuel C. and Arvilla H. (Smith) 
Ferrin. who were natives of New Hampshire. 
Both tlie Ferrin and Smith families came 
from early New England ancestrj^ and the 
subject of This review is also a descendant 
of the celebrated ]\Iorse family of Revolu- 
tionary fame. The father came to Michigan 
when a young man and was engaged in rail- 
roading. He ran the first train over the 
^Michigan Central Railway as engineer and 
was connected with other early events which 
find mention in the annals of the state. He 
died in 1888 at the age of sixty-six years, 
while his wife still survives him and resides 
in Blount Clemens. Thev were the parents of 
foin- children: Ida. the wife of G. T. Ti- 
beao, of Detroit; Nellie, the wife of Spencer 
J. Dalby. of Blount Clemens; Herbert L., of 
Port Huron, ^lichigan ; and Charles S. 

In taking up the personal history of 
Charles S. Ferrin. we present to our readers 
the record of one who has a wide and fa- 
vorable acquaintance in Blount Clemens. He 
pursued his education in the schools of this 
city, completed a high-school course and af- 
terward attended the Detroit Business Col- 
lege. Entering upon his business career in 
mercantile lines, he was for six j'ears em- 
ployed as a salesman in the hardware store 
of Czizek Brothers, of .Mount Clemens. He 
afterward spent two years in New York 
city as salesman for the Sprudel Water Com- 
pany, handling the Mount Clemens product. 
He was afterward for two years salesman 
for R. H. Tngersol of N<>w York city. In 
January. ISltT. lie 1)egan a )ilninbing and 



heating business in ])artnership with A. P. 
(Mover under tlu" linn style of (ilover & 
Ferrin. of Mount Clemens. On the IGth of 
October, 1899, they bought the general hard- 
ware business of F. AV. Preussel. at No. G3 
l-"ront street, and th(> ])artnership between 
Ihem was continued until Mr. Glover's death 
in April. PitH. .Mrs. Glover retained her 
Inisband's interest in the business iintil Jan- 
uary. 1!)0:}. at which time the entire stoclc 
was pureliased t)y ilr. Ferrin and he has 
since conducted one of the best stores of the 
kind in Slount Clemens. He handles a full 
line of .shelf and heavy hardware, stoves, 
fishing tackle, paints, oils, jilundjing, heat- 
ing and gas fitting sujiplies. sheet iron, etc.. 
and is conducting a successful business not 
only as a hardware merchant. Init also as 
l)luraber and gas-fitter and in this connection 
lie does high grade work for the leading 
liotels of Mount Clemens. 

Mr. Ferrin is a member of Mount Clemens 
lodge. No. 6. A. F. & A. :M. ; ]Mount Clemens 
lodge. No. 1(58, K. P. ; Detroit lodge. No. 34. 
B. P. 0. E. ; and other fraternal organiza- 
tions. He is a man of marked energj- and 
determination in business affairs, possessing 
the typical s])irit of the west that has led 
to the rapid development and upbuilding of 
this section of the country, lie lias numer- 
ous friends and his excellent traits of char- 
acter have made him popular. 



WILLIAM BLISS. 



William Bliss, who has for many years 
been a resident of ]\Iaeoiiib county, was liorn 
in England. August 18. 1850. and in his 
childhood days came to the new world with 
his father. Jacob Ifliss, one of the pioneer 
residents of this part of the state. His boy- 
hood days were passed in the usual manner 
of farmer lads of the period and tlie common 
schools afforded him his educational privi- 
leges. He gained ])ractical kfiowledge of the 
best methods of farming, assisting his fatluM- 
in the operation of the home place up to the 
time of his marriage. That im])ortant event 
in his life occurred near Ray, ^lichigan, 
January 7. 1873. the lady of his choice being 
]\Iiss Mary J. Willey. who was born and 
reared here and who is a daughter of Will- 
iam Willey, one of the early settlers who 
came to the west from the Empire state. 
After their marriage they lived upon a rent- 
ed farm for several years. He continued 
lo engage in agricultural juirsuits at Sara- 



524 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ilACOMB COUNTY 



nae for four years, owiiinir a place there, 
and ou selling' that property lie piirehased 
■where he now resides, heeoining the owner 
of forty acres of wild land. The brush and 
tinibei' upon it havinu' been cleared away he 
continued the arduous task of preparing- his 
fields for the i)low until in due course of 
time his labors were rewarded by rich har- 
vests. Then came the ambition to possess 
a greater tract of land and by the careful 
husbanding of his resources and the econom- 
ical management of his farming interests 
he was at length enabled to cxt<'nd boun- 
daries of his place until he now owns one 
hundred and twenty acres. Here he has 
good buildings and that he is successful as 
a stock-raiser is indicated by good grades 
of domestic animals found ujion his place. 
His farm is neat and thrift.v in ajjpearance 
and indicates his carefnl supervision. 

Uuto 'Sir. and IMrs. Bliss have been born 
two children. Ileniy L. Burton and Wilber 
F. The parents ai'e members of the .Metho- 
dist Pjpiscopal church in which ]\Ir. Bliss 
is serving as steward, and his political alle- 
giance is given to the republican party. 
From his boyhood days he has lived in Ma- 
comb county, known to many of its citizens 
not onlj' by reason of his long residence 
here but also because of the creditable place 
he has made for himself in the business 
world. 



JOSEPPI J. DOWLTNti. 

Joseph J. Dowling. a resident of Mount 
Clemens, who has been well known in theat- 
rical circles for several yeai's. was born on 
the 4th of September. IHoO. and is a son of 
-James and Fredericka (Edsti-eni) Dowling, 
natives of Penns.vlvania and Sweden respec- 
tivel.v. The father died in California. In 
the famil.v were three children: Laura, who 
marrietl a ^Ir. Jones and is now deceasiMl : 
James, who died when about thirty-two 
.vears of age; and Joseph J., of this review. 

.Vs an actor Joseph J. Dowling has met 
will] good success and for about fourteen 
years had charge of tbi-cc |)0])ular ]ila.vs 
under the titles of Nobod.v's Claim, Never 
Say Die and Ked Spider. He is now on the 
vaudeville stage, and in that line of work is 
also meeting with markecl success. He S(>ems 
especially fitted for the profession which In^ 
follows and has become rpiite pojmlnr. 



At Cambridge, ^Massachusetts, in May, 
1882, .Mr. Dowling married ilrs. Sarah J. 
Ilassen. nee Beri-y, who was born in Ottawa, 
Canada, on the 29th of .May. 1853. She first 
married William Ilassen. by whom she had 
a daughter. Lottie, who was born in ^laj', 
1873, and is a graduate of the Sacred Heart 
Convents at Buffalo and Rochester and of 
St. Clary's at Monroe. New York. For some 
time she sang in the choir of the Catholic 
chui-ch at ilount Clemens. She married 
Walter Dowling. a druggist of ]\[ount Clem- 
ens and they haxc "iic son. ;\laurice H. 
Dowling. To our sub.ject and his wife was 
born a son, Joseph F., Avhose birth occurred 
September 22. 1890. He attended Assump- 
tion College and is now cm|)loycd at the 
Sherman House of Moiuit Clemens. 



CHARLES H. GATZ. 

Charles H. Gatz is numbered among the 
native sons of ;\Iacomb conntj', his birth hav- 
ing occurred in the village of Konieo ou the 
loth of January, 1876, his parents being 
William and Christine (Dittman) Gatz, both 
of whom were natives of Germany, where 
they were married. The father was born 
in Rossow, Germany, on the 25th of July, 
1839, the son of Frederick Gatz, Avho was 
also a native of Rossow and was a farmer 
by occupation. He later came to America 
in 1869 and died in ^Macomb county, ^lichi- 
gan, in 1870, at the age of seventy-two years. 
His wife, Dorothv Gatz, jiassed away in 
1854, 

William (iatz. our sub.ject "s father, was 
reared and educated in his native town and 
served for three years in the German army 
from the age of nineteen until twenty-two. 
He was married in Rossow to ^liss Chris- 
tine Dittman, a native of the same place, and 
before leaving Germany four children were 
boi'u to them, namely: .Minnie, now the 
wife of ^lai-shall Tillson of ^leade, I\richi- 
gan: .Mar\', the wife of Charles Gentz of 
.Mount CleuKMis; John F. and August, also 
I'esidents of Moiuit Clemens. In America 
five other children were added to the fam- 
ilv: Anna, the wife of Albert Holtz; Frank 
F.. Charles IT., INlartha. the wife of L J. 
Fox, and Johanna B.. all i'(>sidents of Blount 
Clemens. It was in 18(i9 that William Gatz 
bi-ought his wife and children to the new 
world, taking i)assage on the sailing vessel 
Chi-istian. which dropped anchor in the har- 
bor of New York after a voA'asre of seven 




WILLIAM AND lOHN F. GATZ 



PAST AXO I'KKSENT OF -MACO.MJi CUlXTY 



527 



wei'ks. Thi'v prdcoiMle.l nt once to Dctroil 
ami "II tn Mount Cleineiis. ^vll(M■(' thry 
sto|)p(Hl I'lir a I'cw (lays, and tlic'ii went to 
Uonii'o. .Mr. Gatz ohtaint'd work on a farm 
near that place and later operated rented 
laud for about twelve years. He then pur- 
chased eiirhty acres in Ijai)eer county and 
continued to eniiage in apricnUnral ]>ursnits 
until 18!)(), when he removed to .Alount Clem- 
ens, bec'ominir a member of the firm of J. F. 
(iatz & Company. He and his wife are still 
honored residents of this city. 

Charles H. (Jatz pursued his eai'ly educa- 
tion ill till' pulilir schools of Romeo and 
continue. 1 his st\ulies in Mount Clemens. In 
18912 he entered upon an apprenticeship to 
the tailor's trade under Henry Kunstmann, 
with whom he served for three years. He 
then went to Duluth. Minnesota, where he 
was employed for a short time and subse- 
quently he located in Jlount Clemens, where 
he besa'i business on his own account. Here 
he has ])rospei'ed from the besinninii:, and 
to-da.v he commands the leading trade in his 
line in this cit.v. He attended the John J. 
Mitchell Com]ian.v Cutting School of New 
Yoi'k. the leading' institution of the kind in 
the countrv. Mr. Gatz received his diploma 
July B, 1901. He is to-da,v one of the rejire- 
sentative business men of Mount Clemens, 
having a large trade because of the excel- 
lence of his work, the superior line of goods 
which he carries and his earnest efforts to 
please his man.v patrons. He has originated 
a trouser cutting system and this is used in 
his own shop. He is also secrefai'.v of the 
Artificial Stone ('(Mii]ian.v of Blount Clemens 
and is recognized as a man of excellent busi- 
ness capacit.v and executive force. 

;\Ir. (iatz belongs to Blount Clemens lodge. 
No. 168, K. P., of which he is one of the 
trustees, and IMecca temple. No. 56, D. 0. K. 
K. He is also a member of ]\Iount (^lemens 
camii, .\'o. 2968. il. W. A., and is its worth.v 
advisoi-. He belongs to the Ftiresters of 
America, and to Mount Clemens camp, No. 
9, W. O. W. He is true to the teachings and 
tenets of all these organizations, of which 
the.y have for their basis imitiiMl licipi'iilncss 
an<l hi'otherly kindness. 

.Mr. I Iatz was married .lul.v .'>. 1900. to 
Catherine F. Keils. a daughter of Hubbard 
and Anna (llannof) Keils. The father is 
now deceased, but tlir mother is living in 
]\rount Clemens. .Mr. (iatz is one of the na- 
tive sons of Macomb count.\'. whose life 
record reflects credit upon the localit.v in 
which lie was reared and has alwavs made 



his home. He has utilized his o]ipoi'tunities 
to L:iiod advantage and through the exercise 
of his active i)owers and unfaltering ])erse- 
vrrance he has gained a creditable position 
in business circlrs in .Mmiiit Clemens. 



JOHN F. (;atz. 



John F. Oatz is one of the important fac- 
tin-s in the iiusiness circles of Jlount Clem- 
ens, being at the head of the welbknown 
firm of J. F. (iatz & Company, T\'holesale 
Mild retail iialscrs. A native of (ierman.y, he 
was iiorn in tlic province of Brandenburg, 
Prussia, .la iiiui ry l!(l. iStiT. and is a son of 
William and Christina (Oittman) (iatz. The 
father wa-i born in Kossow. (ierman.v. on 
the 25th of Jul.v. LS:59. a son of Frederick 
(iatz. who was also a native of Rossow and 
was a farmiT b.v i)i'cu]iatioii. The latter 
came to America in 18()9 and died in Ma- 
coml) count.v. .Mi(diigaii, in 1870. at the age 
of sevent,v-two .veai-s. His wife. Dorothy 
(iatz. ]iassed awa.v in 1854. 

AVilliam (iatz, our siiliject's fathei'. was 
reared and educated in his native town and 
served for three ,veai's in the (ierman army, 
fi'om the age of niiiefi'eii until twenty-two. 
He was marrieil in K'ussow to Miss Chris- 
tina Dittman, a native of the same place, and 
before leaving (ierman.v four children were 
born ti) them, nainel.v: Minnie, now the 
wife of .Marshall Tillson. of .Meade. ..Michi- 
gan: ]\larv the wife of Charles Gentz, of 
Mount Clemens: John F., of this review: and 
August, also a I'csident of Blount Clemens. 
In America five oilier children were added 
to the famil.N': .\iina. the wife of Albert 
Holtz; Frank F. : Charles IT.: :Martha. the 
wife of I. J. Fox: and Johanna B.. all resi- 
dents of Mount Clemens. It was in 1869 
that William (iatz brought his wife and chil- 
dren to the new world, tiiking- i)assage on the 
sailing vessel Christian, which dropped an- 
chor in the harbor of New York after a vo,y- 
age of seven weeks. They proeeeileil at 
once to Defi'oit and on lo .Mount Clemens, 
where the.v stopjied I'oi- a few days, and then 
wejit to Romeo. .Mr. (iatz obtained work 
on a farm near that place and later operated 
rented land for about twelve .vears. He 
IIk'ii purchased eight.v acres in Laiieer conn- 
\y and eontinued to engage in agricultural 
liiirsiiits until 1890. when hi' i-emoved to 
Mount ('lemens. becoming a member of the 
linn of J. F. (Iatz ()v: Companv. He and his 
wife are still honored residenls of this citv. 



528 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF .AIACOMB COUNTY 



John F. (Jat/. was only two years old 
when he aeeoiiiitauietl liis j)ai"eiits on their 
removal to this eouiity. and to its publie 
sehools he is indebted for the educational 
privileges he enjoyed during boyhood. He 
began his l)usiness career as an agriculturist 
upon a farm two and a lialf miles north of 
Alount t'lemens, in Cliesterfield township, 
but at the end of a year he removed to the 
city in 1891 and was in the employ of the 
.Mount Clemens Brewery for three years. He 
next embarked in the grocery business with 
John Essig, but shortly afterward he and 
his father piu-chased his partner's interest 
in the store, which they carried on under the 
iirm style of J. F. Gatz & Company. Tn 
February, 1905, J. F. Gatz disposed of his 
interest in the grocery business and now 
devotes his entire attention to the wholesale 
and retail bakery trade. The bakery is 
equipped with all modern appliances known 
to the trade and the pi-oducts turned out are 
first class. "Sir. Gatz does not confijie his 
attention alone to this business, but has be- 
come interested in the Mount Clemens Arti- 
ficial Stone Company, which he assisted in 
organizing and of which lie is now presi- 
dent. 

On the L'dtli of January. 1895. John F. 
Gatz was united in nuiri'iage to iliss Kena 
(^hrns, a daughter of the late John Ohrns, of 
Mount Clemens. Mr. Gatz is independent 
in politics, but usuall.v supports the demo- 
cratic party, aiid is a member of the Knights 
of Pythias fraternity, the Woodmen of the 
Woidd and the Foresters of Anun-ica. As 
a business nuin he stands high and has the 
confidence and respect of all who know him. 
Religiously he is connected with the Ger- 
man Evangelical church. 



HON. (iEOR(;E TOW.XSHXl). 

Hon. Geoi'ge Towiisend. a man of affairs, 
wielding a wide influence in business and 
political cii-cles in Macond) county, is now 
serving as a member of the county board of 
supervisors, a position which he has occu- 
])icd for twenty-two consecutive years. Suc- 
cessive re-elecfions indicate in unmistak- 
able terms his standing in jmblic regard and 
also give pi'odl' 111' his capable and I'aithl'nl 
service. 

He was lioi'n in liriU'i' township. S('])tciii- 
bcr 11. l^iilti. and has jiasscd his entii'e life 
in this connly. The faniil>' is of English 
lineage and early ancestors of our subject 



settled in New York. His father, John 
Townsend, was born in (ireene county, New 
York, about 1793, and was there reared and 
educated. In that state he married iliss 
Ann ^liller, also a native of the Empire 
state and a daughter of Squire ililler, one of 
the early settlers of New York. John Town- 
send was a tanner and mei'chant of Palen- 
ville. New Yoi'k. foi- a mnnber of years 
aiul abo\it \S'A'2 he came to Michigan, 
where he entered fourteen hundred and 
forty acres of land from the govei'ument. 
He then returned to New Y(u-k. but in 
1834 removed with his family to Bruce 
township, .Macondi county, where he at (nice 
liegan clearing his land of the native timber, 
pi-eparatory to the work of cultivating the 
fields. He cleared and developed a large 
farm and became a prosperous agriculturist, 
continuing his farming operations up to the 
time of his death, which occuri-ed in 1874. 
His wife stu-vived him for a number of years, 
passing away in 1891. 

In their family were eight childi-cn wiio 
grew to mature years. Four were born in 
New York and three sons and a daughter 
are now living: I'riah. a resident of Al- 
inont, Michigan; George; Clark, who is liv- 
ing retired in Lapeer county: and Julia, the 
wife of Washington ]\Iayiuird, of Di'yden. 
(ieorgc Townsend pui'siu^d his education in 
the public sehools and remained with his 
father until he attained his majority, after 
which he located upon a tract of land that 
his father had entered from the governnuuit 
He began with two hundred acres, which 
he commenced to clear and improve. He 
erected an attractive residence and built a 
substantial barn, has established waterworks 
and a wind-pump, and modern equipments 
of various kinds add to the facility with 
Avhich he carries forward his agricultural in- 
terests, lie both raises and feeds stock and 
he now has a hei'd of thirty-five head of ])ure 
blooded shoi-thorn cattle. He is well known 
as a breeder of and dealer in shorthorn cat- 
tle, especially of the noted Scotch breed of 
Ci'uikshank cattle. He also raises a large 
number of sheep and fattens lambs f(U' the 
market. His business affairs are nmnaged 
with sy.stem and his nu'thodical ,nid pains- 
taking arrangements form a basic element 
of his success. 

Ml'. Townsend was hai)i)i!y married, in La- 

I r county, .Michigan, in ISliL', to ^liss 

Charlotte A. Ballard, a native of .Xshtahida 
county. Ohio, and a daui;htei- of James Bal- 
lard. She came to !\Iicliiuan when a \'ounir 



PAST AND I'liKSENT OF :i[ACO:\IB COIXTY 



529 



liiily of fifteen years. They have but cine 
ehilil. (ii-aee H.. a young- hidy at home willi 
lier ])areiits. 

When age eonferred on .Mr. Townseml the 
right of franchise he gave his first presiden- 
tial ballot in support of Abraham Lineoln. 
in 1S()0. and has voted for each presidential 
nominee of the party since that time. He 
talies an active part in local jiolitics and was. 
elected and served for four years as justice 
of the peace. He was then elected su])or- 
vi.sor and has now served fm- twenty-two 
consecutive years, while in 111(14 he was 
chaii'man of the honorary county Ixiard. He 
is now serving as chnirnuni of the county 
buiUlings committee and is also a mend)er 
of other committees. His work as a member 
of the board has been most satisfactory to 
his constituents and has been mai-ked by a 
support of those measures which induce a 
steady and sulistantial progress. ^Ir. Town- 
send is a member of the Almont lodge and 
chapter of the Masonic fraternity, and in 
the craft, as in other walks of life, com- 
mands the eoulidence and respect of all with 
whom he is associated. JIacomb count.v 
numbers him among her leading agricidtur- 
ists and men prominent in public life. 



ANDREW J. SIKES. 



Andrew J. Sikes, who has departed this 
life, was born 'Slay 19, 1829, in Granville. 
"Washington county. New York, his parents 
being Solomon and Betsy (Crippen) Sikes, 
who were also natives of Granville. His 
father had died in 1855 and the family was 
scattered. The mother died when the son 
was eight years of age and he remained in 
the place of his nativity until ^March 19, 
1852, when at the age of twenty-three yeai's 
he started for California in search of gold. 
He sailed from the city of New York, April 
1. 1852, on the ship Empire, which rounded 
Cape Horn and reached San Francisco on 
the 13th of August of that year. Mr. Sikes 
remained on the Pacific coast until May 20, 
1857, and engaged in mining throughout 
the entire period with the exception of about 
three months. On that day he left for New 
York by steamer. 

]\Ir. Sikes spent four weeks in New Yoi'k 
and then decided to go west, having a 
brother in Romeo, ^Michigan. He arrived 
here on the 1st of Augu.st, 1857, and found 
a number of relatives here. He then con- 
cludi'd til remain and invest his money in 



Macomb county. After his nuirriage in 1858 
he bought a farm of two hundred and thirty- 
lour acres on the western outskirts of 
ilniiKMi and also purchased ten acres of tim- 
liei-land four miles southeast of the village. 
-Mthough he was chicHy engaged in farming 
Tor numy years he was also treasurer of the 
.Macond) County Insurance Company from 
1876 until 1884. He was likewise connected 
with the County Agricultural Society for 
sixteen years and in this direction did much 
to fdsti'i- a progressive si)ii'it among agricul- 
turists. In the work of the church he was 
ever active and inlluiiitial. He held mem- 
bership in the Fii'sl Baptist church from 
.\pril, 1858, u|i to the time of his death and 
was deacon anil clerk of the church from 
June, 1858. His first presidential ballot was 
cast for James Buchanan while he was in 
California and he took an active and helpful 
interest in local politics. 

On the 23d of .\ovendier, 1858, Mr. Sikes 
was married in Romeo to ]\Iiss Sarah C. 
Crisman, a daughter of Jonas and Susan 
(Snover) Crisman, natives of New Jersey. 
]\Ir. and ilrs. Sikes beeanu^ the parents of a 
daughter and son : Ilattie H., who was born 
.March 7, 1872, and is now the wife of Henry 
J. ]\IcKay, a prominent young attorney of 
Romeo, whom she wedded December 14, 
1898; and Willie W., who was born July 
20, 1860, and died June 13, 1876. 

The farm which ^Mi-. Sikes owned and on 
which he reared his family was placed under 
a high state of cultivation and was very 
conveniently and jileasantly located. He 
was a man of nu'thodical habits, systematic 
in all that he did and progressive in his 
various departments of work, so that his 
labors added much to the natui-al advan- 
tages of the farm and it became one of the 
attractive features of the landscape. Hon- 
orable in all that he did, respected for his 
excellent qualities of heart and mind. ilr. 
Sikes passed away November 22, 1896. loved 
and mourned by family and friends. 



FRED B. SCITOTT. 



Fred B. Schott, a mend)er of the Hubarth 
& Schott Com|)an.y of ;\Iount Clemens, deal- 
ers in lumber, lath and shingles, is a native 
of AValdenburg, Jliehigan, his birth having 
there occurred on the 14th of May, 1861. 
His parents were John and Barbara 
(Schemm) Schott. and in his father's home 



53° 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 



his boyhood days were spent. His educa- 
tion was acnuired in attendance at a private 
scliool in AValdenhuTK, in which he was a 
student until fourteen years of atre. Various 
luisiness duties and interests claimed his at- 
tention in earlier life, aud andiitious for 
success and desirous of enteriuo; iipon an in- 
dependent business career, he carefully 
hoarded his earnings until he was enabled 
to become financially interested in the hun- 
bei- business as a partner of the firm of IIu- 
harth & Schott on the 1st of April, 1892. 
Success attended the new venture and the 
business has had a healthful and gratifying 
g:i-owth. It was re-oriranized on the 1st of 
March, 1902, luulei- the present style of the 
Iluiiarth it Schott ('oni])auy. They deal in 
lumber, lath and shingles, are manufacturers 
of interior finishings, bar fixtures, eoiuiters, 
shelving and special fixtures, and do busi- 
ness as general contractors and builders. 
Thi-re are four partners at present, Jacoli 
Ilubarth, Fred B. Schott. Albert W. Schott 
an<l John Webei'. and the firm occupies a 
creditable [lositiiui in imlustrial circles and 
has gained an excellent reputation for re- 
liability in all trade transactions. 

.Ml'. Sclidtt was married. November 21. 
1894, to Miss .Marie :Martin, of Utiea. :\Iichi- 
gan. and they now have two sons, P>lmer A. 
and Lawrence F. Fraternally .Mr. Schott is 
connected with the Knights of Pythias. He 
has never sought to figiu'c in public life, giv- 
ing undivided attention to his business af- 
fairs and following the even tenor of his 
way he has made (-(uisecutive and ci'cditable 
])i'ogress. finding that success is and)ition's 
answer. 



xiriKM.As a:\iets. 



Nicliohis Ameis is a representative of com- 
mercial interests in Halfway, where he is deal- 
ing in implements, general hardware, vehicles, 
sewing maehiiies, jmmuos and organs. His life 
record began in Detroit. .July 14. lS(i2. His 
])ari'nts, .Xicholas and Susan Ameis, wei-e na- 
tive of Brelun, Germany. The father came to 
Michigan in lS:'i2. settling in Detroit, where 
he engaged in the plumbing business. In 
IH'A he formed a ]iartnership as a nu-mber of 
the firm of Hidiert & Ameis, when in this 
connection was established the Center Line 
Brewei-y Company of l)(>troit, which he con- 
ducted for two years, when lie sold out and 
removed to Erin township. .Macomb county. 
Then' he opened a grocery and meal market 



on (Jratiot road, at a place then called Kose- 
ville. but now Halfway. His store was in the 
building which at jiresent is occupied by Au- 
gust Keiii. In 1SS4 he admitted his son to a 
jiartnership under the firm name of Ameis Lt 
Son. and they opened a geuei-al store with im- 
plements aud saloon in connection, conducting 
this at Halfway for a year, at the end of 
which time ilr. Ameis purchasett his son's 
interest but made him manager. The father 
soon aftei'ward departed this life, lie had 
been actively connectetl with varietl business 
interests which contributed to general prog- 
ress and commercial upbuilding as well as to 
his individual success. He was quite active 
in school work, deeply interested in the cause 
of education, and was also a member of As- 
sumption church of (irosse Pointe township, 
in which he served as ti-ustee. His political 
sujiport was given to the democratic party 
and he served as assessor of district No. 2, 
Erin township, for many years. He departed 
this life ill October. 1885, leaving a widow, 
three sons and four daughters, and six of the 
children are yet living, namely: ;\Irs. 
Stejihen .Meyer, of Detroit; ;\lrs. Elizabeth 
Tromblcy, of Warren township: .Mrs. Michael 
0"Larv, of Reice. ^Michigan: Nicholas, of this 
review: Anthony, of Mount Clemens, and 
Catherine A. 

.Nicholas Ameis was a student in the district 
schools in his early boyhood d;iys and later 
he juirsued a course of instruction in a night 
school at St. Paul, Minnesota. .\t the age of 
ei.irhteeii years he entered upon his business 
career by establishing a meat market at Ai'- 
mada in |)artnership with ^lax Broeg and in 
this he continued for one year. aft<'r which he 
sold out and went to St. Paul. .Miniu'sota, 
where he spent the succeeding year. I'pon 
his return to Erin township, Macomb county, 
he (ipi^ned a L^cncral mercantile .store with a 
meat market and saloon in connection, at the 
.junction of (iratiot road and Ftica Junction. 
The father and son purchased the (iauklcr 
estate, including the stock of inei-chandise at 
ll.-dfway. then removed the Junction stock to 
the villa.iic and the |);ii-liierslii]) with his father 
was maintained for a .xi-ar, wln'ii the son sold 
his interest to his lather, who then iiuule him 
manager. Not long afterward the father died 
and the stock was tlu'ii divided. Xicholas 
Ameis purchasing the implement ami saloon 
business, which he conducted for three years 
when he sold the saloon and removed his stock 
of implements to the new store on the east side 
of the I'oad. He has since extended the field 
of his activitx' b\' adding a large stock of gen- 



PAST AND PHKSKNT OF MACOMB COrXTY 



531 



eral hai'dwaiv and stovi's. vi'liii-lcs. si'wiiit;' 
machines, pianos and organs. Throut;li his 
I'uersetie efforts and careful management In- 
has enlarged his business until he has found 
it neeessary to rclmild in order to maUe room 
foi' his fast gi'owing stock and meet the de- 
mands of a constantly increasing trade. He 
now has six thousand s(|uai'e feet of tlooi- space 
devoted to implements, three tiiousand sipiare 
feet to hardware, twenty-tive huiulred siiuarc 
feet to vehicles and fifteen hundred S(|uare 
feet to oi'gans. pianos, sewing machines and 
stoves. The building is lighted throughout 
by acetyline gas. has teleiihone connections. 
all modern eciuipmcnts and is situated on tiie 
line of the Rapid Railway. This is one of the 
largest implement houses in the state and one 
of the most extensive department stores of the 
county. It is the result of twenty-three years 
of earnest and jiersistent business activity and 
is a moniuiu'ut to the useful life of its owner. 
On the 21st of Jantuiry. ISS-t. Mr. Ameis 
was married to Miss ilary Girardy, a daugh- 
ter of Joseph Girardy. of Halfway, and their 
children are: Katherine. who is ai^ting as 
bookkeeper for her father: ]\Iay. Kosa, Stella. 
Sylvia and Beatrice, all at home. 'Sir. Ameis 
always gives his jiolitical allegiance to the 
democi-atic party and has served as township 
clerk for four years, as supervisoi- for three 
years, as school treasurer of district No. '2 in 
Erin township for about seventeen years and 
at present is a member of the board of 
dii'ectors. lie belongs to Assumption church 
in (Jrosse Pointe township, of which he has 
been trustee for two years, and he is also a 
member of St. Josepli Society. Fraternally 
he is connected with Mount Glemens lodge. 
No. 2968, :M, W. a.: Royal Neighbors camp. 
No. 257: ^lotnit ("lemens Branch, No. 20, of 
the C.itholic Mutual Benefit Association, and 
Elks lodge, No. M-t. of Detroit. The field of 
business is limitless, its prizes are many, and 
realizing this .Mr. Ameis determining to win 
success through close ap()lication and uin-emit- 
ting diligence, has gained a jilacc among the 
leading I'cpi'esentatives of conuiiercialism in 
Macdinli riiunt\'. 



.101 IX Fl'RTOX. 



•lohn Furton is a representative of one of 
the oldest families of .Michigan. His grand- 
fathei' was a native of France and was one 
of the first settlers of Detroit. In that city 
his son, Francis Furton, was born in 1788. 
The latter was I'cared in Detroit and was 



nuirried first to Susan Shna.\. a native of 
France. Mr. Fni-tou follow<Ml the oci/npation 
of fanning, bcccjiniiii; a resident ol' Wayne 
county and later he I'cmovcd to .M;ieomb 
count.v in 1844. He secui'cil a tract of land of 
I'ight.v acres in .Macomb townshii). It was in 
its primitive condition, not a stick of tind)i'r 
having been c-iit or a furrow turned, but he 
at Dwrr cleared away the native forest trees 
and in due course ol' time plowed the land, 
planted his cro])s and reap<'d good harvests, 
lie I'cared his family up<ui that i>lace and 
made it his home throughout his lemaining 
days, passing away in 18()(l. In the mean- 
time he lost his first wife and later nuirried 
again, his second wife surviving him for a 
few years. 

John Furton. son of Francis and Susan 
(Shuay) Fui'ton, is the youngest of a family 
of four children and was boi'u in Wa.vne 
cotndy. Michigan. I)ecend)er 4, 1825. Two 
of the family are yet living, the sister being 
.Mis. .Mary Barbour, of Detroit. John Fur- 
ton «as reared in .Michigan and was a young 
man of about nineteen >'ears when the fam- 
ily came to ilaeomb county. His education, 
however, was largely aci|uired in Mount 
Clemens. He assisted in the arduous task 
of developing a new farm here and remained 
with his father on the old homestead until 
t went.\-eight years of age when he pur- 
chased a place of eight.\' acres which he im- 
])roved. making a substantial home there. 
As a coin|)anion and hel])niate for life's .iour- 
ney he chose ^liss ilelissa Xewconib, who 
was born and reared in X"ew York. Their 
marriage was celebrated in ]\Iacomb county 
and for thirty-four years they traveled life's 
.iourney together, but in 1S88 were sepa- 
rated by the death of the wife. There were 
two children b\- this marriage: Ella, the 
wife of David F. .lones of Meade: and Juni- 
t'tta. Avho married Frank Stewart and died 
aliout 188H. .\fter losing his first wife :\rr. 
Furton was married in this county about 
1889 to .Miss Helen Cotton, who died' in 1902. 
In October, 190:i. he wedded Louisa Bloss, a 
widow, who was born in Wayne counlx'. Xew 
York, and is a daughter of John A. Fries, 
a native of the Empire state, who reared his 
family there, coming west to ^fichigan in 
1861. lie then locatetl in ^Fount Clemens, 
where he spent his last years. 

Politically Mr. Furton is a stanch reinibli- 
i-an but has never been an office seeker. Pie 
and his wife are identifieil with the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church of which he has been 
a member foi' fifty-one vears. He is one of 



532 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ]»IACOMB COUNTY 



tln^ oldest liviiiii- of the native sons of ^Miehi- 
yan and his jineestral history is one of close 
and intimate eoiineetion with the events 
M-hieh form the early history of the state. 
He has long been aeeountedone of the sub- 
stantial farmers of ]Macomb county, but has 
now laid aside the more arduous cares of 
the agriculturist and is living retired in the 
village of .Meaile, where he has a good home 
iind where he is enjoying a well earned rest. 



willia:\i c. doxxer. 

William C. Donner, who for fifty-three 
yeai's has been a resident of ^lacomb county 
and now makes his home in Blount Clemens, 
was born in Prussia. Germany, on the 20th 
of :March. 1831. His father. Frederick Don- 
ner, spent his entire life in that country. The 
mother bore the maiden name of Charlotte 
Ilammen and was also a native of Germany. 
This worthy couj)le lieeame the parents of 
fifteen eliildren. but only William ('. of this 
review is now living, although three others 
came to America, where they died. Fred- 
ericka married August Sehrader. who was 
a laborer of Romeo and who in his political 
affiliation was a democrat, while in religious 
f;iitli they wei'c connected with the German 
Lutheran church. They left three children. 
John Donner married Yetta Gooden and 
they had three children, Mary, ^linnie and 
Fred. John Donner was a farmiM- and he 
too. voted with the democracy and held 
mendiershi]) in the German Lutheran church. 
Fred Donner, who also became a resident of 
the new world and is now deceased, married 
(ierta Holtz and they had three daughters, 
;\Iinnie, Emma and Annie. He followed 
farming at Xew Haven in Lenox township 
and died in the year 1899, his remains be- 
ing interred in the Xew Haven cemeter.v. 
He. too. suiiported the princi])les of the de- 
mocracy, while his religious faith was that 
of the (ferman Lutheran church. 

William C. Donner spent the days of his 
boyhood and youth in his native land and 
was twenty-one years of age when in 1852 
he came to the United States. ^Nfaking his 
wa.v to [Michigan, he secured employment 
by the month near Romeo, and for nine years 
he remaiiu'd in the service of ^Ir, Baile.v, 
who was the first settler of that locality. At 
the time of the Civil war he espoused the 
cause of his adopted country and enlisted 
as a'defender of the TTnion, liccoming a mem- 
ber of the Ninth Afichigan Infantry. On one 



occasion he was kicked by a horse and the 
broken leg that resulted caused him to re- 
main in the hospital for six mouths, at the 
end of which time he was discharged from 
the service. 

In 186-4 ilr. Donner was united in niar- 
I'iage to ]\Ii.ss [Minnie Hortney, who was of 
French descent and whose father served in 
the French and (ierman war. Following his 
marriage .Mr. Doiuier engaged in operating 
a farm in ^lacond) township on the shares 
for three years and on the exjiiration 
of that period he engaged in the cultivation 
of a farm in Ra.v townshi]) for three years. 
With the caiiital he thus acrpiired through 
his own labors and perseverance he pur- 
chased a tract of land of one hundred anil 
six and a half acres in Chesterfield town- 
ship. This was all wild and uncultivated, 
not a furrow having been turned nor an im- 
])rovement made, but he soon cleared the 
land and made nianx' substantial improve- 
ments, including tlie erection of a briidc 
house and frame liai'u. He also set out an 
orchai'd and built rail fences and later he 
replaced these liy wii-e fi'uces. His farm 
was piirchased in lS7(i. and he resided 
thereon continuously until 1S1)2. when he re- 
moved to Mount Clemens, where he pur- 
chased a house and two lots and is now liv- 
ing retired. In his farming opei-ations he 
was quite successful, having a tract of land 
whieli he ])laced under a high state of eulti- 
vati<in iind which therefore returned him an 
excellent income, and which in <lne coui'se 
of time has su])))lied him with a comiietence 
that now enables him to live a retired life. 

T'nto Ml', and .Mrs. Donner were liorn the 
following children : Phnma, the eldest, died 
at the age of five years. Henry, born Janu- 
ary 27. 1864. became a fireman on a boat 
and died in a hos]iital at Duluth. [Minnesota, 
when thii'ty-one years of age. Louis mar- 
ried Carrie Bacon and has two i-hildren. 
Effio and Roy. He lives in [Mount Clemens 
where he is eni|)loycd as motornuin on a 
street car. In ])olities he is a democrat and 
in religious faith is coiuiected with the Ger- 
nmn Lutheran elini'eh. Frank Donner, 
whose political and religious relations are 
the same as his bi'othei', is now a teamster in 
the eniiiloy of l)(Uuildson Brothers of [NFount 
Clemens. He married Kate Parker and has 
one son, Frank Donner, Jr. Ilattie is the 
wife of William Turceny, a l)arber of Mount 
Clemens. He belongs to the Woodmen lodge 
and votes with the democracy. Ida is the 
wife of Adam Reichrath. who was at one 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



533 



time an enoiiieer on the laki- and aftiT- 
ward condneted a saloon. He died soon af- 
ter his marriage. Jennie, who is engaged in 
dressmakiiit;', also acts as her fnthei-'s house- 
keeper. 

It was in VMV-i thai .Mi'. Doniiei- was called 
upon to mourn the loss of his wife, M'ho 
pa.ssed away in that year and was laid to 
rest in the Clinton Grove cemetery. For 
thirteen years he has lived retired in Jlonnt 
Clemens, his home being at 24 Gallnp aven- 
nue. There he resides (|uietly, en.joying the 
frnits of his former toil. lie is a democrat 
in his political views and has long held 
membership with the German Lnthi>raii 
church. During a residence of fifty-three 
years in the county he has Avitnessed many 
changes here and has seen the development 
of Blount Clemens from a small town into 
a thriving citv. 



THOMAS FANNING. 

Thomas Fanning, whose name in connec- 
tion with important business interests has 
become well known in ilichigan and in city 
markets, is now a wholesale dealer in eggs 
— a member of the tirni of Wcter, Fanning 
& Comj)any, of Richmond. A native of the 
Empire state, he was born at Sunnier Hill. 
Cayuga county. New York, September 11, 
1852, and is a son of Patrick and Bridget 
(Walpole) Fainiing, both of whom were na- 
tives of Ireland, whence they emigrated to 
America settling in Cayuga county. New 
Y''ork, and afterward removing to (iroton, 
that state, where the father spent his boy- 
hood days. He responded to President Lin- 
coln's first call for troops and afterward 
enlisted, serving throughout the entire war 
and taking part in many luinl fought en- 
gagements. He was honorably discharged 
at the close of hostilities and returned to his 
home with a most ci'cilitable military record. 

Thomas Fanning, the second in order of 
birth in a family of six children, spent his 
early boyhood days in Groton, New Y''ork, 
but left home in his youth in order to pro- 
vide for his own sup|)ort. Tn A])ril, 1879, 
he arrived in Richmond, where he began 
work for Ilaro]) Freeman as foreman of the 
egg business. He continued in that capacity 
for six years, having previously had experi 
ence in the same line in New York before 
his removal to the west. Al the time of hi.s 
arrival in Richmon<l .Mr. Freeman luid but 
one cellar as a warehouse and most of tlu; 



eggs were pickleil. Later in connecticni 
with James E. AVeter and ^lartin Keider he 
purchased Mr. Freeman's business and they 
contiiHied together under the firm style of 
Weter, Fanning & Company. This fii-m has 
since reiiresentecl the egg trade in Rich- 
mond aiul this part of thi- state. The l)usi- 
ness has been very lai-gely inci'cased. They 
have a nuiin warehouse, fifty by eighty feet, 
two stories in height and basement, built of 
brick. The shook room is thirty-eight by 
seventy feet and that buililing is also two 
stories with basement. The storage ware- 
house of the same height is thirty b.y one 
hundred fe(>t. These buildings were con- 
tained in the t)riginal plant and the eomitany 
has since added a storage room, built of 
brick, two stories with basement, tift\' by 
one hundred and ten feet. They also have 
stable room foi- twelve horses and twelve 
wagons which ai-e used in collecting the eggs 
and they have handled as high as one million 
dozen eggs in a season. At the beginning 
they handled only about thirty-three thou- 
sand dozen, but their business has steadily 
increased until it has reached the present ex- 
tensive figure. They make shipments large- 
ly to New York. The firm contiinied pick- 
ling eggs until 1902, but now all are shipped 
fresh from the refrigerators by means of 
refrigerator cars and most of the output is 
sent to New York. 

On the 4th of May, 1887. Mr. Fanning 
was married to INIrs. Arabell Freeman, the 
widow of his former employer, Harop Free- 
man, and the sister of his partner, James 
\Vetei-. They have one child, Rena Bell. 
The fiiiiiily home is a nice modern residence 
situated ojiijosite their jJant. The history 
of no citizen of Richmond is i)ei'ha])s a bet- 
ter repi'csentative of a self-made man than 
that of ]\rr. Fanning. All that he has to- 
day has been ac([uired through his own ef- 
forts aiul his gi'eat success should furnish 
both a lesson and iiu-eiitive to the young, 
while his life is an example also of "■■einnne 
worth and unswerving integritv. 



GEORGE L. FRIDHOFF. 

(ieoi'ge L. Fridhotf, who is leading an in- 
(lusti'ious life as an active and enterjjrising 
I'miiiici' on section 2, Warren township, was 
born A])ril 18, 1854, in Ei-in townshi|). his 
jiai-ents being John aiul Ann ( Feiirnstein'i 
Fridhoff, both of whom were natives of Ba- 
varia, Germanv. The father was born on 



534 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Christiiui.s day, lSl:i. and was in his thirty- 
fifth year when, in 1848. lu' crossed the At- 
lantic to America and made his way into 
the interior of the country, settling- in Erin 
towiislii]). Macondi county.- ]\richi,san, near 
Jhdfway. lie ])urcliased an unimjiroved 
tract of land whicli he developed into a 
good farm, working earnestly and persis- 
tently day after day until 1864, when he sold 
that property and removed to Warren town- 
ship, bnviiio- the old farm homestead, upon 
which his son (ieorge yet resides. Here he 
liad again to battle with the diifieulties and 
obstacles incident to the development of a 
new farm, but he made improvements and 
carried (in his woi-k until his labors were 
rewarded. While living in Erin township 
he was a devoted mendier of the Assum]ition 
church and following his removal to War- 
ren he l)eeame a mendier of St. Clemens 
church at Center hiiie. lie died July 4, 
1897. leaving a widow and three children: 
John •!.. (d' Portland, Oregon: Ceorge L. : 
and Aiulrew. who is also a resident of Port- 
land. Mrs. Fi-idhotf passed awav on the 
i:3th of :\Iay, 1904. 

George L. Fridhoff pursued his education 
in the district schools and in his youth be- 
came familiar with all the duties and labors 
that fall to llie lot of the agricultui-ist. lie 
gave his father the benefit of his services 
until 1881. when he went into the Unnber 
woods of the northern jieninsula, where he 
coidinued for a year. He afterward went 
to ^linnesota, where he engaged in farming 
and in carpentering and in 1883 he returned 
to the okl farm homestead in Warren lown- 
shij) and took charge of the farm upon 
whicli he has since lived. While there have 
been no exciting chapters in his life record 
he is I'cgarded b.v friends and neighbors as 
;i man of good business qualifications and 
thoroughly reliable. He has made many im- 
])rovemen1s in his buildings, also in tiling 
and fencing the land and he is now a |)i'os- 
pei-ous general rarnier. 

On the -Jfilh of Xoveiiibei'. 1S,S9. .Ml'. Frid- 
hotf was married lo .Miss .Mar\- A. Callahan. 
a daughter of Patri(d< C. and Mary (Phalen i 
Callahan, of Ei-in townshiji. both of whom 
wei-e natives of Ireland, whence the\' caiiic 
to .Ma<'oinl) e<iunty in 184(). settling in Erin 
township, where ihey lived foi' many years. 
The mother passed away October 20, 1881. 
and in 188() .Mi-. Callahan I'ctired from ac- 
tive work and riMrioved to Detroit, where he 
|)assed away (»etoiier 111. 1!I0L'. In his Tam- 
ilv were four ehildi-en: Kicliard. (d' De- 



troit; Patrick F., of Birmingham, Michigan; 
Rose, who is living in Detroit; and Mrs. 
Fridholf. Unto oiu- sub.ject and his wife have 
been i)orn five children. Stella il.. Rosa A., 
George A.. A'incent I. and Irene .Margaret, 
all at home. Mrs. Fridhotf is a jnember of 
St. .Mary's Aid Society of St. Clemens 
ehureh. The family is well known in their 
home loealit.v and Mr. and Mrs. Fridhoff 
enjoy the friendly regai'il of many with 
whom thev have been associateil. 



FRANK P. GERLACH. 

Frank P. Gerlacdi, one of the enterprising 
young business man of Halfway, was born 
in Erin township in June. 1874, his parents 
being Frederick and Katherine (Ulrich) 
Gerlach, who were natives of German.y. His 
paternal grandfather. Christian Gerlach. 
came to JIacond) couidy in 1834 and settled 
in Erin townshij) on the (iratiot road. M'here 
he entered land from the government, the 
deeds of which were signed b.v Andrew Jack- 
son, then president of the United States. 
Aftei- clearing his land in order to make a 
home, he started a general store and also 
followed the trade of carpentering. He also 
built a brewei'v on the farm, which he con- 
ducted for a nund)er of years. He was a 
well educated man and took an active part 
in the deveIo|iment of his community along 
social and industrial lines. He possessed 
considei'able oratorical abilit.v and was fre- 
<pientl.v called upon to deliver addresses at 
public gatherings. He established in his 
home a (Jernuin school, which he conducted 
foi- a nundier of years and so persistent was 
his activity and so useful and helpful his 
services that his death ])roved a great lo.ss 
to the comnuuiit.v and was the occasion of 
deep regret wherever he was known. 

Fredei-ick (ierlach. his son. was boiii in 
(iei'many in 1829, and was thei'cfore five 
yeai's of age when brought by his jiarents to 
.Macomb eount.v in 1834. While still living 
with liis father he took the initial sti'ii to- 
ward having a home of his own b.\' |)urehas- 
ing ti'ii aeres of land that is now incduded 
within the homestead pro])ei'ty of Frank 
(ierlaidi. When he was married he settled 
on that place and he extended its boiuidai'ies 
IVoiii time to time liy additional purchase 
until he was the ownei' of one hnndreil 
aei-es. Later he sold eighteen acres of this, 
leaving eighty-two acres upon which his son 
Fraidc is still living. Upon this fai'm was 



PAST AXIJ I'KESEXT OF .MACO.Mli COU.NTV 



535 



situMti'd tlic first liotcl on tlic (ii-atiot nnid 
lictwi'cii Dcti-oit and .Mount ('Icnii'iis. This 
was fill' many years a landmark in those 
i'arl\ days at tile time when llie pioneer 
settlers would drive IVom M.-iriin' ('ity and 
intet'veninu' points to Drtroit. ihc hold lie- 
iui;' one (d' theii' stoppiiiL;' places and tiliTr 
were ot'ti'n thirty or forty teams |)ut np tiiere 
over iiitiht. .Mr. (iei-laeh tU'vofe<l his atten- 
tion to the farm and the raisini;- of eat- 
tie and also houiiht ami sold stock'. His 
business intei-ests wci-c well iliri'ctcd and 
lirouuiit to liini a tiiiod linancial return. lie 
was a ercat lover n\' ontdocu' spoi'ts. pai'tic- 
nlarly of huutiut;', and amone- those wlio 
were lovers of that life he was regarded as 
one of the best shots in this part of the eouu- 
try. His record foi- one day"s hunt was four 
deer: seven in two days; and in the fall ol' 
1864 liinig up thirty in twenty-one days, 
which he disjiosed cd' in Detroit at sixteen 
cents per |iound, netting liim two hinidred 
and si.xty-four tlollars. After the ganu' had 
disapjieared from ilaeond) county lie always 
si)ent from tliree to foiir weeks hiuiting in 
the upper |>eninsnla. usually aoeonipanied 
liy one of his sons oi- sonic fri(>iuls. His 
last hunting trip was maile in Xovember 
previous to his death, when he was seventy- 
four years of age. and he had the satisfac- 
tion of returning with three deer. He died 
in 1!H)3 anil his widow is still living with 
their son Frank. He was kimwii through 
the county as a i-cliahle an<l lionest. fair- 
dealing man. lie has hd't a I'ecoi'd of which 
his children are i)roud. antl his death was 
mourned by hiuulreds. who showed their 
feelings liy attending the ftuiei'al. 

In the distinct schools P^rank (lerlaeli be 
gan his education, which he continued in the 
I)i4i-oit Business University, being gradu- 
ated therefrom in 18!):i He remained with 
his father, assisting him in his farming and 
stock-raising interests until ISilS, when he 
went to Mount Clemens to accept a ]iosition 
as hookkec|)er for J. R. Hatzeidudiler. Two 
years later he resigned, inteniling to go west, 
but at the re(piest of his father he returned 
to the home farm and as.inned its niaiiaire- 
iTient. -Although he has always followed 
U'ciu'ral farming he has concentrated his (d'- 
foi'ts iiKM-e an. I moi'i' lai'e(dy upon the culti- 
vation of raspberi'ies. ha\iiiu' now seven 
acres planted to that fi-int. tin- pi'oduet of 
\\hi(di finds a i'e;id.\- sale upon Ihi' market. 
In till' near future he expects to devote ali 
id' his time to this industry. wlii(di reipiires 
mu(di studx' and attention in order to 



bring the fruit to perfection. lie certainly 
produces a high grade of rasjibcu-ries and the 
business is briniiing liim a vi'i-y gratifying 
profit . 

Ml-, (ii'i'laeh is a member (d' tin- .Modern 
Wooilmeii c;im|) of -Motuit Clemens. l|e was 
married in May, 19013. to Miss Ijillian Kiheii, 
a daughter of William Kihen, of Lenox, <ind 
they have one child, Waiuieta. .Mr. (icrhndi 
is a wiile awake, progressive young man 
with good business perceptions and already 
has made foi- himself a creditable ])osition 
as a representative of agricultural and liorti- 
ciiHural interests in his native cinint\'. 



C.MJIorX TCCKKR. 

Calhoun Tii(d;er, (d' .Moiiiit Clemens, is a 
repi'esentative <d' one of the old families of 
Michigan, his patermd grandfather, Charles 
Tu(d<er, having come to this state in the 
period of its early pioneer develojiment. He 
was a native of Virginia. Coming to the 
west he cast his lot with the pioneer set- 
tlers of I\lacomb county wdien Michigan was 
lar.gely uiu'xplored and undeveloped. He 
became the owner (d' foiu' thousanil foiu' 
hundred and thirty aci'cs which he pur- 
chased from the Indians. He gave to catdi 
of his seven sons six hundred and fort.v 
acres (d' land, on whicli they all settled ex- 
cept the eldest son, Henry, who I'csided a 
]iart of the time in Canada. Charles Tucker, 
Sr., acted as interpi'cter for the Indians 
during his early settlement in .Macomb 
county. He became very familiar with their 
language anil lu^re translated their speeches 
into English when tlieiv was an occasion for 
a meeting between the wdiite and I'cd races. 
Ih' niiirried a .Miss Chanibei's, by whom he 
had the following childi'cn : Henry, ^lary, 
Sar;ih, William, Kdward, .lohn, Jacob, 
Chai'les and Xancy. 

Of this number Charles Tindii'r is the 
father of oiii' subject. lie was bmai dime 
:i, ITS!), at River Huron, now .Mount Clem 
I'lis. Keared amid pioneer surroundings he 
took an active and hel|)ful interest in the 
dcveln]unent of this portion of the state. 
He was given six hnmlred ;iiid forty acres 
cd' land b,\' his fathc^i' and for many years 
he followed fariiiiiie. beiiii; inie id' the lead- 
ing pioneer farmers id' the state. Tin' I'csi- 
deiits (d' .Macomb county at that time owned 
slaves and Charles Tucki'r had fifteen bonds- 
men, whose sei'vices were utilized in tlie de- 



536 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MAC0:MB COUNTY 



velopiiiciit and cutivation of his farm. At 
the time of the war of 1812 he was eaptured 
and sent as a prisoner of war to Detroit, 
where he was incarcerated- for sixty days, 
being there at the time of General Hull's 
surrender. He married ]\Iiss Catherine 
Evans, who was born in Canada, February 
13, 181(5, and they became the parents of 
fourteen children, all natives of ^liehigan, 
namely: Richard, born February 9, 1817: 
Eliza, born June 23, 1818; Amanda, born 
:\larch 13, 1820: James, born July 17, 1822; 
Adelia, born July 4, 1824; Alexander, born 
Febi-uary 28, 182(j: Lafayette, born ^May l.'i, 
1828: .Malvina. born December 15, 1829: 
Calhoun, born September 7, 1832 : Louise, 
born September "), 1834; Joseph, born March 
23, 1838 ; Helen, born August 13, 1840 ; 
Franklin, born March 3, 1842; and Allyron, 
born :March 22. 1844. 

Calhoun Tucker is indebted to the district 
school system of Harrison township, ^Fa- 
comb county, for the educational privileges 
he enjoyed. He was born in that township 
September 7, 1832, and when not engaged 
with the duties of the schoolroom he worked 
\ipon his father's farm, assisting him ma- 
terially until twenty-one years of age. He 
then started out in life on his own accomit 
and for sixteen years sailed on the Great 
Lakes. He afterward learned the trade of 
cai'pcntering in ^Mount Clemens, and worked 
in a shipyard as builder and joiner, being 
employed in that manner for a quarter of 
a century. During thirteen years of this 
tiiiir he occui)ied a good position in the 
Bulacks .shipyai-d at Blount Clemens, and in 
1890 he retired from active business life. He 
has. however, since rebuilt the steam barge. 
Atlantas. for John Snook and has also built 
a .steam launch foi- himself. He has a most 
thorough and comi)rehensivc knowledge of 
the ship-builder's trade and his excellent 
M^orknumship. thorough understanding and 
unremitting diligence secured him positions 
of res|i(insibility that also l)i'ought him a 
good financial rctui'n. 

In 1853 'Slv. Tucker was united in mai'- 
riage to ;\Ii.ss Mary Ijcuox. who was born a1 
Port Sarnia, ^Michigan. They became the 
parents of four children: William, who 
was a carpenter of Blount Clemens, died in 
1890. He voted with the re])ul)lican ])arty 
and was a member of the Presbytei-ian 
churcli. Ticonia mai'ried Catherine Hague, 
of Cleveland, Ohio, and was engineer on a 
steamer for nuvny years, but in eonnecti(ui 
with Itis brother Hnrrv is now the owner 



of a naphtha launch anil takes fishing parties 
to Lake St. Clair. In his jiolitical views he 
is a reiJublican. Ella died at the age of 
sixteen years. Harry is captain of the 
launch, the Lulu, which he owns in connec- 
tion with his brother. He married Catherine 
Lemj), who was born in AVaterloo count}', 
Canada, November 13, 1874. He is a re- 
publican. 

In 1903 Mr. Tucker was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 
1st of February of that year and was in- 
terred in the Clinton Grove cemetery. In 
politics he is a republican but has never 
Ix'en an office seeker, preferring to give his 
luidivided attention to his business interests. 
He is well known as a representative of the 
industrial life of Blount Clemens, and his ef- 
forts have been so capably directed that he 
is regarded as a competent as well as re- 
lia])le business man, who has ever enjoyed 
the confidence of those whom he served and 
with whom he has come in contact. 



JAMES CRAWFORD. 



James Crawford, son of Robert Crawford, 
was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, June 24, 
1827, and emigrated to America in ilay. 1831, 
and being the youngest of four sous always 
lived with his father and shared with him 
the hardships and pleasures of a pioneer life, 
and helped his father build a home in the 
wilderness. He has seen the home of the 
bear, the deer and the wolf changed into fine 
farms with fine stock of all kinds on them. 
He helped to clear the fir.st piece of land for 
wheat and has lived continuously in the same 
home for seventy-one years. He has seen the 
winding sled track through the woods changed 
to a straight graveled road. He has been a 
successful breeder of fancy cattle and has 
been a veteran breeder of fine wool sheep. 
He commenced to improve and breed between 
fifty and sixty years ago. and the descend- 
ants of those sheep are on the farm at the 
ju-esent time. He bred for densit.y, length of 
stable and fineness, and he succeeded in all 
of them and doubled the weight of fleece and 
the buyei's allowed that there was moi-e de- 
lane wool than any flock that they came 
across. 

Mr. Ci'awford was married June 28. 1856, 
to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth (Morton) Borland, of Ayrshire, Scot- 
land, and had three children : Robert J., 
born Septcmlier 1, 1857; Thomas B., born 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



537 



December 10, 1858 ; and Annie E., born April 
28, 1862, who died February 15, 1876. :\Ir. 
Crawford is a republiean, a Free ^lasoii and 
a Congregationalist. 



ROBERT CRAWFORD. 

Robert Crawford was born in Ayrshire, 
Scothind. August 4, 1796. With his wife and 
family he left his native land to eome to this 
country in the year 1831. and calculated when 
he left Scotland to go directly to the Scotch 
settlement east of Alniont. but when he got 
as far as Buffalo he stopped there and 
thought that he would earn some more money 
before he went into the woods. After he had 
been there about six months he fountl that 
the cholera wa.s very bad all around where he 
lived. Jlrs. Crawford fretted a great deal 
night and day for fear that some of the fami- 
ly would take the cholera. She was the only 
one that took it and she only lived twelve 
hours after she took it. ^Ir. Crawford was 
left with a family of seven small children 
among .strangers. He lived in Buft'alo about 
twelve months after his wife died. After he 
had made up his mind to go on with his .iour- 
ney to the Scotch settlement in ^liehigan, he 
took passage on the old steamlwat Superior 
for Detroit. On arriving there he rented a 
room and put his family and goods into it, 
and then went on foot to the settlement to get 
a team to take his goods and family to Romeo. 
There were no plank roads, railroads or elec- 
tric cars running out from Detroit in those 
days. He got Captain Chamberlin to go and 
fetch his family and things to Romeo. He 
rented a farm about a mile northwest of Ro- 
meo fi-om Mr. Chamberlin and lived on it one 
year and then moved to Ariiuida. He bought 
the northwest quarter of the northeast (|uar- 
ter of section 17 at government price and the 
southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of 
section 17, and afterward added more land 
so that the farm consisted of two hundred 
and sixty acres. He then put up his log 
house which was the fashion in those days 
and commenced to enjoy the hai'dshijis of 
pioneer life. i\Ir. Crawford cleared a large 
farm for himself and chopped over one hun- 
dred acres for his neighbors. ^Ir. Crawford 
with his two sons, Alexander and James, kept 
their own house for twelve years. They 
washed, baked and matle butter. He some- 
times went to Detroit with an ox-team and it 
used to take a week to make the trip. He 



would take a load of farm produce and bring 
back supplies, such as groceries, salt, etc. All 
supjdies that pioneers needed were dear, and 
farm labor and produce wi're cheap and 
money was seai'ce. 

Mr. Crawford lived until be was past ninety 
years, and was always cheerful ami apparent- 
ly happy, struggled through difficulties and 
hardships, bore up under trials to a remark- 
able degree and lived to an old age, passing 
away peacefully in a few days aftrr his time 
had come. 



C. E. LOCKWOOD. 



C. E. Lockwood, who resides on section 32, 
Washington township, is a representative of 
the stock-raising interests of ^lacomb county. 
He was born on the farm where he now re- 
sides, December 14, 1855, and is a son of 
Timothy Lockwood. whose birth occurred in 
Genesee county, New York, on the 19th of 
November, 1817. His pateriud grandfather 
was Jerome Lockwood, a son of Captain 
Timothy Lockwood, who was of Scotch an- 
cestry and served with distinction as an officer 
in the Revolutionary war. Jerome Lockwood 
came to ]\Iichigan in 1819 and was joined by 
his father in 1822. He cleared and opened 
up a farm in Macomb county, upon which his 
son Timothy grew to manhood. Here the lat- 
ter was married to Miss Mabel Ewell, also a 
native of New York and a daughter of Peleg 
Ewell, who was one of the pioneers of this 
county, becoming a prominent farmer and 
large landowner having fourteen hundred 
acres of land. Timothy Lockwood located on 
the farm where his son C. E. now resides and 
for many years he was engaged in the im- 
provement and cultivation of this place. After 
a useful and well spent life he died on the 
13th of November, 1889, and his wife, who 
survived him for a few years, passed away in 
1893. They were the parents of five children, 
namely: Murray, who married and followed 
farming in Washington township until his 
death: Thomas J., a farmer of Portland, 
Ionia county. Michigan ; Flora G., the wife 
of Clark Miller, who.se sketch ai)pears else- 
where in this volume; C. E., of this review, 
and Clara I., the deceased wife of Frank 
Hazleton. 

In the common schools of this county C. E. 
Lockwood acquired his education and he early 
gained a practical knowli'dge of the duties 
which fall to the lot of the agi'iculturist. He 
renuiined at home and at the age of twenty 



538 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF :\[ACOMB COUNTY 



years took charge of the farm, buying it a 
few years later. He has made many good 
improvements upon the phice. including the 
erection of a barn and other outbuildings and 
throughout his active business life has suc- 
cessfully carried on farming and stock-rais- 
ing. For some years his specialty was breed- 
ing and dealing in imported heavy draft 
horses and he now gives particular attention 
to fine pure blooded Von Ilome.yer Ram- 
boulette sheep, being president of the Von 
Homeyei" Ramboulette Club. He has won 
many prizes on his sheep at both county and 
state fairs and his opinions are regartled as 
authority on raising those animals. For sev- 
eral years Mr. Lockwood has also acted as 
agent for land fertilizer, traveling through- 
out this state. He was instrumental in 
organizing the Washington Farmers Club 
and was president of that as.sociation for a 
uuml)er of years. 

On the '2d of October, 1878, in Alaeoml) 
county, ilr. Lockwood was united in marriage 
to iliss Ida Davis, a daughter of Homer 
Davis, who is represented on another page 
of this woi'k. She was born, reared and edii- 
cated in this county and has become the 
mother of three children: Flora, wife of D. 
T. Smith, who is now operating the Lockwood 
farm : ^Mildred 'SI., who is a gratluate of tlie 
State Normal School at Ypsilanti and is now 
a teacher in the Utica high school : and Cyrus 
Bruce, who is a student in the Wa.shington 
school. 

Piilitically ^Ir. Lockwood affiliates with the 
repul)lican jiarty and being a believer in good 
schools and competent teachers he has effi- 
ciently served on the school board in his dis- 
trict for a niunl)er of years. He is a Mason, 
belonging to the blue lodge at Davis and the 
chapter and commandery at Romeo. 



FRANK S. FORSTER. 

Frank S. Forstei- is an arciiitect of IMount 
t'li'iiii'iis, who is Well e(|uipped for his pni- 
fe.ssiiin by thurough pivparation and praelical 
experience. He was born in Lansing, .Michi- 
gan, January 8, 1880, and comes of P^nglisli 
lineage, his anc(>stors having emigrated fi-oiii 
p]nglan(l 1ci tlic new world during the colonial 
epoch in our country's history. His father, 
Thomas II. Forstei', was a native of .Mount 
Ch'Miens and was united in marriage to Hs- 
t<'lla lirehlei-, whose birth occui'red in Hei-lin. 
thitafio, and who diccl in 1S1I4. Tlie\ were 



the i)arents of three children : Frank S., 
Grace SI., and Burton H., but the last named 
died in 1902, at the age of eight years. 

Frank S. Forster is indebted to the public 
schools of Blount Clemens for the early edu- 
cational privileges he enjoyed. He passed 
tln-ough successive grades there until he had 
completed the high school course by gradua- 
tion in the class of 1899. He next entered 
Cornell T^niversity. where he pursued a full 
course in architecture and was graduated 
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 190:i 
He was afterward employed by various archi- 
tects in Detroit and at Sault Sainte ^larie, 
in former places being an employe of Strat- 
ton & Baldwin, Albert Kahn, George Nunn 
and A. W. Chittenden. 

He opened his office in ]\Iount Clemens, 
February 1, 1904, and lias here devoted his 
attention largely to residence work. He has 
lieeii employed in making plans for a number 
of the line homes of ]\louiit Clemens and other 
cities of this state and he also prepared the 
plans for a beautiful country home, near 
Nashville, Tennessee. He is a leading repre- 
sentative of his profession and has entered a 
career which gives every promise of becoming 
a very successful one. Fraternally lie is con- 
nected with Mount Clemens lodge. No. 6, A. 
F. & A. SL. and also belongs to the ;\Iount 
Clemens Club. He is popular in .social circles 
and already has become widely known in 
;\Iount Clemens although the period of his 
residence here is of comparatively brief 
duration. 



F. HAROLD IIAYWARD. 

F. Harold Hayward was Ijorii in Romeo, 
.Maoouil) county, Michigan, June 30, 1867, 
and is the son of Drs. Aimer and Alice J. 
Hayward, mentioned elsewhere in this work. 
As an artist his name and paintings are be- 
coming familiar throughout both Europe and 
America. His early education was acquired 
in the imblic schools of i\tount Clemens. He 
exhibited ai'tistic talent when a child and 
when seventeen years old became a student 
of art in the studio of W. B. Coiiley, of De- 
troit. .Mr. Hayward, being a close student of 
.\atiire, continued his out-of-<loor work, 
studying Nature carefully in her varied as- 
pects. He loved Nature best at iiiorniiig and 
evening, striving eviM- for the soft atmos- 
pheric effects of these hours. He became a 
student in the Art Iiistitiiti' of Chicaeii in 
I^SII niider .John \'ai](ler])ii()l and l)li\er I)e- 



PAST AND I'KESENT OF JLVCOMB COUNTY 



539 



witt Grover. In the f;ill of lf>02 lie resumed 
liis work ill this institute under Vaiulerpool 
and Freer. After ri'inaining' here for some 
time he returned to ^Moiint Clemens and there 
reopened his studio. Yielding to the attrac- 
tions of Xiai;ara he sjx'iit iiiueh time sketehinir 
there, and later developed some of his most 
important works from tiiese sketches. 

Ill the spriiiii' of ]S;M) he aece])te(l an in- 
vitation IVdiri ""thr old hoys'" who yearly 
migrate to northern Michigan "deer hunt- 
ing," and while the "boys." Judge Eldredge. 
John Garvin, Lemuel Sackett. James Bren- 
nan and "Wallace Babcoek. hunted deer, Ilay- 
ward huiitfd for sketches. He brought back 
as many characteristic views as "the boys" 
ilid deer. One of his most famous "hunting 
scenes" is from a sketch secured at this time 
with two of the "boys" as model hunters. 

One of his favorite models is a heriiiit fisher- 
man of the lakes familiarly known as "Old 
Brooks." This interesting character has lived 
alone on the shores of Lake St. Clair during 
the past forty years, lie has been a frequent 
model for the artist, and the paintings of the 
"Old Fisherman" are widely known. 

In 1898 'Sir. llayward went abroad for the 
purpose of pursuing his studies in art. lie 
reiiiained a student in Paris for three years 
and then became the pupil of Jean Paul Lau- 
I'eus, Benjamin Constant and James jMcNeil 
Whistler. Whistler was at this time one of 
the greatest living artists, and the oppor- 
tunity of studying with him was a privilege of 
a lifetime. The iiiHuence of his association 
with Whistler and its effect upon his work 
will never be effaced. While in Paris he de- 
veloped from his Niagara sketches four im- 
portant canvasses which attracted much at- 
tention, bringing him prominently before the 
public and creating universal admiration. 
Two of these paintings were on exhibition at 
the Paris Exposition in lilOO; one at the Koyal 
Academy in London; and one at the Pan- 
American Exhibition at Buffalo. New York. 
His work, while in France, led him into Italy, 
Germany and Switzerland, where he secured 
many valuable sketches and studied the works 
of the old masters in all the noted galhM-ies 
of these countries, lie also studied in Enu- 
land and Scotland. While in Europe Mr. 
llayward came in touch with the greatest 
living iiiMsters of the da\' and the artistic 
woi'ld, being a member of the important ait 
clubs and art circles. lie is represented in 
many choice collections in both Europe and 
.\merica. lie has also done fine illustrating. 
15esides several poems his masterpiece in this 



line is the i)ainting known as "The Evening 
of Life," tlone for the Walter E. Dewej' Com- 
pany of Pliila(lel])liia. 

Mr. llayward is iccognized to-day as an 
artist of wide experience, enjoying a reputa- 
tion as a ligurc and landscajic painter of high- 
est merit. As a colorist he ranks among the 
first. The force and triitlifulness of his char- 
acters, the stories told by his brush, with deli- 
cacy and refinement, the soft atmos[)heric ef- 
fects of his landscapes, place him among the 
recogni/.eil ailists of his day. 

.Mr. llaywai'd was married July V2, 1898, 
to :\li.ss (hive Belle Hull, daughter of Syl- 
vaiius E. and Isalielle Hull of Albion, Jliclii- 
gaii. Mrs. llayward is a graduate of Albion 
College, receiving the degree of B. S. She 
has published some works of high merit. Dur- 
ing their stay in Europe she continued her 
studies, mostly along the line of sociology. 
She also improved the great advantage of 
studying art along with her husband in his 
chosen profession. Mrs. llayward is in full 
sympathy with her husband's work and is 
one of his best art critics. They are the 
parents of two children, (^live Belle and Alice 
Louise. They expect soon to locate perma- 
nent I v abroad. 



JOHN L. STAKKWEATHEH. 

John L. Starkweather, for a long time one 
of the prominent attorneys at Poiiieo, is the 
son of James and Koxana Leslie Stark- 
weather, born in Bruce townshij). October 4, 
1844. His father, James S. Starkweather, 
was the son of a revolutionary soldier and 
was of Scotch and English descent. He was 
born in Connecticut, October 25, 1801. In 
1825 he located one hundred and sixty acres 
near the Iloxie settlement (Romeo) in Bruce, 
where he lived the remainder of his life. He 
married Sejitember G, 1827, to Koxana Fjcslie, 
of New York state, of the Leslie family, also 
early settlers of Bruce. James Starkweather 
died at Romeo, February 10, 1873. John L. 
Starkweather, after working on the parental 
farm and obtaining a common-school educa- 
tion in the schools of Romeo, took a course of 
study at Eastman's Commercial College at 
Poughkeepsie, New York, and later (18()S- 
70) took the law course at the ^Michigan Uni- 
versity at .Villi .\rbor. l"'rom 18()f) to 18()8 
he was engaged in mercantile business in 
Romeo, at which place he o]iene<l a law office 
after completing his course in the legal col- 
lege in 1870. lie was admitted to the bar at 



540 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



the Washtenaw circuit, IMarch 23, 1869, and 
to practice in the United States courts at 
Washington in the following- Xovember. He 
has been in active practice of his profession 
ever sinoe the opening of his office at Romeo 
and has enjoyed a large and remunerative 
pi-aetice. his specialties being patents and 
pensions. He has always been very active in 
the temperance cause and is a member of a 
large number of the fraternal organizations, 
some of which have honored him with elec- 
tions to high and resjionsihle positions. June 
14, 1871, he married Laura E. Spencer, of 
Armada, and of the four children born to 
them three are still living: Weed T., also 
an active member of ilacomb county's bar; 
Bruce R. ; and Clara L. The musical talents 
of the daughter are marked and have been 
earefullv educated. 



SILAS B. SPIER. 



Silas B. Spier, son of Samuel and Hannah 
J. (Patton) Spier, was born in Ontario eoiin- 
ty. New York, January 8, 1854; came with 
his parents in 1860 to Kalamazoo county, 
ilichigan, where he obtained his connnon- 
school education; after one year at the Agri- 
cultural College at Lansing, he attended 
Olivet College, where he graduated in 1876. 
His father, having died in 1875, and his 
mother coming to Blount Clemens to care for 
her aged father, John Patton, who had then 
become blind, the subject of this .sketch came 
to Mount Clemens and entered the office of 
Arthur L. Canfield, afterwards circuit judge. 
He was admitted to practice in May, 1877. 
and since that time has been actively en- 
gaged in the pursuit of his jirofession at ]\Ia- 
eomb's county seat. On January 1, 1883, the 
tirm of Eldredge & Spier was formed, which 
continued until the elevation of its senior 
member to the circuit bench, January 1, 1894. 
In 1896, ]\Ir. Spier was elected judge of pro- 
bate, which office he filled for four yeai-s. 

May '27, 1880, he was married to Julia L., 
daughter of James B. and Helen D. El- 
dredge. Tlu'ir children are Helen J., born 
ISSl; Margaret, born 1889; and James E., 
horn in 1897. 



JUDGE DEWITT C. WALKER. 

Judge DeWitt C. Walker was born in 
Clarendon, Vermont, in 1812. After gradu- 
ating at ]\Iiddlebury College at the head of 
his class he entered the Yale Law School and 



studied law under DeWitt Daggett and Judge 
Daggett, graduating from the Yale school in 
1836. He came to Romeo, IMacomb county, 
and continued there in the practice of law 
foi- twenty years and in the meantime serv- 
ing ilacomb county as its prosecuting attor- 
ney for two years. He was afterwards elected 
state representative and later state sen- 
ator : re-elected to the house again in 1844 
and 1846: and in 1845 chosen as one of the 
regents of the State University. He was also 
a member of the constitutional convention of 
1850 that framed the present constitution of 
Michigan. In 1857, Judge Walker laid out 
and platted the town of Capac in St. Clair 
county and thereafter St. Clair county re- 
ceived the benefit of his residence and able 
services. He was elected judge of probate of 
St. Clair county and served in that capacity 
for four years. 

Judge Walker was one of the representa- 
tive men of the times, possessed of rare per- 
ceptive faculties coupled with able executive 
ability. He was at one time quite extensively 
engaged in milling and manufacturing in St. 
Clair county, and largely through his eft'orts 
Capac became what he often expressed a de- 
sire to .see it, a thriving, hustling village. He 
was especially interested in the educational 
progress of the country and it wa.s mainly 
through his instrumentality that a bill was 
introduced which provi<led for the present 
admirable system of free schools throughout 
the state. 

In 1836 Mr. Walker was married to Miss 
Adeline Ketcham, of Vermont, to whom were 
born seven children, five of whom survived 
Judge Walker at the time of his death at 
Capac. August 17, 1904. 



JUDGE ja:mes g. tucker. 

Judge James G. Tucker, the lu-esent circuit 
judge, was born at Jlount Clemens, Novem- 
ber 30, 1855. His father. James (i. Tucker, 
came to Mount Clemens to act as ca.shier of 
the old ^lacomb County Bank, then controlled 
by the Tucker Brothers. The Tucker family 
were from New York state and the grand- 
father of the Judge was a Baptist minister 
long located at Rochester, New York. His 
mother was Jennette. daughter of Frederick 
Hatch, long time justice of peace at .Mount 
Clemens. After a ten years residence at .\ew 
Orleans, James G. Tucker, Jr., returned to 
Mount Clemens in 1870 and after attending 
school here, taught for a time in the neigh- 



PAST AM) i'KESEXT OF ilAL'U.MB COUxXTY 



541 



borinfj schools : was for scvi'i'al years probate 
clerk and four years jiistiee of the peace; 
city clerk for one year, lu 1880 he was ad- 
niitteil to practice by ^laconib county circuit 
court, Jud're Harris presiding. In 1888 he 
was chosen jirosecuting attorney of the coun- 
ty, a position he filled with such satisfaction 
to the people for four years tliat at the end 
of that time they elected him .judpe of pro- 
bate. Retiring- from that position January 1, 
1897, he was soon thereafter appointed re- 
ceiver of the Detroit & River St. Clair Rail- 
way, then in part constructed. In this re- 
ceivership Judg-e Tucker was busily eug:aged 
for several years during which the road was 
completed from Chesterfield to Marine City 
and finally sold. It now forms an important 
part of the Rapid Railway S.ystem between 
Mt. Clemens and Port Huron. In 1899, upon 
the retirement of Judge Eldredge, Mr. Tucker 
was the unanimoas choice of his party for 
circuit .judge, which position he has filled with 
credit to himself and to the .satisfaction of 
litigants and people generally for the past 
.six years. 

September 9. 1881, he married Eliza B. 
Wood, daughter of George Wood (son of 
James Wood), from Yorkshire, England, who 
in 1843 located on lands in sections 4 and 5 
of Clinton, one of the sturdy, industrious and 
progressive pioneers of that township. Two 
children, a daughter, Jeanette, and a son, 
James Guerber Tucker, have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. Judge Tucker has 
always been a democrat in politics and his 
popularity and ability are evidenced by his 
many successes at the polls. 



WILLIAM W. GIBBS. 

William Woodruff Gibbs was born in Livo- 
nia, Livingston county, New York, December 
31, 1821, and died at his home in Romeo De- 
cember 29, 1902. The family was of New 



England origin and his mother a Woodruff, 
a family noted for its musical talents. As 
one of twelve children the necessity for work 
became early urgent and while yet a lad he 
was apprenticed to a gunsmith and worked 
some years at that trade. The rare natural 
artistic element of his mind early developed 
itself and after working at the trade he had 
leai-ned tov eight years, he began his studies 
for the eho.sen work of his life with a local 
artist and i)roseeuted his studies and work 
in his native town for a time. 

In 1848 he removed to Kalamazoo, Michi- 
gan, where he was engaged in his profession. 
While at Kalamazoo he was a member of an 
orchestra hand and traveled over quite a 
large portion of the western part of the state 
in connection with it. About 1852 he came 
from Kalamazoo to Armada and in 1853 to 
Romeo, which continued to be his home till 
the time of his death. During the years of 
his life at Romeo, he continued his work 
I)ainting portraits in the earlier years and 
while engaged in such work he gradually 
drifted into the work more suited to his taste 
of landscape painting. 

Mr. Gibbs was a tine musician and artist 
of fine cjualities and many of the homes of 
Romeo are filled with the scenes sketched 
from nature and illustrating numy of the 
beauties of the surrounding country. His 
character was as simple and guileless as a 
child and withal he carried with him through 
his long and useful career the child's love of 
the true and beautiful. Warm and true in 
his affections, honest and upright and kind 
and obliging to all, he went through life like 
one led by high and lofty ideals. In 1892, 
upon the suggestion of Mr. H. W. Bradley, 
he conceived and executed one of his finest 
designs "Father iMarquette at St. Ignace in 
1670," which was adopted as one of the de- 
signs for the issue of postage stamps by the 
Government and later the State Pioneer So- 
ciety of -Michigan as the frontispiece to the 
1903 volume of its transactions and records. 



HISTORICAL. 



CIIAPTEH I. 

INTRODUCTORY. INDIAN AND PRE-INDIAN PERIOD. 

The early history of the teri'itory now occu- 
pied by Macomb county is so intimately con- 
nected with the ti'end of events in all the 
sni'i-oiindini;' country and so incapable of sep- 
aration from tlu' histoi'y of nearly all of tin; 
lower peninsula of the .state, that in order to 
ai)preeiate in any way. tln' happenings of 
those days, it will be necessary to consider 
somewhat the situation of the entire district. 
The Indian and pre-Indian history of the 
coimt.v is of course the same as all the sur- 
roundiii';- country. The F'reneh exploration, 
occupation and supremacy of the county was 
hilt a part of the history of New France as 
the country was then called, Michigan and 
a large [loi'tion of the northwest territory be- 
ing claimed, and rightl.v so by the French 
as a part of their teri'itor.v. This period of 
French sui)reinac,v was noiniiiall.v terminated 
in 1768 after the close of the French and In- 
dian war when all the French claims in the 
noi'th of the English speaking colonists were 
ceded to England. Although theoi'cticall.V 
under English control fi-om that time to the 
close of the Amei'ican Hevolution. this coun- 
ty as well as a large poi'tiiui of the surround- 
ing country was still Fi'eiu-h in customs, lan- 
guage and thought. The termination of the 
War of the ixcvolution in 17S:3 nominally 
established the boundai'.\' line between the 
American and English teri'itoi'ies along the 
channel of the lakes, thus leaving .Macomb 
coiint.v a i)art of the American territor.v, but 
as a mattri- of fact, the English possession and 
conti'ol of 1liis eouiit.N' as well as all the sur- 
rounding conntr.v continued until 179(). when 
unilei- the terms of .jav's Treatv. the foi-f at 



Detroit and other military points l.ying to the 
south and west of the lakes wei'c surrendered 
to the American forces, and from that time on 
the history of Macomb county forms a con- 
stituent part of the history of 1lic I'nited 
States. 

The teri'itor.v thus coming inio the posses- 
sion of the Anu'i'ican govei'nmeiit formed a 
part of the so-called Northwest Teri'itor.v, 
which had alread.y been organized by an or- 
dinance of Congi'css adopted prior to the 
formation of the present Feilei-;d Constitution, 
July 18, 1787. Michigan continued a part 
of the Noi'thwest Territor.v until .Tanuarv 
11, 180"). when the teri-itor.v of Michigan 
was set off and Detroit made the seat of gov- 
ernment. 

Up until the treat.v of Detroit, made No- 
vember 17, 1807, with the ('hi|)i)ewas, Ot- 
tawas. Wyaudots, and Pottawatomies, the le- 
gal title to all the land in .Michigan outside 
of a few military posts and a strip of land 
six miles wide along the Detroit river, re- 
mained Indian property, but b,v that treat.v 
the United States acquired the Indian title to 
that portion of IMichigan which lies east of a 
line di'awn north from the mouth of the An 
(ihiize river in Ohio to a point due west of 
the outlet of Lake Huron and i-unning from 
that point to White K'ock on hake Huron. 
All of this territoi'v which lies noi'tli of the 
base line, southern boumlai'.\' of the present 
.Macomb county, was by the ])i'()clamation of 
the governor of the then territor.v of Michi- 
gan, Lewis Cass, set off and established as a 
sepai'ate count.v to be called the count.\- of Ma- 
comb, .lanuary lo, 1818, 

Thus it will be seen that s|)caking polili- 
call.v the histor.v of .Macomb county begins 
with the last named date, ami that the hi.story 



544 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



of the L-arliei- iK-riods will necessarily be so 
intimatelj' connected with the history of the 
whole territory that it will consist of a re- 
counting of nmch that is applicable to other 
localities as well as Jlaconib county. 

The location of the county adjacent to Lake 
St. Clair which in reality forms only a pai-t 
of the strait connecting Lake Huron with 
Lake Erie has made it a place rich in the 
history of Indian warfare were it possible to 
obtain the facts regarding the same. As far 
back as we are able to go. the Indians to tlie 
south of the great lakes, the ^liamis. one of 
the branches of the powerful Algonquin tribe, 
were strongly intrenched and powerful 
enough to form a barrier impas.sable to north- 
ern tribes in their flights and migrations. As 
a result the Indians of eastern ^Michigan when 
hard pressed by their enemies, were compelled 
to escape to the eastward and naturally chose 
those points which did not involve crossing 
wide expanses of water, and St. Clair and 
Detroit rivers, and Lake St. Clair have been 
the seat of many a migi-ation of the Indians 
from Canada to Michigan and from ^lichigan 
to Canada. IMany have been the stands that 
the Indian warriors have taken for a last des- 
perate fight with their enemies before eross- 
iutr the waters to invade the territories of the 
possibly unfriendly Indians occujjviug the 
lands on the eastern side of the sti'ait. As a 
result. ]\Iacomb count.v has sometinu's lieen 
called the Pagigendamowinaki. or the great 
cemetery of the aborigines and mementos of 
Indian warfare and Indian bui-ials were nu- 
merous in the county. The n>imber of 
mounds, the character of human remains 
foinid in them, the stone hatchets. Hint arrow 
heads and unnumbered scattered skeletons all 
bear silent testimonials to numberless battles 
and fierce warfare waged ovei' this tei'ritory. 
whose liistory, however, can onl.v be a matter 
of speculation. The materials found in some 
of the mounds have forced a belief that at one 
time the countrv was occupied by a race far 
superior in civilization to the Indians that 
were foTind here at the time of the first visits 
of the white men. and nnu-h speculation has 
bei'U indidged in i-elative to who and what 
these mound-builders were. Whether they 
were Mongolians who had come across from 
Asia, or possibly members of the lost Tribes 
of Israel or whether the.v were merely ances- 
tors of the Indians, who through degenerac.v 
hatl lost the arts and powers once known to 
their forefathers, can never be determined. 
Certain it is, however, that among the In- 
dians themselves had been handed down a 



tradition that the couutrj- had been occupied 
by a race of people superior in skill tc 
themselves and among the Hurons who occu- 
pied a large portion of Macomb county, it 
was contended that they were descendants of 
this earlier race. This tradition recites that 
a struggle which occupied a great many year.'S 
was r;aintained between the original inhabi- 
tants of the county, ancestors of the llurons, 
and a tribe of Indians coming down from the 
mirth possessed of greater prowess, and that 
the older inhabitants, after gallantly and 
bi'avely contesting foot by foot, were crowded 
across the watei's into what is now Canada; 
that the.v left behind them intrenchments. 
remnants of which were still to be found when 
the whites settled this county, which, how- 
evei-. proved unavailing aid in their efforts 
to resist the advances of the liarbarians from 
the noi-th. This Huron tradition recites that 
the coiKiuering tribes from the north were 
themselves overwhelmed and destroyed by a 
second wave of still more powerful red men 
who, seeking relief from the hardships of the 
more rigorous climate and tempted by the 
i-eputation of this country as a hunting 
grounil, moved southward, and in spite of the 
stubi)(U'n ojiposition of the then occupants, 
succeeded after a long term of years in pos- 
sessing this country. The second race of in- 
vadei's from the north were the ancestors of 
the (Jhippewas, and later another struggle 
took i)lace between the Hurons aiul the Chip- 
pewas. "the outcome of which was that the 
llurons, after a temporary success, were again 
forced out of Michigan and across the waters 
into Canada." 

Whatever truth there may be in these tradi- 
tions, it is reasonable that about the second 
decade of the 16th century the Chippewas 
were in possession of the tlistrict now consti- 
tuting the southeast part of Michigan, and up 
to about the Clinton river. Next north of 
them, the country was occupied by the Sauks, 
wild conli'olled the countrv lip as far noi-tli 
as Thunder Ba.v. Still north of them were 
the Pottawatomii's. About l.ViO a great strug- 
gle took ])lace among these tribes, the outcome 
of which was the practical extinction of the 
Sauks and the establishment of the territory 
taken from them either by tacit understand- 
ing or foi'mal treaties between the ti'ibes. as 
a conunon hunting ground. The Ottawas had 
joined with the Chippewas and Pottawatomies 
in this warfar(> on the Sauks, and upon the 
first visit of the whites to this country in the 
autumn of 1641 under the lead of Fathers 
Cogues and Ravmbault, these three tribes of 



PAST AM) I'liKSE.XT UF MACOMB CULNTY 



545 



IiuiiiUis. till' CliipiH'Wiis. OttawMs niul Potta- 
wiitoiiiios. t>cciij)i(Hl the Icri'itoi'v now known 
as tlic Sonthci'ii Pt'iiiiisula of Miclui^au, Imt 
tlit'V wi'i'i' si-attorcd vciy sparsely without ikt- 
inancnl luihitations and ili'iicmlcnt almost en- 
tirely- ii|io)i the chase and nalin-al [iroducts 
of the iMrth I'oi- sulisistanre, (»iii' niii;'ht have 
ti-aveled for days in alniost any ilirection 
withont meeting' a sinirle Iialian. One cause 
for this is reportetl to have ln-en the belief 
amonti' the Indians that the spirits of the eon- 
qnered Sanies still haunted these huntinii' 
j>rounds. and that that Indian who grew too 
dariuji' and strayed too far from his compan- 
ions was in danger of heinji: killed by some 
a\'en';inii' spirit of the Sauk warrior. 

In lti4S anothei- visit was made by white 
missionaries to the Indians of this country, 
and it was found that since the former visit, 
another tribe had been added to the Indians 
of IMichinran. These were the Ilnrons who, un- 
like the Chippewas. Ottawas and Pottawato- 
mies. did not belong- to the Alu'oiKjuin family 
of Indians. In their habits, in the i)ermanency 
of their habitation, anil in their devotion to 
agricultural pursuits, they much more strong- 
ly resembled the Iroquois Indians with whom, 
however, they were at enmity. Having suf- 
fered severe and crushing defeats in their for- 
mer territory of (Jeorgian Bay and the east 
shore of Lake Huron, they had been forced 
westward by the Iroipiois to seek new refuge. 
They crossed the waters at the most conven- 
ient points, viz., at the Soo river and the De- 
ti'oit-St. Clair strait to tind new homes among 
the Algon(iuin tribes occupying .Michigan 
v.-lio, eithei- because of their hatred of the 
Iroquois or of the weakness and helplessness 
of the Ilurons. received them well, and al- 
lowed them to find new homes at scattered 
jioints through the country. The waterways 
foi'niing the chief and practically the sole 
means of getting about, new homes of the 
Ilui'ons were generally found upon the banks 
of fame of the streams. As a result of this 
no less than five streams located within the 
limits of our present stat<' were known by the 
liiUne (d' the llui'on Kiver. ,\niong these 
stri'ams was the niain river ni' .Mae<imli eoun- 
t\'. now known as the Clinton. 

These l'<iui' ti'ibes of Indians usually acted 
together harmoniously. They t'oiighl with the 
French agjiinst the English in tlu' wai' which 
ended with the conipiest of Canada; they 
were with the Knglish and against the Ameri- 
cans in the War of the Revolution, ;ind with 
few exceiiticins in tin- War of IsIl'. Thev 



stood together in the siege of Detroit in 1762, 
acting undei" the leadei-ship of Pontiac. the 
shrewd and able chief of the Ottawas. 

It is much to l)e ivgretted that a thorough 
and systenuitie examination was not made of 
the remnants of the eai-ly civilization that 
;i|)peared in .Maeond) county liel'oi'e they were 
leveled by the plow, and disai)peareil before 
the marks of latei- civilization. One of the 
most pronnnent of these forts or mounds was 
found in the township of Bruce near its east 
line some three nnles northeast of Romeo at 
ii ])oint where the banks of the North Branch 
of the Clinton rises abrujitly some ten or 
twelve feet. This fort ajipeared to be about 
1^50 feet in dianu'ter with walls at the time 
they were leveled by the plow some four or 
five feet high and eight feet thick at the base, 
which, considering the length of time that 
they had stood and the character of the soil 
ni' which they wei'e composed, loose gravel, 
would indicate that they wei-e, when first 
used, of much greater height. The dirt to 
form the \valls had l)een dug from the imme- 
diate outside, leaving a tlitch or moat, w'hich 
afforded a further protection. In the wall 
were openings, three in luunber, about twenty 
feet wide, directly opposite which on the in- 
side was an additional mound, shutting off 
the view from the exterior. Between the fort 
and the branch were found a numlier of 
mounds or graves, each containing a skeleton, 
the size of the bones of which indicated that 
its owner when living was of a size largely 
in excess of the moilern Indian known to tlie 
whites. Sonu' twenty rods from the south of 
this fort and across the stream was located 
a large mound surrounded by smaller ones, 
probably the bui-ial place of a chief, around 
whom the members of his family, as they 
died, were interred. 

Anothei- fort ajipeared upon the farm for 
.1 long time, owned by B. II. Thurston, about 
a mile further up tlie stream from the one 
first described. The fort was oiilong in .shape, 
extending nearly i'M) feet, and being in its 
greater breadth about LTjO feet. This had but 
one o]ieiiing towards the river, and the two 
ends of the circle of the wall wei'e mad<' to 
o\erl;ip each other. In the vicinity of this 
fort were found numerous stone hatchets, 
fbiit arrow heads and bits of crockery. The 
third fort was found in the extreme north- 
west id' llie county about one mile west of the 
North Branch. This was nearly circular in 
form with a diameter of about '2'2') feet. 

Near the lake were also some forts or in- 



546 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\rB COUNTY 



tiviu'hinents wliit-h iiidicati'd an engineering 
knowledge and a degree of industry beyond 
that tlu> later Indians were known to possess. 
Tpon the farm taken up liy William Tucker 
in Harrison and Chesterfield upon the Clin- 
ton river, there were many indications of 
these intrenehments. Usually in form a com- 
plete circle, having but one opening at the 
bank nf tiic river. Some of these contained 
fi'om three to five acres and in them wei'e 
found fragments of ])ottery curiously carved. 

On the southwest l)ank of Salt river not 
far from its mouth was located one of these 
forts which inclosed some three acres. The 
gate or mouth of the inclosure appeared op- 
l)osite the river, and directly across from the 
same was a cornfield, where thousands of lit- 
tle hills, the result of corn cultivation, were 
api)arent even as late as IS'21. The grain had 
evidently been planted in oi-der and cultivated 
to a good extent, although at the time the fort 
and cornfield were examined, it was apparent 
that ;i great length of time had elapsed since 
its use. as a means of protection, ^lany other 
slight and isolated evidences of the work of 
the former race inhabiting this country were 
found scattered through the county, but they 
have been .so obliterated that it is useless to 
attempt to collect them or to base upon them 
any theory as to the character or history of 
their builders. 

It was early announced that the policy of 
United States was to recognize the Indian 
trilies in ])ossession of the territory as being 
the nominal undisputed owners of the teri'i- 
tor\'. This ownershi]). however, rested in the 
Indian tribes rather than in individuals, and 
always subj(>ct to the jurisdiction of the gov- 
ernnuMit. Accordingly the same rule was 
adopted by this country as had been an- 
notuiced iiy the English during their occupa- 
tii t the country in con.iunction with Can- 
ada, viz.. that no individiuil should be allowed 
to purchase direct from the Indians, but 
should be reipiired to obtain his title to lands 
through the I'nited States government aftei" 
the Indian title thereto had been abolished 
by ])ublic treaty. This liberal policy of the 
government in its tieatnu'ut of the Indians is 
probably lai'gely to be credited to the efforts 
of (ieneral Knox. si'ci'Ctai'y of war undei- 
I'ri'sident Washington, and led to a system of 
negotiations with the Indians as tribes or na- 
tions, and to the making of all purchases of 
lands from them in ]iublic council where all 
could lie heai-d. In this way the goverinuent 
was able to thi'ow o|)en to settlement and pri- 
vate ownership vast tracts of lands at points 



where it was best able to protect settler.s. and 
also to reduce the clanger of massacres be- 
cause of dissatisfactiiin mi the ]>art of the 
Indians with the methods l>y which they were 
deprived of the lands. Thus the treaty of 
Fort ]\IcIntosh, 1785, the first cession by the 
Indians to the government of lands in iliehi- 
gan. was made and by it was reserved to tlie 
sole use of the United States "The post of De- 
troit, with a district beginning at the nuiuth 
of the Kosine (Kaisin) i-iver on the west end 
of Lake Erie and running west six miles up 
the soutliern bank of said river, and thence 
northerly and alway.s six miles west of the 
strait until it strikes Lake St. Clair."' The 
writer is unable to find that it was ever tle- 
termined by survey exactly what lands are 
covered by this reservation, but it would reach 
near, if not into, the pi-esent limits of Ma- 
comb county. This extinguishment of Indian 
title was confirmed by the treaty of Fort 
Ilarmer in 17!)8 and by the treat.v of (ireeu- 
field in 1795. but the title to the remaining 
|)0i'tion of the state remained with the In- 
dians until the treaty of Dcti'oit in 1S07. 
heretofore referivd to. It is not meant by 
this that the Indians were left in undisputed 
possession, but that the white clainumts to 
any of these lands were not backed uj) in their 
claims by the goverinnent. However, along 
prioi' to 17!I5 considerable tcrritin\v was oc- 
cupied by white settlers and the sti'ong tide 
of innnigration that was setting in. and the 
growing practice of private i)urchase from 
the Indians, created a strong i)ressure which 
resulted in the opening of negotiations under 
(Ieneral Hull, culminating in the council con- 
cluding the treat.v of Detroit. 

U.y this treaty, nmnerous small I'cscrvat ions 
Were iiiiidc to the Iiulians, among which were 
three nil Lake St. Claii'. The one in which 
.Maciimb county is parti<'ularl\' interested be- 
ing located between Salt rivei- and Crajiaux 
creek, in sections 2:5, Ul 14 and "24. of the 
township of Chesterfield. On this reserva- 
tion lived the last of the Indian inhabitants 
of the cciunty. who kc|)t up a |irctcnsc of 
tribal relations. They were removed to Kan- 
sas in l>S:i(l li.\- the Fi'deral iiovernmclit, but 
Fi'ancis ilacomiite and others were never 
hajipy away from the lakes. 

The |)resent site of Romeo was also an In- 
dian villaiic. and the jilaee was known foi- 
years as "Indian Village." tlii' name it was 
first given when established as a postol'tice. 
Both of these villages were made up chiefiy 
of the Chi])pewa Indians, who by reason of 
their braverv and skill, had gradually ob- 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF MACOMB COrXTY 



547 



taiued coimiiaiuliiitr iiiriiiiMK'c over llic ntlici' 
Indians. .Mingled with tlifse were tlic rem- 
nants of the llui-ons and otlier tribes. 

The i)rincipal ehief of the ('hipjiewas lo- 
cated at the Salt river resei-vation was ohl 
ilaconipte or ilaskeash. who died soon ai'tei- 
the War of 1812. and was hnried on the In- 
dian reservation with ail his ornaments. 
Years after and when h'l-aneis Maeonee was 
west with Henry Tneker. selecting a new 
reservation for the Indians, this yrave was 
disturlied and some of the ornaments taken. 
Upon the return of the son and his discoveiy 
of this outi-age, he broni;ht the ar-tors in tlie 
afl'air to terms before the courts at Mount 
Clemens. Old ^Iacomi)te was succeeded l>y 
his son. Cmu-e-kum-e-non. who was well be- 
loved by his own people, and a man of great 
iutluenee and power amoiii;: the Indians of the 
snrroundino: country. He was, how-ever, a 
slave of alcohol, and on i-eturnin.tr home about 
midnioht one niaht in It^KJ from Mount Clem- 
ens, where he had been di'inkinsi' heavil.v. he 
was heard to run across the gai'den of Col. 
John Stockton, who then lived on the bank 
of the river not far from the .Market street 
bridge, and, breaking the fence, fell into the 
water with an Indian "Ugh!" Col. Stockton 
heard the noise and got up and searched, but 
could find nothing, and not susjiecting any 
.serious results, did not arouse the neighbors. 
The ne.xt day the body was foiuid by John 
Tucker and the Indians, and was buried in 
the orchard of John Tucker on Private Claim 
129, wrapped in a blue broadcloth blanket 
and decorated with man.v silver ornrunents. 
Two or three days later relatives of the dead 
Indian came to Col. Stockton's house and 
claimed, or pretended that the white people 
were responsible for the Indian's death. 
They refused, with Indian stolitlity. to sa.v 
much to Col. Stockton, but talked much 
among themselves, a large part of which Jlrs. 
Stockton understood. The next da.v forty or 
fift.v of the Indians went to Judge Connor, then 
living at the ^loravian village, and threatened 
Col. Stockton w'itli vengeance for having 
eau.sed the death of their chief. Being in- 
formed of this. Col. Stockton sent his wife 
and children away from home and nuiin- 
tained a watch that night, but although the 
Indians came, they soon left without making 
further disturbance. 

Francis ilaconee succeeded his brother as 
chief with Trnckatoe as sub-chief. The latter 
became dissatisfied about the Indian reserva- 
tion, and with several members of the band 
went to Lakeville. but .Maconce remaineil with 



the hulk of the tribe nntil ls:',ii. when he 
removed to Kansas, where \w died man.v years 
later. Francis .Maconce was an Iiulian of 
more than the average intelligence and abil- 
ity, niiii-li loved by his people and respected 
by the whites. His first wife was remarkable 
for the beauty of her hands and the neatness 
of her housekeeiiing. It is related that law- 
yers from Detroit going to court in St. Clair 
county, mach' it a i)ractice to stop at the home 
of .Maconce, fre(|ueiitl.V remaining over night. 
Among these were Judges Withercll, Sible.v 
and Whipple and Chancellor O'Keefe. ilrs. 
;\Iaconce dressed like a white woman, and 
furnished the most appetizing table and com- 
fortable lodgings. She died at London. Ont. 
A sister of .Maconce was the wife of Chief 
Wawamosh of the Sarnisi reservatiim. It is 
reported that ^laconce w.is initiated into the 
mysteries of F'ree iNIasonry. Under ilaconce 
was Keneobe of Komeo. who was pi-esent and 
took part in the treaty of Saginaw in 1819. 
Another prominent Indian of the band near 
Homeo was Tii)sik-aw. noted for his athletic 
abilities. 

Earlier still Wittani.ss was one of the prom- 
inent Indians of this .section. He was a de- 
voted attacliee of the British eommnndants 
at Detroit and remained faithful in his Eng- 
lish loyalty nntil the British power was for- 
ever broken in the L'Uited States. He was 
a sub-chief of the Huron Indians as early as 
1776, and was active in all the methods of 
Indian warfare again.st the American pio- 
neers. After the purchase of the ]\Ioravian 
village propert.v. which is more specitically 
referred to in the historv of Frederick in 
this work, he was ai)pointed care-taker by 
A.skins and Ancrani. and acting for them 
sought unsuccessfully to maintain possession 
of the lands against the claims of the Connors. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE I'^REXrir .\ND ENGMStI I"KIiU)l). 

In order to understand the histor.x' of the 
early settlements of JMacomb, it will be nece.s- 
sarv to speak in a general wa.v of the history 
of the French exjiloratioii of ^lichigaii, and 
ol' the general French policy in all of New 
Fi'ance. 

-Michigan is a part of the t.erritof.\- that 
was colonized by the French and held under 
the government of New France and Louisiana. 
-Mtliough it was never properly a part of 
Louisiana, it apjiears n]ion some of the an- 
cienl majis as included in that region. Its 



548 



PAST AND PRESENT OP J\L\COi\IB COUNTY 



politii-al affairs, hovvevei-, were always under 
the supervision of the authorities in what was 
afterwards known as Lower Canada until the 
British conquest of 1760-63. From the first 
visits of the white men until the close of the 
French supremacy, its history is a part of the 
histoi-y of New France, and most of its 
inhabitants were French who came by the 
way of Canada. This dependenc.y on Canada 
was one of the chief causes for the delay in 
any settlement in Southern ^Michigan and for 
the slowness of which the country developed. 
The Colonial policy imrsued by France for a 
lon^' peri(xl did not encourage the pursuit of 
agriculture — the wilderness being more valu- 
able in the eyes of the authorities of Quebec 
since the fur trade was the chief source of 
revenue. 

Chamiilain. who in the early seventeenth 
century was high in authority in New France, 
is reported on doubtful authority to have 
passed through Detroit river and Lake St. 
Clair in one of his exploring .journeys, and 
is claimed by oiificial memoirs to have discov- 
ered this region in 1612 — but although the 
water connection between Lake Huron and 
the lower lakes is shown on some of his maps, 
it is not portrayed with such accuracy as to 
make this claim uiuiuestionable. It is certain, 
however, from earlier references and from 
the knowledge of the country shown by the 
early explorations that this .section of the 
country liad been visited by whites long be- 
fore the first exploration of \\hich we have an 
official record in 1679. From the traditions 
handed down by the French settlers of the 
county there is every reason to believe a vil- 
lage of the Huron Indians existed at or near 
the present site of Detroit very early in the 
seventeenth century, and that the surround- 
ing country was chiefly occupied liy that 
tribe; that this village, by its construction 
and fortifications, was an illustration of the 
superior ability and civilizaton of the Hurons 
ovei' the otlier Indians. At this time the Hu- 
rons also occupied a considei'able jioi'tion <if 
Upper Canada and the country around about 
(ieiirgian Hay. and it is pi'obable that fi'iend- 
ly relations existed between them and the 
French adventurers and rover.s, who, without 
organization or concerted action, carried on 
unlicensed fur trading with the Indians and 
were commonly known as coureurs de bois. It 
was probably some extra adventurous sjjirits 
of this class who were the first whites to visit 
tile connti-y now known as ^laeonib county, 
and in urder In imdei'stand win nn record is 



to be found of their visits, and why those 
visits led to no settlement, it will be necessary 
to consider somewhat who they were and how 
they were regarded by the "Powers that be." 
As stated before, the fur trade furnished 
the chief source of revenue for the govern- 
ment, and was regarded as the chief source 
of value, and the authorities kept strict 
and intimate control over the trade, making 
it a monopoly, and exacting large sums for 
the privilege of carrying it on. This oppres- 
sion led to a large amount of unlicensed trad- 
ing by adventurous spirits. Some of these 
adventurers canu' from the lowei- classes of 
France and readily dropped into the habits 
and ways of living of the Indians and became 
practically adherents of the tribes. Others, 
liowever. partly from the love of adventure 
and partly because of restlessness under the 
oppressions in France, .sought the freedom of 
the wildernes.s largely because of their ability, 
courage and integrity. Some, too, were of- 
fenders against the outrageous and oppressive 
laws of France, who, while nominally crimi- 
nals, were in reality worthy men and no unde- 
sirable colonists. As illusti'ations of this 
class, were the one hiuidred and fifty contra- 
band salt makers (faux-saulniers), who were 
sent, to the galleys for interfering for salt 
monopolies, and consequently were not al- 
lowed to go at large in France, but who, at 
the earnest solicitation of the Governor Gen- 
eral in 1713. came to New France. These 
coiireurs de bois. translated by the English in 
official papers as "bush rangers."" and "wood 
runners,"" gradually attained great power in 
the Indian councils by reason of their inti- 
macy with the tribes, and were the real pio- 
neers of French enterprise and discovery, al- 
though always regarded nominally as outlaws 
by the French authoi'ities. There is every 
reason to believe that they formed temporary 
and permanent trading posts nuich earlier in 
date than any of the recognized establish- 
ments, and they became frequent guests at 
the Iiulian wigwams and not infi'e(|uentl.v 
were taken in as members of the family by 
intei'mai'riage with the Indian women. They 
wei-e fi'e((Ue!itly condemned as a vicious and 
had class by the French authorities, but this is 
accountable for largely bytlie opposition which 
they aroused because of their failurt' to com- 
ply with governmental regulations relative to 
fur trading and idso because of the op])osi- 
tion of the Jesuit missionaries, who. in their 
unbounded zeal for the furtbeivuice of their 
order and llie convei'sion of tile Indians, had 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\IB COUNTY 



549 



little use for tlu' uu!'i.'.straiiii'il ami uuu- 
conforining coureiir de bois. who recognized 
11(1 law, save his own free will. 

The French, in their earl\' dealiiii^s witii 
tile Indians ;ind especially the lro([Uois, who 
ohtained a strong foothold in the region lying 
between Lake Huron and the Lakes Eric and 
Ontario made the same mistake that the Eng- 
lish did. and treated the Indians with a 
haughty arrogance that aroused tlieir early 
and lasting opposition. When the L'ocjuois 
had overjiowered the Hurons and driven them 
out of the (ieorgian Ra\' region, all remains 
there were, if any. of the early French ex- 
plorations and settlements disappeared. An- 
other result of the hostility of the Iroquois 
to the French appears in the fact that for 
many years the French in reaching the upper 
lakes did not come by the way of Lake p]rie 
and the Detroit river, since this led through 
the territorv of the hostile Iroquois, but rather 
crossed from the north shores of Lake On- 
tario through the (Jeorgian Bay region to the 
Soo and JIackinaw, and as a result southeast- 
ern Jlichigan was neglected by the P'reueli 
authorities until ab(mt 1670. In the mean- 
time the French had realized the mistake of 
their eaidv treatment of the Indians and had 
adopted the policy of fraternizing with them 
and dealing with them on terms of equalit.y, 
which led to e.xeeptionall.v pleasant and mut- 
ual and protitable intercourse. The friendly 
feeling thus engendered between the French 
and the Indians served the French in good 
term at the time of the war with the English 
and the ancient ties continued even until the 
Indians were removed entirely from ^lichi- 
gan. 

It is probable that the search foi' the far 
famed Northwest l';issage to the East Indies 
was the cause of the first exploration of De- 
troit river and Lake St. Clair, of which we 
have an official record. It was then supposed 
that a short route existed from the lakes to 
the South Sea. and it was in the hope of 
discovering this that Talon, then Intendant 
of New France, sent out two exploring par- 
ties. One of these jiarties was under the 
charge of Robert Cavelier, sieiir de La Salle, 
who, with two priests, went to the head of 
Lake Ontario, intending to go from there 
down the Ohio liver. However, there the.y 
met Louis Joliet, who had recently come down 
from the Upper Lakes. Influenced by liis ad- 
vice, they cho.se the route up the lakes and 
passed through Detroit river. This passage 
is reported by ^Ir. Parkman as the first of 
which a recoi'd has been preserved. At this 



time, thc,v found near the present site of the 
city of Detroit a rude stone idol of much re- 
pute, worshiped by the liidians as a ^lanitou. 

In l(i7:5 -loliet made his successful explora- 
tions c)f the Wisconsin, Fox, and .Mississip[)i 
rivers, having gone by wa.v of .Mackinaw, 
whei'e he was .joined li.v Fathei- .Mar(|uette. 
The following year he returned to Quebec, 
probably by wa.v of Detroit river, where he 
reported to the (iovernor as having found 
continuous navigation, except at Niagara, 
from the Lake Ontai'io to the (Jnlf of .Mexico. 

The next account that we have of any visit 
to this part of Michigan was in lt)79. when 
La Salle again visited this locality. During 
the winter of lfi78-9 he built on the Niagara 
I'iver, a few miles above the falls, a vessel 
uith sixt,v tons burden, which he christened 
the (iriftin. \\hich was i)rovided with five 
small cannon. On the 7th of August. 1679, 
the (ii'iffin, being the first sailing vessel on 
the lakes, started on her voyage to the north- 
west and anchored at the mouth of the De- 
troit river on the evening of the lOfh of that 
month. A canoe in charge of Tonty was from 
there sent on to meet the French, whom La 
Salle had the fall before sent forward to De- 
troit to await his coming. These facts would 
indicate that considerable was then known of 
the country and that suitable quarters could 
be provided in which this advance guard 
could maintain themselves during the win- 
ter. The next few da.vs were occupied with 
the passage up the Detroit river, the beauties 
and attractions of the shores of which stroug- 
l.v tempted La Salle to settle on the strait. 
On August 12, the parties sailed into the lake 
now known as Lake St. Clair, and that being 
the da.v on the calendar as Ste. Claire's Day, 
the lake was duly christened. The impres- 
sion has almost univei'sally obtainetl that this 
lake was named for (ieneral .\rtliiii- St. Clair, 
Governor of the Northwest Territory from 
1787-18(10. Indeed it was so declared by 
•Tudu'e Woodward as lonsi ago as .lauuai'y. 
180(;, in a letter to W;ishington tliscussing 
the land titles in ^liehigau where he 
points out that St. Clair should not be eon- 
fused with Sinclair for whom the river was 
named. Patrick Sinclair was an officer in the 
British army who was connHandant at Fort 
Sinclair, antl in nti.") imrcluised nearly four 
thousand acres ad.ioining the rivei' now known 
as St. Clair. Lake St. Clair was called by 
the Hurons. who dwi'lt on its shores, Otsiketa, 
which, according to Judge Campbell, was the 
Indian word for salt, the name probably 
arising because of the salt springs near the 



550 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



('linliin I'ivi'i-, wliich wimt \\v\l kuowii diiriiiir 
the ciirlii^r days of. the country. On the 
first French maps of this district, this hike 
has hi'i'ii variously marked, ■"hie chandler" 
(ketth'. from its round sliaj)ei. "Kandakio. 
and ■■( ianatcliio. "" As La Salle was wind 
lionnd for several days antl unable with the 
(irirtin to stem the strong cui'reut of St. Clair 
river, it is j)rol)ahle that the ^laeondj county 
slioics of tile lake were explored by his party. 
llenue[iin. the historian of the party, however, 
has failed to leave any record of the discover- 
ies, if an.v, that were made. La Salle con- 
tiiuu'd his e.xploi'ations arouiul to Lake ilichi- 
gitn and the -Mississipjii rivei-. but the Gi'iftin 
never returned thi'ough the Detroit I'iver, but 
was lost in the upper lakes. 

In l(iS4 l)e la Harri\ (ioveruor of New 
France, sent an arm.v to .Mackinaw via Lake 
Erie and the Strait, and about this time dis- 
putes i)eg:au to arise betwe^u the French and 
the English (iovernors of New York relative 
to the bouudai'y between their respective ter- 
ritoi'ies, and in 1686 the French began steps 
looking to the fortification of the Strait. The 
first station or fort established in pursuing 
this policy was located at or near Fort (ira- 
tiot. and was called Fort St. Joseph. Al- 
though it is quite certain that temporary 
fortifications were established at Detroit, prior 
to that time, a permanent stand was not es- 
tablished at Detroit until 1701, when Fort 
Pontcharti-ain was founded by Cadillac, and 
July 14, ITlll, is commonly considered the day 
of the founding of Detroit. 

For a long time after Detroit was founded 
it was regarded by the French authorities as 
of impoi'tance solely as a military station, and 
although it formed a rall.viug point for all the 
Fi-ench in southeastern .Michigan, and the 
fi'iendly Indians attached to them, it was not 
until nearly a half a century later that it 
became anything more than a military sta- 
tion. Cadillac "s first care, however, was to 
gather about him and near his fort, the friend- 
ly Indians, and liis success in that polic.v 
aroused thi' bitter opjiosition of the Jesuit 
Fatlicis. located at Mackinaw, who found 
their Imld iipmi the Indians somewhat weak- 
ened by ('ailillac"s success. There is no doubt 
the secret o])position of the Jesuits had much 
to do with llie disfavor with which the De- 
troit post was regarded at the home office, 
and with the lack of success which met Cadil- 
lac's efforts to provide for the increase in the 
settlement about Detroit. Cadillac's succes- 
sor. De la Foret, did not pursue his predeces- 
sor's policy of encouraging settlement, but 



desired that the jiost should l)c converted into 
a strictly military trading post, giving the 
commander an exclusivt^ monopoly, and in a 
memorial, written in 1714. iiisisii^d that the 
.■cttlers could not safel_\- pursue tlieir agricul- 
tui'al imj)i'ovemeut because of the danger 
fi-om the Lidians with whom there had ali'eady 
been some trouble. From the memoirs and 
reports wi-itten at this period, it is certain that 
the agriculture of the country consisted al- 
most entirely of the work of the Indians, who 
were reported as raising abundant crops of 
corn, peas, beans and melons and some wheat, 
the Ilurons being the- most industrious and 
(luiet of all the tribes. Charlevoi.K. who vis- 
ited Detroit in 1721, sjxike of there being con- 
siderable cultivated laiul of great wealth, and 
fertility, and he. too, I'cfci-s to the Ilurons 
I'aising lai'ge (puuitities of i)rovisioiis for sale, 
and (Miiumented upon theii- shi'ewdness in 
trading. 

The indifference of the French authorities 
to the importance of Detroit, the general co- 
lonial policy adopted In- the authorities of 
.\ew Fi'ance of rcgai'ding the countr.v as im- 
I)ortant chietl.v for its fur trade and the mili- 
tary i)osts as important solel.v as aids in main- 
taining possession rather than as rallying 
points for settlement, together with the dan- 
gers which Indian warfare brought on, uu- 
doubtedl.v prevented any settlement being 
made about Deti'oit as far away as the limits 
of Macondi count.v until after the middle of 
the eighteenth centur.\'. Influenced largel.v. 
undoubtedl.v. by the elaborate memoir on the 
French colonists prejiared iiy (iovernor De 
la Galissonniere, a considerable number of 
settlers were sent out from 17.10-51, and about 
the same time the fort and stockade at De- 
troit were consiilerabl.v enlarged. Advances 
wei'c made to these settlei's by the uovernment 
until fl;e\" witi- able to take cai'e of them- 
selves, wliicli they Were soon able lo do, as 
Bigot, the intendant. reported in 17.")il that 
these new settlers had been taking care of 
themselves since 17r)4, from which time they 
had entailed no expense on the ci'own. 

.\s can easily be imagined among these 
settlers sent out li.\ the government were some 
of the poorer and nioi-e undesirable classes of 
people of whom the home government desired 
to be relieved and who brought no great stock 
of al)ility, industrv or integrity to add to the 
new comnnmity, .vet among them, too, were 
men of couraii'e and enterprise who, being 
dissatisfied with the conditions at home, or 
j)ossessed of a love of adventure, sought 
greater opportunities in the new and nnde- 



PAST AM) PKKSHXT OV MACO.MH (•(M-NTY 



551 



veloped eoiintry. Tlu' iiitrocluctioii ul' these 
new colonists was l)ut the l)eji:iiiiiiiig of a new 
policy, and each year or so saw further addi- 
tions made to the settlement about Detroit, 
and each yrai- it was found necessary to take 
up the lands moi'e reniuli' from tlie fort. The 
river foriiiini;' tlie most handy and practically 
the only accessil)le means of travel, it was nec- 
essary that the lands taken up should face the 
water, and the settlements sradually spread 
lip the Detroit river alonu: the shore of Lake 
St. Clair, and up the small streams emptying: 
into the lake. It is practically certain that 
whoever may have been tlie first white visi- 
tors to -Macomb county, its Hrsi permanent 
settlers wmv among the French who had 
spread out from the settlements about De- 
troit. The custom prew up of claiming lands 
40 arpents deep with a frontage on the lake 
or river from 2 to lU arpents wide. A small 
plot of laud was usually cleared, a little log 
cabin built and just sutftcient grain, fruit and 
vegetables raised to supply the wants of the 
family. The woods aboiuided in game and 
the waters in fish, so that liut little was needed 
from the outside world to supply the abso- 
lute necessities of life. The nu\rket for any 
surjilus production was distant, difficult to 
reach and jjractically cut off by the expense 
and dangei's attendant upon getting there. It 
was inevitable under these circumstances that 
these settlei's should, in two or three genera- 
tions, have lost thrift and industry. There 
was no incentive to lalnu'. since the absence 
of a market sujjpressed all ambition to accum- 
ulate more than was needed for their own sup- 
plies. Both the necessity for keeping friendly 
with the Indians and the natural, genial dis- 
position of the Fi'cnch emigrant, led to closi; 
association, fratei'uizing and not infrenquent- 
ly to intermarriage with the Indians. French 
politeness, geiniine hospitality and comrade- 
rie, combined with policy to i>stablish such 
relations with the Indians, that they there- 
after forever remained their friends. And 
be it said to the credit of these early French 
settlers that as a rule by their kindness, their 
honest and nuinly treatment of the Indians, 
and faithfulness to their word once given to 
the aboriginals, they were able even at times 
when any English speaking man was in dan- 
ger of his life to remain undisturbed in theii' 
homes, and even to receive from the Indians, 
who were suffering from actual or beli(>ve(l 
wi-ongs fi'oin the hands of the whites, presents 
and assistance in the way of food and lu-o- 
teetion, which undoul)tedl\' savi-d many of 
them from death. 



'i'hcse French settlers and thcii- descen- 
dants, together with some few Knglish, who 
had been captured l)y the Indians in the 
.Vmcricau colonies when children and ado[)ted 
in tile liiiliaii tril)es. constituted practically 
all tile white inhabitants of ilaconib county 
until aftei- the close of the Kevolutionary 
War. Naturally these French and Indian 
captives, both fi-oni choice and compulsion, 
sympathized with the French in the French 
and Indian Wai' in 1765, and the Britisli oc- 
cui)ants of the fort at Detroit, after the close 
of that war. did not meet with any hearty 
;ind sympathetic welcome fi'oni the inhabi- 
tants, but the Fivnch inhabitant was too 
peace loving and indolent to have long enter- 
tained any ideas of opposing the |)owei-s to 
whom France had turned him over, and the 
chief opponents that the liritish had to con- 
tend against were the Indians, who, under 
Pontiac in ITfJ^i made a concei-ted attack on 
all the British posts and nearly stieceeded in 
wiping them out. The attack on Detroit un- 
der the personal dii'ection of Pontiac, was 
made ]May (1. 1763. and was defeated only 
because ]\la,ior (Uadwiii. commandant at De- 
ti-oit. had been warned of the well-ari-anged 
plot of the Indians. This warning was re- 
ceived through William Tucker, who was af- 
terwards the first English speaking settler 
of Macomb county. Mr. Tucker had been 
captured by the Indians when a mere child 
in Virginia, and with his brotlier had been 
bi'ought by the Indians to this region, and 
reared among his captors. At the time of 
Pontiac "s c()ns|>iracy he was attached to ]\Ia- 
.jor Gladwin at Detroit, and thi'ough his In- 
dian foster sister had learned of the designs 
of the wily Indian chief. This warning en- 
abled the garrison to provide for the attack, 
and to drive back the siqierior Indian f<(rces. 
A long siege of Detroit by the Indians fol- 
lowed, which nearly exhausted the resources 
of the besieged garrison. ''For sixty days 
and nights." said William Tuek'er. one of the 
.soldiers. "I was a sentinel on the ramparts, 
cjitching a few hours 's sleep with my clothes 
on and gun by my side." Aftei- the ])eace 
of Ftrecht was known, the Indians no longer 
received the assistance of the French inhabi- 
tants, and although they continued their war- 
fare, and in July nearly annihilated th<' 
British forces at the battle of Bloody Kun. 
they abandoned the fight in the f(>llo\ving 
ycai'. and treaties of peace were made with 
them, which resulted in the forts along the 
(ireat Lakes being again garrisoned with the 
British forces. 



552 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



AltliDUiili from this time until the close of 
the Revolutiiin. .Miehiuaii formed a part of 
the Britisli tei'ritories. little ett'ect was felt 
of this change of political power outside of 
military stations. So far as ]\lacomb county 
was concerned, the country progressed much 
after the same fashion that it had under the 
French reaime, additional settlers coming: in. 
locating along the water courses and taking 
up sucli portions of the wilderness as suited 
their fancy, with like inditt'ereuce both to 
the claims of the aboriginal possessors and to 
the claims of the .government. These settlers 
were chieHy Canadian-French, or descendants 
of the original Fi'ench inhabitants. The only 
important exception to this were settlements 
which were made by the iloravians at Fred- 
erick, and the Connors, who came in connec- 
tion with them. This will be noticed more 
at length in another chapter. 

Although by the treaty of 1783 theoretically 
all of Michigan become a part of the Ameri- 
can Territory, yet it was not until 1790 that 
l)ossession of the post was surrendered to the 
American forces and. practically speaking, 
]Macomb county territory remained in British 
possession until that date. In November, 
1794, Jay's treat.v was executed whereby it 
was agreed that these military posts lying 
west and south of the great chain of lakes 
should be given up on or before June 1. 1796, 
but it was July 1 before the terms of the 
treaty were actually carried into effect. 

The territory covered by the present I\Ia- 
eomb count.v was. until the time of the Ameri- 
cans taking possession in 179(j. populated al- 
most entirely by the French settlers referred 
to in this chapter with some few English 
speaking people who had been captured and 
brought in by the Indians. The history of the 
French settlers will be treated of in the next 
chapter, anil the few English speaking settlers 
will be treated of in the chapter on the early 
liistoiN' of .Mount Clemens, with the excep- 
tion of the Connor family, who came in the 
coiuit.v in connection with the iloravian set- 
tlement made at Frederick, and further in- 
formati(m concerning them will be found in 
the chapter on the ^Moravian settlement. From 
179(i until the close of the War of 1812 was 
a |)eriod of inactivity and uncertainty in the 
affairs of .Macond) county. The Indians were 
iHieasy. treacherous and largely intluenced by 
the English agitators, and it was not until 
after the close of the War of 1812 that the 
cotuity can be considered to have reached a 
peaceful and pernument basis of improve- 
ment. It was not until that time that meas- 



ui-es were perfected for surveying the lands 
to which the Indian title had been ex- 
tinguished by the treat.v of Detroit in 1807. 
and throwing these lands open for purchase 
and settlement. The military possession of 
the territory rested .solely upon the few posts 
located along the water front, along which 
were also scattered the few settlers who had 
taken up and inipi'oved lands. The situation 
of the inhabitants of the territory was vividly 
set fortli in a memorial prepared at a meet- 
ing held at Detroit Deceml)ei- 10. 1811. to be 
forwarded to the President. Senate and House 
of Representatives. The liurden of the me- 
morial was the importance and necessity of 
additional garrist)ns and an increase in the 
military force to lie located in the interior of 
the i)eninsula. rather than on the cour.se of 
navigation. Attention is called to the fact 
that the whole territory is "a double fron- 
tier; the British are on one side, the savages 
on the other. Eveiy individual house is a 
frontier. No one farm is governed by an- 
other farm in the rear of it.'" "At jn-esent 
the little commerce which remained is suf- 
ficiently safe. It is (lyricultunil production 
wliich is wanted. AVithout these garrisons 
you can neither run the lines of the treaty 
which has been last referred to. nor survey 
the lands acquired under it, nor sell them 
when surveyed, nor settle them when sold." 

In this memorial it was set up that there 
were nine principal .settlements in the tein'i- 
tory, the .seventh of which was described as 
the settlement of River Huron of Lake St. 
Clair, located forty nnles fi'om River Detroit 
settlement, and thirty-five miles from River 
St. Clair settlement, measurcnu'nts being evi- 
dently made along the waterwa.v. practically 
the only highway of eonnnunication. The 
population of the four settlements described 
as River Ecorce. River Rouge, River Detroit 
and River Huron of Lake St. Clair was given 
as 2.227. of whom 1..j9!) were nudes above the 
age of sixteen. The total popidation of the 
territory is given as 4.762. "of whom four- 
fifths are French and the remainder Ameri- 
cans, with a small portion British." 



CHAPTER III. 

FRENCH SETTLERS — PRIVATE CL.MIIS. 

Aside from th(> dangers arising from hos- 
tile Indians and the natural difficulties inevit- 
able in developing a new country far i-emoved 
from the centers of commercial aiul business 



PAST AXI) PKESENT OF MACOMB OOrXTY 



553 



activity, tlio most sei'ious lU'triiuent to the 
(li'Vfldpiiiciit of .Miicoinl) county, aiul, in fact, 
of all Michigan in the i-arly days, arose from 
the clitticulty and unci-rtainty of obtaining 
fixed and positive titk> to land. Xothinir de- 
velops a yfeater feelintr of seeurit.v and is a 
irreater incentive to industry aiul entei-prise 
tlian the certaint.v that those imi)rovenients 
which one's lalior pi-oduees will i-i'dound to 
the l)enetit of the lahoi'er in his old age, or to 
the beiielit of his de.seendants. The remote- 
ness of this loealit.v from the seat of power, 
while this country was controlled l).v the 
French and latei-. the frequent changes in 
political control and the failure of the authori- 
ties to i-ecognize the possiliilities of the eoun- 
ti-.\'. resulted in introducing a great element 
of uneertaint.v into the titles of those who 
occupied and improved the real estate, and 
this, no doubt, had much to do with the lack 
of enterprise which was noted and connaented 
on during the earlier years of this country's 
history. 

Until the question of land titles in ^lichigan 
was taken up and provided for by the Ameri- 
can Congress, the claim of individuals to the 
ownership of land I'ested upon one of four 
bases : 

First, (irants issued b.v the French Oov- 
ernoi's oi" Conuuandants of New France, as 
Canada was then called, while that province 
included or was claimed to include the terri- 
tory now occupied b.v Michigan. The writer is 
unable to find that any lands within ^lacomb 
count.v were claimed to be covered b.v any of 
these supposed grants. 

Second. Claims pretended to be derived 
from the British government between the 
time when France was compelled to give np 
her rights to this territory in 1763 and 1796. 
which marked the surrender of the British 
posts to the American government. ]\Iost of 
these grants were held illegal and the writer 
is not able to find that an.\'thing of interest 
touching ^laeomb count.v appears in connec- 
tion with the same. 

Third. Indian grants, i. e.. deeds from 
the Indians to ])i-ivate individuals. October 
7, 1763, by j)roclamation of the King of (ireat 
Bi'itain, the Governor of the Province of Que- 
be<'. of which this countrv then formed a part, 
was Miithiirized to dispose of lands to persons 
appl.ving therefor upon such terms as w'cre 
then settled in other colonies ami upon such 
conditions as the King might direct, which 
l)rochimation also |>i'ovided that in order to 
prevent irregular ])ui-chases from the Indians, 
"no private person do presume to make any 



])urchase fi-om the said Indians of an.v lands 
reserved to the said Indians witliin those jiarts 
of oui- cdlonii's whci'e \\i- iiad thouiilit proper 
to idiow settlements." 

It was further provided that all pui'chases 
from the Indians shouhl be taken in the name 
of the King ami held for purpose of settle- 
ment, and shoidd be made only at some public 
meeting of the Indians. An ecpiall.v specific 
and I'mphatic jjrohibition of ])i'ivate pur- 
chases from the Indians was nuule by the 
American government inimediat<>l.\' upon the 
close of the Kevolutionar.v War. As ;i result 
of this jiolic.v all Indian deeds to private in- 
dividuals were refused i-eeognition as being 
of an.v foi'ce or validit.v. It is true tlud these 
governmental provisions, forbidding private 
purchases from the Indians would not apply 
to transactions had at Ihc time tlic Fi'ciieh 
were in control, but as all claimants under 
Indian deeds as old as the time of the French 
dominion were generall.v able to sulistantiate 
their claims on the grounds of possession and 
improvement, this cour.se was usuall.s' [lur- 
sued. and the old Indian deeds became unim- 
poi'tant. Yet many such deeds were obtained 
and would be of great interest. 

Fourth. Claims founded upon actual set- 
tlement and imi)rovement either with or with- 
out other pretended title, and umler this class 
come the bulk of the claims of settlers in ^la- 
comb coiuit.v nuide prior to 1810. 

In 1806 Judge Woodward reported to the 
Federal Oovernment. (|uite in detail regarding 
land titles in Michigan, which report was 
further supplemented later in the same .vear 
bv additional details. These reports and the 
agitation regarding the matter finall.v resulted 
in an act adopted ilarch. 1807. which gave 
to every one in actual occtipation in his own 
right, at the date of the act. title to any tract 
not exceeding 640 aci'cs. to which the Indian 
title had been extinguished, and which had 
been continuously possessed and improved by 
said parties oi" theii- grantors sinec> before 
July 1st. 1796, which date was agi-eed upon 
l)robably because it was approximatel.v the 
time when the American authoi-ities secin-ed 
actual possession of this territoi-.v. The act 
further provided for appointment of Com- 
missioners to take proofs and ad.i'udicate as 
to the facts from this evidence and to pass 
njjon the validit.v of the claims, after which 
sui've.vs were to be made and patents issued 
according to these sni'vevs. Thes(> Com- 
missioners first met in Detroit June -9. 1807, 
and the minutes of their meetings and the 
claims presented to them, together with the 



554 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



ti'stiiiiony ot'lVrctl in siijiport of the claims, 
affords the riehest fieUl i'or detailed informa- 
tiou eoiieeniiii'.;- the situation of Macomb coun- 
ty's eai'lii'st settlers. There ai'e some general 
i-epoi'ts coiicei'iiing the matter which afford 
much interesting- information, although their 
accuracy may be seriously questioned. July 
25, 1803. the Indian agent, Jouett, at Detroit, 
reported to the Secretary of War the results 
of his visits and investigations into the situ- 
ation of the settlements in the vicinity of De- 
troit. If his judgment of the progressiveness 
of the settlei's is no better than his infornm- 
tion concerning the navigability of our chief 
river, the ivport is not of any great historical 
value, but seh'ctions therefrom are here pre- 
sented for what tiiey uuiy be woi'th as among 
the few descriptions of our earliest settlements 
that can be obtained. lii reading this, it 
must be remembered that it was written at a 
time (1803) when strong and bitter pre,iudices 
existed both against England and Prance, 
and that it was inevitable that the personal 
feeling and |)re.iudices of the writer would 
have their effect upon his views of the settlers 
and the country. Wlieiiever the word Ca- 
nadians is Used, it is to be understood that 
descendants o! Fi-ench were referred to. 

The Indian agent referred to his report as 
"little more than an outline exhibiting the 
ytrominent features, " ' and as an endeavor to 
"'state concisely all those facts concerning 
which I imagine the government would wi.sh 
to he informed."' "The geographical remarks 
are all made from actual observation. I have 
avoided neither troulile nor fatigue and have 
thus lo)ig delayed to advise you with respect 
to my pi'ogress. only that 1 might by miiuite 
investigation lie enabled to give you a more 
satisfactory account. ' ' 

BegiTuiing with the settlement upon ( )tter 
Creek, which iMopties into Lake Erie, each one 
of the settlenu'uts was taken ii]) and its salient 
or peeuliai- features are concisi>ly ])i-esented. 
Although outside of our county, it m.iy be in- 
teresting to know that he speaks of the pov- 
erty of the .soil of Hog Island (now Detroit's 
beautiful Helle Tsle Pai'k). as rendering it of 
lint little value to private pri-sons. regarding 
the same, however, as a spot of national im- 
portance for a garrison site, beeatise of its 
command of the river. The distaiu-e from 
Detroit to drosst' I'ointe was at that time 
occtipied by sixty farms, whose lands were 
low aTul vei-y unhealthy, owing to a wide 
marsh. It indicates alike the ancientnes.s of 
these settlements and also the lack of appre- 
ciation of the richness of our soil that he i"e- 



lioits: "the soil is impoverished and produces 
hut little. The buildings which were once 
comparatively of the better kind, are now in 
a state of rapid decline." 

('(lining now to JIacomb county lands, he 
sjieaks of Milk river as "so inconsiderable a 
rivulet, and rendered, from its particular 
situation, so very unimportant, I shall not 
waste my time nor tire your patience with its 
description. From its mouth to the River 
Huron is ll2 miles; less calculated for a set- 
tlement than any other I have seen in this 
country. It is flat, low and marshy. These 
disadvantages, combined with its unhealth,v 
efHiivia. form obstacles which neither the iu- 
ilustry nor the perseverance of the agricul- 
turist will he able to surmount. There are, 
nevertheless, thirty settlei's on this tract, not- 
withstanding its a])|)arent destitution of the 
iidvantages of soil, situation and mai-ket. 
These people came into possession in the year 
1797. without authority even from the In- 
dians. Their divisional lines are marked by 
themselves, and they are ignorant of the 
nujnher of acres contained in the respective 
farms. This .settlement, however, possesses 
that irregularity which is so remarkable in 
this country. The farmers are as poor as 
they ai'c unfortunate in the choice of ihrir 
situation. All of them are Canadians. 

"The i-iver Huron is discharged into Lake 
Sinclaii-. twenty-seven miles above Deti'oit 
and eighteen above the Strait. * * * 
The river is a gi'utle. narrow stream iiariyublc 
for l)ii(i/s lliiihj iiiihs (iliiiri ils iniiKth. The 
settlements I'xtend u|) the river nine miles, and 
contain thii'ty-foiir families in the present oc;- 
cupancy laid off' as those on the River Raisin, 
with this dilference, that they have by survej' 
no fixed or determinate rear boundaries; each 
tract extending back from the river or front 
boundary to a bog at a distance of forty oi- 
fifty acT'es. This laud is l(>vel and the soil is 
dark and rich, laboring under no inconven- 
ience from too great a ((uantity of watei-. It is 
tolerably well timbered, llickoiy, oak and elm 
are most observable. Some of the people are 
agreeably situated; hut in general, they are 
poor in the extreme, nwing to that indolence 
and want of skill in agrieidture which so eon- 
s|iicuously marks the Canadian character of 
this country. All the settlers are of this de- 
scri])tion except four, who are Englishmen of 
industry and enterjjrise. ' ' The four referred 
to were probably William Tucker, Christian 
Clemens and two membei's of the Conner 
family, most likely .laTues and Henry. 
"Twenty of these farms were jiurchased of 



PAST AND I'UK.SKXT OF .MACU.MB CorNTY 



555 



the Iiulians and scttli'd in the year 17SS. ten 
ill tile year 1798. 179.') and 17'.l(). and I'our in 
the year 1800 witliont anthority of any kind." 

"Froni the Kiver Huron to Sinchiir river 
the distance following the circuitous nuirtrin of 
the lake is fifteen miles, with respect to tli<' in- 
termediate space it may he necessary to malic 
some oliservations. The first and most impor- 
tant sub.ject is a salt sjii-im;- on a small stream 
four miles east of the li'wrv ilindn and Hirer 
miles up the said sti-eam from Uie hiki>. " The 
small stream above refei-red to is now known 
as Salt river. "From experiments which have 
been made. I am .justified in sayini: llial this 
si)rinir deserves public atlcnliini. It was 
bought some time ago by a couple of nieii. who 
owing to their want of capital, were incapable 
of conducting- the business on an advantageous 
plan. By these nieu I have been assui-ed that 
a quart of water did with them turn one gill 
of salt and in all their trials with greater 
ipiantities it never failed to produce in the 
like jn'oportion. There is a sufficient ([uantity 
of water for the supply of works to any extent. 
It is scarcely necessary to observe that this 
spring is claimed by a mercantile house under 
the firm name of ]\Ieldrum & Parks; the par- 
ticulars of which claim 1 consider as un- 
worthy of investigation, well knowing it must 
have been recently obtained from the Indians. 
The lauds about the spring are rich and fa- 
vorable for tillage; particularly for wheat. 
Those extending to the mouth of the River 
Sinclair are rather too low and marshy. Two 
Canadian families have, however, settled on 
them, who took possession of the spots they 
respectively occupied in the year ISOl." 

He fui-ther speaks of twelve farms situated 
on the Kiver Sinclair six miles up, held by- 
Canadians with the title derived from simple 
possession since the years 1785-1790. From 
this settlement for twelve miles U]) the river 
there was no sign of a house, when there sud- 
denly came in sight, a number of fertile and 
well improved farms "edging the river for the 
extent of ten miles to the amount of twenty- 
five farms now under cultivation." A large 
projiortion of this land he reports as having 
been purchased of the Indians "by Patrick 
Sinclair, Bi'itish commandant at Fort Sinclair 
in the year 176'), who held if until the year 
1782; during that time deriving from it con- 
siderable profit as a pinery. 

In the year 1782, he left tins country and 
gave it by deed of gift to a Canadian by the 
name of Votieur, who sold it in the year 17S4 
by the autioneer at pul)lic sale, at which time 
Meldiuiii & Park, a mercantile house in this 



country, Ijecame the purchasers, who have 
since that jicriod claimetl it as their property 
and erecteil upon it valuable improvements; 
there are, however, five farmers upon it, be- 
sides the tenant of .Meldrum & Park, who for- 
cibly settled the farms they severally occupied 
in flic year 1800; the other nineteen farmers 
claimed under Indian deeds in the year 1782." 

"The Kiver Sinclair is in length forty-five 
miles, and in beauty of navigation pi-eferable 
to Detroit, though not (piite as wide. Such is 
its transparency that the eye can distinguish 
at its bottom in lifteeu feet of water the most 
minute ob.jcct ; in it are no shoals, and in 
de])tli generally five or six fathoms." 

It would be well to compare with this, the 
reports mad(> by .ludge A. B. Woodwai'd, who 
l)layed so prominent a part in the early history 
of Detroit. Judge Woodward, although er- 
ratic, arbitrary and somewhat visionary, was a 
man of marked ability, strong personality, 
broad minded and evidently thoroughly im- 
bued with the possibilities of develoinnent in 
this country. The opportunities and necessi- 
ties of this section were repeatedly urged by 
Judge Woodward and Governor Hull in var- 
ious communications to Congress, the Presi- 
dent and other federal officials and the follow- 
ing description, written by Judge Woodward 
in 1806 of the class of people who formed the 
major part of the poi)ulation, will be found 
especially interesting. "The French colonists 
never possessed the same knowledge of agricul- 
ture which the American colonists possessed. 
The front of their farms is the dwelling house 
and garden. In the rear of this is generally 
a beautiful and very valuable orchard. In the 
rear of the orcharil a few have a wheatfield or 
a cornfield. The cultivation of the whole 
depth of the farm is seldom instanced. In this 
way, both sides of the strait are settled, the 
houses in one line along the banks of the river 
about twenty-five rods ajiart resembling one 
continuous village without any settlements 
ott' from the river. Their farming is alto- 
gether on the small scale, and hence there is 
little or no disposition to engross lands. These 
circumstances explain, and perhaps in some 
measure produce the chai'acter of the people. 
Possessed of comfort, content and habitual 
gaiety; honest beyond comparison, generous. 
hos])itable and polished: they seek in the 
duties of piety, and in the pleasures of socia- 
bility, an oblivion of all the cares of ambition 
and avarice as well as of science." 

Octobei-. 10, 180"). Judge AVoodward and 
Covernor Hull united in a report to President 
Jefferson concerning the huid titles in .Michi- 



556 



PAST AND PRESENT OF LIACOMB COUNTY 



gan. This Mas shortly after the forniatiuii of 
the territorial government and the arrival at 
Deti'oit of the (iovei'nor and teri-itoi'ial judges, 
in whom, subject to the approval of Congress, 
were vested all the powers of legislation for 
the territory. The presiding judge, A. B. 
Woodward arrived at Detroit June 20, 1805, 
antl the (lovernor on the first of July. They 
found Detroit in ruins, the entiiv village hav- 
ing been i)urned on the morning of -Inne 11, 
and its inhabitants eompelled to find refuge 
among the neighboring settlements on l)oth 
sides of the river or to eanip on the open com- 
mons known as the public grounds in the 
vicinity of the village. This fire, which at the 
time .seemed so disastrous and the cause of 
much suffering, opened the way for the laying 
out of Detroit in its j)resent conunodioiis and 
beautiful fashiim. The Tuieertaiuty of land ten- 
ure and the advisability of extreme liberality 
on the part of the American Government were 
strongly and repeatedly urged and the neces- 
sity of jn-oviding oi)piirtunities for obtaining 
land titles on this side of the boundary on as 
liberal and easy terms as they could be ob- 
tained on the British side of the line was urged 
at considerable length. Referring to the pur- 
chases from the Indians, this report says: "In- 
dividuals have i)n)ceeded to extinguish the 
native right, contrary to the regulations of all 
the governments ; and, in some instances ex- 
tensive settlements have been made on titles 
thus acquired. What ai'rangements the 
United States will make on this head, it be- 
longs not to us to anticipate: we shall only 
reconnnend a liberal and merciful disposition 
to the people of this country of whom it may 
be safely asserted they are less to be charged 
with dej)ravity of character than their govern- 
ments have been with cruel neglect and in- 
difference. * * * "When the American 
comes into contact with the aboi'iginal, if he is 
not considered as an enemy, he is at least re- 
garded as a charactei' with whom they are to 
struggle, and, if in no other way, certainly in 
a pecuniary view. But the Canadian allied iiy 
blood, by long established intereonr.se, by 
countless reciprocity of services, their native 
cliiims having long been extinguished, and 
theii' honoi- and good faith having been repeat- 
edl\' pledged foi' his pi-otection, is uniformly 
regai'di'd as liieii' brother, and with him the.v 
ai'e tlisi)osed to make a connnon cause. Hence 
justice and liberal justice, to the Canadian in- 
habitants is an imjioi'tant point of jiolicy in 
the conduct of the Amei'ican (iovernimiit tn- 
wai'ds the aboriginal inlialiilants. '" 



January -t, IMOG, Judge Woodward nuide a 
further and more detailed report to the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, I'elative to the measures 
of lands and to the luunlier of improved farms 
in the territory, in the coui'se of which report, 
he points out the difference between the 
French acre, w liieli was the same as the Paris 
iirpcnl. and the American acre, differences 
w hich nnist be understood to accurately under- 
.stand much of the old descriptions. To this 
day the French descendants of these early 
lake shore settlers measure distances fre- 
quently by the aci'e, i. e., the length of one side 
of the square French acre. 

"The American acre is nearly 13 poles 
.square, that is to say, exactly 2(50 s([uare poles. 
The pole contains 16 feet fi inches. 

"The French acre of Michigan is a square, 
the side of which is 180 Pai'is feet equal to 192 
Loudon feet and nearly 3 inches. The dift'er- 
ence of a side of a square containing one 
French acre and the side of a square contain- 
ing one American acre is 16 feet 5 inches and 
;d)out 64-10(1 parts of an inch, nearly one 
pole. "" 

Referring ti> the settlements north of De- 
troit, it was said, "along and north of Lake 
St. Claii' in a country of which the Indian 
title is not yet cleai'ly extinguished by the gov- 
ernment of the T'uited States, there are 123 
farms," claimed eithei- under Indian deeds 
or by right of occiqiation. In a supplemen- 
tal report made on the 17th of the same 
month. Judge Woodward referred to the 
vai'ious settlements in the territory and 
gave the dates of settlements and the 
nundier of farms contained in each of 
them. Fi'om this, it ajijiears that in 
the present limits of ilaeomb county thei'e liad 
been made a number of settlements. ' " In 1783 
twenty settlements were nuule on Lake St. 
Claii;" in which settlement there was at that 
time twenty farms. "In 1788 twenty settle- 
ments were made on la Riviere aux Hurons." 
"In 17!t3 a considei'able addition was made to 
the settlements on the Huron river;'" ten new 
farms apparently being added. "In 17!t7 a 
large nund)ei' of families (elsewhere given as 
thirty) altogether Canadians settled on what 
is ealliMl ;\Iilk river and in th<> coinitry north 
(if it." " In 1800 foui- settlers were added to 
those on th(> llui'on rivei'. " 

"During all this period great anxiety exist- 
ed among the ])eo])le to obtain regular titles. 
.\ttached to the American jurisdiction, their 
determination seemed to be to throw them- 
selves ujxin the iiici'cy iif till' .Vmerican Gov- 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF .MACO.MU CorNTY 



557 



eriiiiient wlieii it liri-aiiie iiicliiu'd to attend to 
their situation. In 1S02 ilireetions were given 
to the Indian ay:eut by the Secretary of the De- 
partiiieat of War to investigate and report the 
titles of this countiy. The inlialiitants receiv- 
ed }iini with the i;reatest hosi)itality and can- 
dor, concealing' or niisi'epresenting none of the 
facts attending tlieii' respective settlements 
and nianifi'st<'d theii' joy at the govei'nnient 's 
turning their attention to the titles of that 
country.'" 

As was jioiiiti'd ciut ill tliis re|)oi't all of these 
settlements with jiossibly the exception of 
.some on Lake St. Clair were beyond the terri- 
tory to which the Indian title had been ex- 
tinguished and the necessity foi- itrompt steps 
to obtain the Indian title to a greater extent 
of land was strongly urged. At this time the 
only land in this jiart of .Michigan, the Indian 
title to which had been released consisted of a 
strij) of land six miles wide running from the 
Kiver Kaisin northerly to Lake St. Clair. This 
had been obtained under the French regime. 
and had been confirmed by the treaties with 
the Indian.s at Ft. Mcintosh. Ft. Ilalmar and 
(ireenville. 

As before statetl the title to the lands which 
the settlers had occupied and improved was 
passed upon by a board of conunissioners who 
met at Detroit at various times up to Fel)ruary. 
ISll. and took testimony of po.sse.ssion and im- 
provement, and awarded tracts of various 
sizes not exceeding 640 acres to those who fur- 
nished satisfactory proof of eoiitinuous occu- 
pation from July 1. 179(), on. These private 
claims thus established constitute the earliest 
legal titles of the county and in the aggregate 
occupy the greater part of the present town- 
ship of Harrison and the larger part of tlie 
lake front in Erin and Chesterfield and of 
lioth lianks of the Clinton Kiver in Clinton 
1o\vnshi]> \ip to and including the site of Fred- 
erick. From the proofs thus taken consider- 
able can be learned of the residents of those 
days and of the situation of their fai'ius. These 
genial, company-loving Frt'uch would have 
dieil of eiunii had they settled as the eastern 
Vanl\ee backwoodsman was accustomed to do 
— in the heart of the forest, miles from neigh- 
bors whom he might not see for months at a 
time — he wanted friendly and frecpient in- 
tercoui'.se with his kind. So clo.se to each other 
as to be almost within shouting distance, wei'c 
built the little log cabins on farms fronting a 
few rods on the water and stretching back into 
unbroken wilderness, sometimes almost a mile. 
Nor was this as inconvenient a.s might seem. 
FisliiuL:' and trapjiinu' were moi'e favorite em- 



ployments than agriculture, and the rear for- 
ests were resorted to oidy foi' game and fire- 
wood. 

From all that can l)e found, an effort will 
be made to give some idea of who lived along 
the lake and river and the improvements they 
had wrought in the forests in the time be- 
tween the taking of the county as a part of the 
American possessions and the War of 1812. 
Heginning at the south Xo. '222 is the first pri- 
vate claim whose lake front, where the build- 
ings and improvements were naturally made, 
lies within our county. The south part of this 
claim was, in ITSHi, in th<> pt).sse.ssion of Fran- 
cois Ble (progenitor no doubt of some of the 
Blays of today), who sold to William Forsyth, 
who occupied the same until 1806, when he 
sold to Antolne Reuand for !|;10().U0. The lat- 
ter also bought in 1808 the north part of the 
claim foi' $112.50 fi-om Jacques Allard, thus 
obtaining the whole 120 acres now known as 
Private Claim 222, and the uncertain improve- 
ments thereon for .'|;212.50 and his expenses in 
proving up his claim. 

Next north lay the eighty acres allowed to 
Joseph Campeau, the prominent and ( for 
those days) wealthy Detroit merchant, as 
claim Xo. 5-14. This appears to have been long 
in the possession of Pierre Dusehene and on it 
in 1808 a house had been built and about twen- 
ty aci'es had been cultivated. Next to the 
north was the largest and more prospei'ous of 
the early farms — the Ga/.et Tremble f;irm at 
.Milk 1-iivcr Point. The claim was allowed to 
Tremble as grantee in deeds from one Maison 
and Antoine Larabelle, who had occupi(>(l and 
improved their I'cspective shares since a date 
long before ITlHi. At the time of the taking 
of the proofs in March, 180!). the entire (JOO 
aci'cs wei'i' inclosed "anil more than two hun- 
di'eil ari)eiits ai'e under cultivation: a dwelling 
house and two barns" being among the im- 
provements sworn to by ^Michel Dusehene. 
In the deeds and descrii)tions of this claim and 
others in that vicinity, the point and the river 
now and then known as Milk rivei' were also re- 
ferred to as "Pointe d'(inignolet " and "Hi- 
viei'c a Guignolet," names that evidently are 
significant of the choke-cherryand blackcherry 
brandy, which the genial and li((uor-loving 
French bon-vivants of those days associated 
with that home of plenty and niii'th. The farm 
remained in the family of (iazet Tremble at 
least until after the death of his son Jose[)h. 
and was in its day one of the finest and most 
productive of the old French farms of the lake 
shore, (iazet was the brother of IMichael 
Tremble (the father of Leander. llenrv. 



55« 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



Daniel and Louis Tiviiibley and (if 'Slvs. Leor 
Peltier), and also of the wife of Harry Con- 
ner of Conner creek fame, son of Richard 
Conner of the Jloravian Village, of whom 
much is told elsewhere, Gazet Tremble was 
an active and influential man of mediuni 
lieijjht. and his straiiiht athletic fi-aiiie adorned 
with a l)riuht liay-colored sash, was a familiar 
fijiUi-e still remembered by some of the oldest 
i-esidents. He lived to the ripe old .'.ge of 11)2. 

Next up the shore lay Private Claim 599 
allowed to the heirs of James Abbott, being 
described as sixteen acres front by forty deep, 
"near L'Anse Creuse" and bounded "south- 
southwest by Monsieur Duchesne." In 1808 
it appears by the testimony of .loseph Robi- 
taille, who as tenant for the claimant had oc- 
cupied the same upwards of eight years, there 
had been "about three ai'pents" cleared and 
inclosed and a house biult. James Abbott Mas 
an Irishman reputed to have been the first 
Enulish speaking merchant of Detroit. He 
and his son Robei't were prominent fur-traders 
:ind well known throughout the county. The 
Abbotts also secured the next claim of 640 
acres, having occupied the same by their ten- 
ants Laurent Orifford. Antoine Tiarabelle and 
(iazet Tremble. These two claims as surveyed 
occupied the lake front from -Milk river iip 
over a mile and a half and covered the lands 
years after owned by the Frazard, Whitmore, 
Labadie. Ti'omliley. Detour and Maison fami- 
lies. 

These two claims and all the lake fi-ont from 
.Milk river north to near whei-e the Lake Shore 
Catholic Chui'ch stands, were formerly spoken 
of as The Prairie, from the fact that for a 
sjiace of about a quarter of a mile back from 
the lake shore the low half-marshy land was 
bare of trees, and raised a luxui-iant growth 
of coarse, heavy grass, which, in years when 
the water was not too high to forbid, was cut 
and used for winter fodder. This low marshy 
prairie or meadow was probabh' largely re- 
sponsible for the very imfavorable impres.sion 
tliat the Indian Commissioner Jouett ex- 
pressed of this locality. The Englishman who 
translated the French idiom used in describ- 
ing the claims as filed, transfoi-med La Prairie 
into Long ]\leadow. and so Private Claim No. 
62.") is found botnided on the southwest by 
Long ]\readow. This claim was patented to 
Pierre Duchene. who had occupied it from be- 
fore 179(i until 1808 at lesust. Oazet Tremble 
testified to four arpents being enclosed and 
cultivated and a house erected which, how- 
ever, had been burned at the time of 
the heaiMiig. This claim is spoken nl' as 



bounded on the iioi-th by land occupied by 
Jac(jues AUai'il. but this pro])erty being the 
farm where stands the store for many years 
owned by Henry \'ernier, was not claimed by 
Allard or anyone else, but was afterward 
bought from the government. 

From here up to whei'e Noah .Mclochc now 
lives (the Couchez Road i no claim was put 
in. although it is j)robable that portions were 
occupied, butthe occupation had not continued 
long enough to enal)le the occupants to estab- 
lish claims. 

The present Noah ^[cloche and nei<rliboriug 
Socier farms are parts of Private Claim 630 
allowed in 1809 to Jean Batiste Socier, and 
here, as in many of these old lake shore farms, 
the land has i-emained in the family for \vp- 
wards of a century, being handed down from 
generation to generation. On each division for 
years, it was cu.stonutry to so subdivide that 
each heir had a water fi-ont. thus forming still 
narrower strips. The rights of Batiste Socier 
were established by the testimony of his neigh- 
bors, Francois A. Ti'cuilile and Simon Tax. 

A tract about four arpents wide, now the 
Allard farm lying just north of the ^lay Road 
was first occupied by Francois A. Tremble 
until he purcha.sed from ^lichel Duchene the 
second tract uj) the shore, claim munber 199, 
when he gave it over to Nicholas Patenande, 
Jr.. to whom it was patented in 1808 as Pri- 
vate Claim 250. after he had produced a deed 
1 in French) from Francois A. Tremble re- 
leasing to the claimant his rights in the tract. 

Between the two claims of Tremble was 
claim of 170 allowed to Jean Baptiste Vernier 
(lit Ladouceur. and which has remained in his 
family to this day. being now the farms of 
Leander Vernier and ]\lary Thiliault. Ver- 
nier I Ladouceur was a nickname that was 
used to distinguish him from the other Ver- 
niers) had located here pi-ior to 1796. and 
clearing a small space had built the usual log 
cabin and won from lake and forest the liveli- 
hood of himself and fau\ily. living to a ripe 
old age. The farm passed to Jean B. Jun. who 
had mari'ied a niece of Joseph Campeau, the 
wealthy merchant of Detroit, who owned 
many farms and claims along the shore. Upon 
the death of Jean B. Jun in 1835. the farm 
passed to the children, one of whom. Joliii 
Vernier, now lives in .Mt. Clenu'iis. an activi' 
vigorous man at se\-eiity-seven years. His 
share of tlu' old farm is now held by his 
daughter, ilrs. Tebo. 

Claim .\o. 199. taken ui> by p>tienne Du- 
chene, who occupied from 1796 to 1799 when 



PAS'l' AND PUKSKXT OF MACOMH COUNTY 



559 



it was tiiriu'il to his cnusiii wIki sdid to Fi'Mii- 
I'ois A. Ti'fiiible, has already liccii I'ctVrnHl to. 
This ti-aet was occupied aiul iniproxcd like \\\r 
other and has passed fi'oni llie oiii;iiial sell In- 
to Fi'aiieis Trenilile, liis son. who iivc'(l Ihei-r 
until liis de;;th some Iwenty-ei^ht years ago, 
wiien his ehikhrn took tile title thereto and 
still i-etaiu it. 

Olaiiii Xo. 820 of one hun<lred mid l\venl.\' 
acres lying next up the shore had many o\\ ners 
in its early days, as it has had ol' late years. 
Its earliest occujiant of wlioiii we know was 
(iahriel Reneau, who .gave it to his hi'othei-, 
Louis, who sold to Baziie ('re(|ni. h'rom the 
lattei- in July. ISOS. t'(u- the sum of ninety 
dollars it was purchased by -leau Jiatiste St. 
Laurent, whose home it was in September. 
1808, and to whom it was at that time allowed. 
Tliis was the home for man.v .\ears of Jacob 
Thihault (now usually wi'itten Tebo ) who died 
there Koine twent.v .vears ago aged 104 years, 
and is now owned by his daughter. Calista 
Meldrum. 

Before Jul.v. 1796. a house aiul small eleai'- 
iug had been made by Ignace Sene on claim 
566. Batiste Cochois, who Ijought of Sene, 
sold after two years' use of it to Jean B. Trem- 
ble (lit Andu-oise who had by Christmas, 1808, 
eight or nine arpents under cidtiviitioii and a 
house and stables on the i)lace. 

Although claim 565 had had no less than 
seven owners from July, ITlHi, when Joseph 
Laforet had cleared two arpents and built a 
house, to L'ecendjer, 1808. when it was granted 
to Etienne Socier only six arpents had then 
been cleared. The other early owners were 
Batiste Cochois, Ignace Sene, Henry Cam- 
peau, Ignace A. Trendile and Anable Latour. 

Nothing appears as to the amount of im- 
l)i'oveinent that Charles Choviu hatl ])Ut on Xo. 
278 during his upwards of twelve years' oeeu- 
jiation. 

Claim 225, prior to 17;H) had been sold by 
Francis St. Bemird to Louis Thibault. who 
latei' surrentlei'ed it back to St. Kenaril. and 
wliotlien sold to Jean B. Comparet Jnii. h'l'din 
liiiii .Michel Duehene bought and he proved up 
t he claim by showing its cont inuoiis cull i\at ion 
liy tlu'se successive owners. 

Simiiiar jiroofs enabled Pici'rc (ii'ilTiird to 
secure Xo. 220 and Jean B. Petit Xo. 505. 
which lie at the corner of Frin, Harrison and 
Clinton townships. 

Jo-ei)h Campau , the prominent wealtb.v 
trader of Deti'oit, had begun dealing in i-eal 
estate as early as 1786, and nuiny of the earlv 
farms of ilacoudj countv were owned bv liini. 



Xo less than iiini' claims were allowed him b.v 
I he ( 'oiiimissioiicrs. and others secui'ed their 
claims as assignees of Campau. Among these 
claims of Campau wert' 544 heretofore re- 
ferred to. 7:!6 and 545 on the lake, and 319, 
(i04, l:{:i, 1:50, l;i4 and 633 along the river. 
As Cam|)au did not ])e!'son<dh' oceup.v these, 
1he,v will be i-eferred to again onl.v where 
s])ecial improvements were shown or the ten- 
aiUs ai'c known. 

()ii ii45. when Fi'aiicois I iuchene secured the 
same in iSdli, about eight ai'pents were en- 
cloyed and iiiiiler cultivation and a house and 
barn wci-e built. lie had bought of Pierre 
( 'liaiii]iagne, who it seems also had owned No. 
:il5 lying next north. This he sold to Jean 
Siiiiarc. who in turn sold to Louis Ledne, the 
claimant before the Connuissioners. 

At the point sometimes referred to as Point 
of L'An-c> Creu^c. but usuall.v spoken of by 
the French as La Pointe a Chovin. being the 
point .just below the site of Liverpool, are the 
chiiuis gi'anted to Jean .Marsac, who had occu- 
pied and improved Xo. 162 for "several 
.vears" jjrevious to 17!M) and continued thereon 
until after 1808. ami to Charles Chovin, who 
had made his home on Xo. 277 foi' upwards of 
twelve .\ears. when the proofs were taken in 
1808. 

Claim Xo. ]t)4 lay both sides of the old 
Livei'pool road and included the site of Liver- 
pool. It was claiiiied by Joseph .Mitressr' dit 
Sausfacon. part of it as the gi'antee of Antoine 
Cecille who bought of X. Patenande and part 
of it as gi-antee of Louis Chaiiipagne who had 
purchased from Pii-rrc Laparle. In the 
Fri'uch deeds or contracts of i)ui-chase by Sans- 
facon. thei'c are meiUioned "a little house, 
horse stable, and fencing" as covered b.v the 
eonve.vances. Sansfaeoti like Laduceur was 
oi'iginall.v merely a nickname, but even in 1802 
it had evidently been a<'ce|ited by the famil.v, 
as these deeds are signed merel.v "Joseph 
Sausfacon." onntting the real surname, which 
is used in the claim tiled. To-day the old fam- 
ily name is forgotten by iieai-l.\' everyone and 
oidy Sausfacon is used. 

L.ving each side ol' the ('ottrcll road where 
it strikes the lake slmrc road ;ire claims 601 
and 602 allowed to llaptiste ami Alexis Didiay 
respe<-tively. On each had been built a house 
and parts broken up. From the (lescri|)tions, 
it is evident that between them was land occu- 
pied b.v one Simon Laiidri. but when the sur- 
veys w<'i'e made, there seems to have been 
nothing left for Simon. Below thes<' two was 
laiul ()ccui)ied by .Michael Comparet, who. how- 



560 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



ever, failed to prove up a claim to his posses- 
sion. pi-ol)al)ly beeause of its then seeininji- 
worthlessiiess. 

The Henry ('aiii|i;m faiin ahmji' the souther- 
ly line of whieh now runs the Boulevai'd and 
Lake Shore Electric line was eontirnied to 
Louis Laforge, who in 1808 had been in unin- 
terrupted possession for upwards of twelve 
years at least, and who could boast of a house, 
barn and a bciirliijj orclinnl on his premises — 
the latter an unusual possession at that time. 
This orchard has been largely destroyed by the 
ini-oads of the lake, but remnants of it still 
stand directly in front of the Club House at 
Lakeside, now run by Bigham. 

Next up the shore is No. 149 which Phillis 
Peltier swore to being possessed as early as 
1793 by one Cazet who sold to F'rancois Depre 
who .sold to the successful claimant Jean B. 
Pare. Real estate in those early days seems 
to have found ready and frequent sales. Claim 
If).") next north was owned by Charles Chovin, 
Nicholas Value and Joseph Dulie before the 
last named proved it uj) in 1808. 

AVe now come to claim 174, and here find the 
first exception to purely French occupation 
we have struck in coming up the lake shore. 
Among the first, if not I he first English speak- 
ing man to permanently locate in this part 
of the country was Jacob Thomas, called Dr. 
Thomas, who came up from Kentucky in 1774 
or earlier. He married into a French family, 
Donai by name and located on the lake shore, 
where his family and descendants have in part 
remained, and owned lands until within a few 
years. They have intermarried almost invar- 
iably with the French, until the fact that they 
were not purely French blood has been almost 
lost sight of. Robert Thomas, the son, was 
born in 1775, and John B. Thomas, his son, in 
ISOd. Private claim 174 was allowed in 1808 
til "The widow and children of Jacob 
Thomas. " 

The next tract iioilh was ehiimed by Jean 
Bajjtiste Nantay. wiio was evidently an active 
and widely known man in those ilays, since he 
was a witness to estalilish a great many of the 
claims. Jean .Marsac swore that the claimant 
had had ])ossession some fourteen years i)efoi'e 
and had cultivated the jiremises for .seven 
years, and Robert Thomas swore that he had 
lived on the premises ;ind cultivated them for 
six or seven yeai's prioi' to the time of the tak- 
ing of testimony. Sci)tend)ei-, 1808, but that 
his possession was conti-ai'y to the claimant's 
wisiies ; that at the timi' he took possession, the 
land had been idle for about two vears. A 



portion of the land lying next north of this 
claim appears to have been claimed by Nicho- 
las Chapaton. the great uncle of Oliver Chap- 
aton. Li support of the claims of Chapaton. 
who claimed ItiO acres bounded north by Phil- 
lis Peltier and on the .south by land of Nan- 
tay, .six different witnesses were sworn, being 
Nantay, Jean IMarsac, Michel Comjjaret, 
Pierre Lanoue dit Leblanc. Jean Haptiste, 
Louis and Benoist Chapaton. Nantay testi- 
fied that Chapaton had built a fence around 
his claim before July 1. 17!Mi. and cut a .stack 
of hay. but had not cultivated any of the laud 
or made no improveiiunits; that Phillis Pel- 
tier, however, had built two houses, one of 
which had been burned. Louis Chapaton had 
heard Phillis Peltier say that the Lidians had 
given that tract of land to him. Peltiei'. and 
Chapaton. In sui)port of this claim was also 
produced a deed written in French, dated De- 
troit, ilay 8, 1795, purporting to be signed by 
two Indian chiefs, Vouistamance and Nanguy, 
giving a tract of land, bounded by the lands of 
Nantay and Peltier to "sieur Colet Chapa- 
ton."" Jean ^larsac dit Punaeha testified that 
the claimant had cut a .stack of hay, but had 
made no improvement; that Phillis Peltier 
had built a house on the tract "about two and 
one-half arpents this side of the bridge," over 
the Ventre de Boeuf: that Peltier had culti- 
vated sonu^ seven or eight acres on the lower 
part of the farm which improvements, how- 
ever, witness thought had been made since the 
Americans had taken possession of the coun- 
tiy; that the Indian chiefs had charged the 
witness not to let any person .settle or enter on 
these lands, as they had given them to their 
friends, Peltier and Chapaton. Jean B. Chap- 
aton testitied that in August. 1711.') the claim- 
ant had mowed hay on the premises, and that 
in the February following he and the claim- 
ant had taken the hay away and cut logs to 
build a house: that Peltiei' had at that time 
iiiaili' use of one side of the tract, and 
Chapaton the othei'; that no imjii'ovements 
had been made on Chai);iton"s part of the 
tract. Init that Peltier iui.l eultivati'd his 
foi- the past five oi- six years. Jean B. 
Pare swore that for fifteen year Phillis Pel- 
tier had been in possession and cultivateil his 
]ii-emises. Accoi'dinuly the Conunissioners i-e- 
jeeted the claim of Chapaton, an<l i;raiiti'd 
claim No, 14S to Phillis Peltier. 

Tile farm now owied by the Mart/ lu-ii's be- 
ing claim 1()S was gi-anted to Louis Camiteau 
U|)on the testimony of (leorge Meldrum and 
(laiiii .')4.') and :!!!•. which toucthei- with ItiS. 



PAST AND PIJKSKNT OF :\rAro:\IB COUNTY 



561 



iMiiistitiitr the most of the iiuirsh I'aniis lying- 
cast of the road coiiunoiily spoken of as the 
.Marsh road, were graiitetl to Joseph Canipeaii, 
lie appearing to have cultivated and occupied 
them, or purchasetl the I'ights of those wiio 
hatl. Thirtv acres were untler cultivalion on 

r)4.-i. 

Claim l.")!. which together with tlu' east half 
of 139 forms the Anthony Amcis farm of to- 
day, was granted to Francois St. Obin. it hav- 
ing been shown that the farm had l)een cul- 
tivated and occupied for at least twenty years. 
It had been owned formerly by ]\liehel Com- 
paret, Jeau B. Bodin and Iguaee Moras. This 
claim and all succeeding ones nntil the other 
claim of Iguaee floras is reached, are bounded 
by tlie river. Following up on the south bank 
of the river claim 238 was allowed to Louis 
Chapaton as grantee of Jos. Campeau, he 
having purchased the farm in March. 1S03. for 
forty pounds. 

Claim 604 which covered a strip lunning 
from L"Anse Crense Bay to the river and in- 
cluding the Frank ;\loore farm on the bay and 
Kath and Tilk farms on the river, was sub- 
ject to controversy between Joseph Campeau 
and the heirs of Cecille Campeau, and the tes- 
timony introduced, also brings out the fact 
that Isaac and John Williams were at least in- 
terested in this land, if not occupants of it. 
The contest between Campeau and the Wil- 
liams claimants, heirs of Cecille Campeau, 
turned on the ease of domestic infelicity that 
however unfortunate in itself has at least re- 
sulted in furnishing more evidence of the 
early occupants of this tract than we have in 
most cases. Camjiean's claim was based upon 
a deed from Jacques Lozon. in which Cecille, 
his wife, had refused to join and a sharp con- 
troversy developed as to whether the place 
was the property of the husband or the wife, 
but the amusing contradictions and confusion 
ill the testimony of the witness and the lack 
of certainty regarding the various early trans- 
fers of title — they were evidently usually 
made liy mere delivery of possession without 
writing — lend great uncertainty as to the jus- 
tice of the respective claims. The hearing was 
adjourned several times, and finally in Au- 
gust. 1809. without additional evidence, the 
commissionei's disallowed the claim of the 
Williams heirs and conlirmed the tract to 
Joseph Campeau as No. 604 in a manner that 
suggests the probability that Campeau had 
settled with the opposing claimants, who there- 
uiion abandoned their etrorts. Fi'om the testi- 
mony of the various witnesses. Jacques, Ijouis 
and Touissant Campeau. Jac(|ues Lozon. 



Josejih Uobertjean, Jean B. Nantay, Michael 
antl Ji'an B. Comparet, Jr., the following facts 
can be gleaned: Jean \i. Conqjaret, Sr., was 
the first one to make any inqirovemeuts upon 
this land. He and his sons. Joseph. Francis 
and Jean Marie Comparet, and one John Flin. 
inqiroved the premises considei-aiily as early as 
1788, clearing at least an acre and a half, and 
planting corn thereon and raising "the sqnai'c 
of a house up to tile joist." That they, through 
their agent. Francis Coiiqiaret. sold their 
rights to Thomas Edwai-ds, and one Matt, after 
having lived on the i)remises some four or five 
years. Before the Conqjarets improved the 
land, it was rumored that it belonged to 
Thomas Williams by virtue of an Indian deed, 
and aliout the time the Coiiqiarets went into 
possession, Isaac Williams sold a poi'tion of 
the land to Comparet. Edwards sold either 
to Jacques Lozon or to his wife Cecille Wil- 
liams Lozon (nee Campeau?) The Lozons, 
with the family of Williams children moved 
on to the premises about 1793, at least long 
prior to 1796, and (piite extensive improve- 
ments were made. The evidence is contradic- 
tory as to statements that have been made bj' 
Lozon as to whether his jiosscssion was in his 
own right or on behalf of his wife, but it ap- 
pears that he had nothing when they came 
there,' and that at least a portion of the pur- 
chase price was furnished from her means. 
The balance of the purchase price was paid 
by an order on Joseph Campeau, which he 
honored, and to secure the payment of which, 
he afterward obtained a mortgage from the 
Lozons. In this mortgage, Mrs. Lozon united, 
being forced to do so by her husband. Later 
Lozon deeded the place to Campeau. but the 
wife persisted in her refusal to sign the deed. 
The Williams children lived with the Lozons 
.seven or eight years, and assi.sted in making 
the improvements. A remnant of slavery ap- 
pears in connection with this testimony, since 
John Williams was assisted in his work by "a 
negro of his father-, that the negro worked 
seven or eight yeai's until he was sold" about 
1800. Some thirty-five or six acres were cul- 
tivated and inclosed, a house and barn and 
other outbuildings erected. 

For a distance of nearly a mile and a half 
along the south side of the river and covering 
ten claims with one exception, the land was 
either granted to Jose])li Campeau or he has 
sometimes owned the same, and nothing of in- 
terest appears in the testimony relative to the 
occupants thereof, nor the amount of improve- 
ments placed upon them. The exception re- 
I'ei-red to is Private Chiini 17'). now owned bv 



562 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



Charles AViiilder and for many years the prop- 
erty of Latotinieau and his daughter, ]\Ir.s. 
Paqnette. This was granted to Louis Petit as 
the grantee of one Cannelliei'. 

The farm so long oceupied by the Chortier 
family, claim No. 176. was granted to Pierre 
Phenix. It was made up oi'iginally of two 
separate traets. deeds of which from the form- 
er owners to Phenix were put in evidence. The 
lower half appears to have belonged to one 
Lapaline and Provost and the upper half to 
Lapaline, Nathan William. Joseph Bouvouloir 
and Joseph Cherbenueau. 

Next farm west, wliich includes the Cole 
farm and others lying south was granted 
to Joseph Rowe (the father of ^Mrs. Joseph 
Hayes, and hence great-grandfather of 'Sirs. 
Andrew S. Robertson), as the assignee of 
Antoiue N. Petit, from whom he had bought 
it in October of 1807 for $200.00. The next 
claim west, which includes the Reimold and 
Bruell farms, was granted to Joseph Robert- 
jean as claim No. 22^1 This farm has been 
one of the most historic on the river below 
Mount Clemens. John Lovelace, one of the 
Indian captives who constituted practically 
the only English speaking people of the 
county in the eighteenth century, com- 
menced on this farm s(unetime prior to 1796. 
He cleared some two or three acres, but built 
no building. He was. however, according 
to the testimouy of Israel Ruland. in posses- 
sion and cultivating the premises until about 
1798. -when he sold them to the claimant. 
Robertjean. to whom Ruland. as the agent 
of Lovelace, gave possession. Campeau tes- 
titied that in 1801. by permission of the 
claimant, he had cut a thousand rails oft' the 
j)remises. Later this farm passed through 
.Mr. Clemens and to John Conner, who 
moved there and established his home and 
conunenced extensive improvements before 
1812. Conner was one of the prominent, in- 
fluential men of the community, and his 
home was the rendezvous of the English 
speaking inhabitants. He had come from 
;Maryland before 1800, and had married the 
daughter of Captain Thome of River St. 
Clair district. When the War of 1812 broke 
out. the hostility of the Indians, who gen- 
iM-ally sympathized with the Briti.sh, was 
such that Conner foiuid it wise each evening 
to take his wife and children to the honu' 
of James Conner, on the opposite side of the 
river. James Conner being of the Richard 
Conner faiiiil.v of the ^loravian settlement, 
was favored by the Indians, and his honH> 
was a safe refuge. Soon after the British 



secured Detroit, upon the s\n'render of Gen. 
Hull, ilr. Conner went to Detroit to market 
and was held there by the British. Learning 
this. ]\Irs. Connei-, with her five children, got 
into a caiToe and went to Detroit, and there 
made her home until the close of the war. 
Conner was sent to Canada and Avas absent 
for nearl.v a year, but later returned by 
way of Ohio and joined the army, rendering 
excellent service for his country. At the 
close of the war in 181.5 he I'eturned to his 
farm, there to find desolation on all hands, 
the land, whicli he had broken up, grown 
up in weeds and bru.sh. and every creature 
killed to furnish food for the marauding 
Indians. Industry and energy, however, 
soon made the home again pleasant and valu- 
able. Conner remained upon the farm until 
about 184-1, and died at Romeo in Januarv, 
1857. After the close of the War of 1812, 
the Conuers succeeded in establi.shing much 
more friendl.v relations with the Indians, 
and Mrs. Conner was pai'ticularly beloved 
by them. The oldest of their children, Will- 
iam Conner, married Susan Conner, the 
daughter of Henry Conner of Conner's 
Creek, and in the early 30s was living 
between his father's home and Mount Clem- 
ens. Later he kept a tavern upon the Gra- 
tiot turnpike, not far from the present Half- 
way, lie was the father of Henry O. Con- 
ner, now living in iloiuit Clemens, of Alice, 
wife of Harry Hall of ilacomb township, 
and of JIary and Josephine, successive wives 
of John Calvin Weller. ilrs. Fiero of De- 
troit, Grampner of Evanston, Ind.. and 
]\lrs. Chillis of Louisville. Ky.. are also 
his children. Henry Conner, the other son 
of John Conner, was married to Ann Cran- 
age in 1848, and, with his wife, was the pro- 
prietor of the American Hotel, and the 
Sherman House of Blount Clemens for man.v 
years; further nu^ntion of them will be found 
in the later histoi-y of Blount Clemens. The 
three daughters of John Conner were Nancy, 
who married William Ro.v; Alice, wlio mar- 
ried Wesle.v Hinman ; and Susanna, who 
married Hiu-ace Cad.v. more of whose fami- 
lies will ap])ear later on in Ihis work. 

Leaving now the claims lying west of this, 
which will be considered in connection with 
the history of Moiuit Clemens and Fred- 
erick, we cross tlu' river to claim No. 172. 
which includes the Irwin farm and jiortion 
of the P'ulton and other farms lying north 
which was described as "being i)art and 
pjircel of the lands (•(uniijoidy called and 
known bv the name of McConse IMeadows. '' 



PAST AND I'KESEXT OF .MALU.MB CUlNTY 



563 



This was t'lainicd by Jolui Asl<i)i, Jr., of the 
town of Aiuhcistbufg. Essex couoty, Cana- 
da, and was i>ranted to liim upon the show- 
ing: made by IIeni-.v Tucker and Cliristian 
Clemens that the place had been improved 
and eultivated by one Descoteanx, and by 
Clemens eontiuiiously. Further mention of 
Askin will be found in connection with the 
history of Frederick and the Moravian set- 
tlement. 

Just below the Askin claim James (^'onner, 
acting- for his brother, William Conner of 
the Moravian Cornier family, built a small 
cabin, a couple of yeai's before the Ameri- 
cans took po.sse-ssion, and later a brush and 
pole fence was built along the river and a small 
house was built there by John Conner, who 
lived directly across the river, acting for 
the claimant, William Conner, before 179t) ; 
about two acres of land were cleared around 
the house before the claimant went into the 
Indian country as was his habit, probably 
on fur trading expeditions. One Baptiste Le- 
toiirneau squatted on the premises, and was 
turned off by the Conners. In 1801 claimant 
returned ivom the Indian country and built 
a fence in front of the tract and some four 
or five rods on each side, and also cleared 
a couple of acres at the upper end of the 
tract. In 1808 this house and part of the 
fence were still standing, and the possession 
of Conner having been maintained through 
his brother, James Conner, the claim was 
confirmed to him as private claim No. 693. 
In like manner claim 129, which includes 
the Noeker, Lafevre, Touscany and Pring- 
nitz farms, was confirmed to James Conner 
as private claim Xo. 129. From this point 
east to private claim 150, the Antoine Pel- 
tier farm, the entire tract was confirmed to 
various members of the family of William 
Tucker of whom more extended notice will 
be given in the history of Harrison, except 
private claim 195 which includes the Beau- 
fait farm and a large part of the Lafaj'ette 
Tucker farm, and their lines extended 
through the Stewai't lands up into the town- 
ship of Chesterliekl. This claim 195 was 
confirmed to ^tichel Ti-cirililc. 

From tlie Tuckei' lands to the Lake, the 
land had been occupied for a great many 
j-ears, but the testimony fails to afford any 
definite description of the extent of these 
improvements. Claim 150 was confirmed to 
Francis St. Obin, who, with his father, had 
]iossessed the same for many years. Tradi- 
tion has it that Mr. St. Obin at the earnest 



solicitation of Charles Peltier, then of De- 
troit, consented to trade this claim 150 for 
the I'ai-m (now in the heart of Detroit and 
worth hmidreds of thousands of dollars ), 
usually known as the St. Aubin farm, lying 
along each side of St. Aubin Avenue. The 
fine duck shooting in the nuirshes on the 
rear of 150 was the strong attraction for 
;\Ir. Peltier. Certain it is that St. Obin and 
Peltier exchanged farms. Claim 194 was 
confirmed to Jlicliel Tremble as assignee of 
Nicholas Chapaton; 242 to Robert Robert- 
jean : 140 to Joseph Robertjean : 374 to the 
widow and heirs of Alexis Peltier and 373 
to Ignace floras. This latter claim included 
the lower part of the Cottrell farm, and ex- 
tended out to the present lighthouse or 
clulihouse at the mouth of the river. It 
was originally made np of two tracts, one 
of which was purchased by ]Moras from 
Louis Baudin, and the other from Pierre 
Coiiin. The tii'st one of these tracts was 
oi-iginall\- occupied by ^Michael Comparet, 
who sold to Jean Baptiste Baudin. The oth- 
er tract was originally occupied by Seraphin 
Loson, who sold to Baudin, and he in turn 
to (Joiiin. The French deed from Goiiin 
bearing date September 12, 1808, conveying 
this tract to floras for 145 pounds. New 
York currency, was put in evidence. 

]\Ir. Moras was a fine representative of 
the better class of the French pioneers — a 
native of Wayne County — strong, active, en- 
ergetic, of large frame and stature — genial, 
and possessed of the genuine French hospi- 
tality that made his home a stopping place 
for every wayfarer on lake or river. He 
came to the month of the Clinton in 1807 
and built a large two-story frame house 
that constituted later the main part of the 
Conger Hotel when Belvidere flourished, 
and built it so well that the frame stood true 
and solid still when the building was torn 
down within the past decade. He was made 
a prisoner by the British in 1812 and taken 
to Detroit, and there compelled to furnish 
reluctant aid to the English forces in .select- 
ing and i)reparing timber for their vessels and 
fortifications. He became later the owner of 
two sawmills on 'Slitt Creek in St. Clair County 
and was engaged in rafting the lumber in cribs 
down the St. Clair River and Lake to Detroit. 
He had six hundred acres of tillage land at 
Belvidere at one time. He remained there 
until the middle of the foui'th decade of the 
nineteenth century, when he sold out to Con- 
ger of Belvidere fame, and icturned to Wayne 
County. 



564 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Gen. Friend Palmer of Detroit recalled with 
evident enjoyment the welcome and entertain- 
ment received at 'Sir. iloras' in the winter of 
1830-.U, when he and his nnele on their way 
home over the ice from St. Clair, stopped at 
the large, yellow, white-trimmed house that 
loomed up across the ice and marsh. 

Mr. floras was the father of Antoine Moross 
(father of Victor ^loross and ]Mrs. ^lary 
[Francis] Provost of Blount Clemens and Ig- 
naee ^loro.ss of New Baltimore), of Mrs. Fan- 
nie (Joseph) Robert.i'eau, who for years lived 
on the Beanfait farm; of Mrs. Leonore 
(Chai-les) Fnrtuu. for year.s owner of the 
Noeker farm; of ;\Irs. Berner of Swan Creek, 
Mrs. -Mary Ann ( Robert j Meldrum and ^Irs. 
Theodore (Joseph) Frazard of L'Anse Creuse. 

Above the river on the lake shore were four 
claims allowed, two large ones. 192 and 193, 
to Meldrum and Park, running from Salt 
River southei-ly along the shore for a mile and 
a half to River Aux ^'ase ; one, 342, next above 
Salt Rivei', to Francois Dupi'e ; and one. 343, 
at Crapaux Creek just south of New Balti- 
more, to Pierre Yax. Jleldrum and Park were 
the firm of merchants referred to by Commis- 
sioner Jouett when speaking of the salt 
sjjrings. and who also had large holdings up 
on Kivei- St. Clair. George Meldrum. the 
ancestor of the numerous ^leldrum families 
of the lake shore district, was a Scotchman, 
but he and his descendants have intermarried, 
like the Thomas family, with the French de- 
scendants, until the idea that the ^leldrums 
are not pui'ely of French descent is a novel 
one, perhaps, even to members of that family. 
Through their tenants ]\Ieldrum and Park had 
extensively improved these tracts and even 
as early as 1804 had upwards of one hundred 
acres enclosed and cultivated. Among those 
livinii' on these tracts as tenants of Meldrum 
and Park were Antoine N. Petit; Antoine Pro- 
vo.st ; F)-ancois Dupre ; Louis. Gabriel and Ig- 
nace Thiliault and Baptiste Letourneau. 

Salt River district was evidently early oc- 
cupied, since it appears that Dupre as early 
as 1795 had built a house and also a work- 
shop and had a garden enclosed and seeded, 
arnl also some six acres cleared and fenced; 
that these buildings were destroyed bj- fire 
about ISOO, at which time Joseph Robert jean 
went and sav(>d the hides that were in vats at 
the tainiery there. In the unsuccessful at- 
tempt to prove the claim of Israel Ruland 
to a tract on Salt River it appears that when 
Jean B. Nanta.v went onto the claim as em- 
ployee of Ruland in 1797, he found old houses 



that had been al)andoned. and then built new- 
ones and cleared four acres. 

This somewhat leng-fhy and perhaps tire- 
some account of the settlement of the lake 
and river shores will serve at least to make 
one realize the primitiveness of the life and 
the hardships and poverty endured by the first 
comers, and furnish the names of many but 
not all of those pioneer.s. It must be taken as an 
inadequate tril)ute to the sturdiness, honest.y. 
energj- and geniality of the old French pio- 
neer to whose efforts are due the settlement 
and early progress of our coimtry. ilany 
are the traditions and stories of adventure 
that the older inhabitants have told and retold 
that illusti'ate the hardships of the early day 
and the strength and vigor born of those hard- 
ships; of the lack of resources and of the in- 
geiuiity called forth thereby: of the skill and 
bravery displayed in hunting and fishing and 
of the plenteous rewards they brought. It is 
the testimony of the older storekeepers of 
ilount Clemens that more liberal buyers or 
better customers could not be found than the 
average farmer along the lake shore, whose 
proudest boast was of his I-'"'rench descent. The 
early wayfarer among these people, be he 
cither friend or stranger, found the latch- 
string ever out, and awaiting him within a 
hearty and genuine welcome to the best en- 
tertaiinnent the house and table atVorded. So 
universally true was this that "French ho.s- 
pitality" has come to be proverbial as mean- 
ing that which makes even the plainest fare 
seem most savory and enjoyable, and without 
which the most delicate and richest bancpiet 
is mere meaningless formalit.v. 

If our t.vpical lake-shore resident viewed in 
the light of our present strenuous life by the 
aggressive, grasping American eye .seems 
sometimes lacking in progressivenes.s, let it be 
I'ecalled also that he has ever lacked avarice: 
if he has not as a rule aecunnilated wealth 
he has found the more frequently the things 
of life that are better than wealth — content 
and good fellowshij) with his neighbors. 



CHAPTER IV. 

.MdRAVlAX Vn.LAGK. CONNKU FAJIII.'l, 

One of the most intei'(>sting and iiatiietie 
incidents connected with the history of our 
county was the settlement of the ^Moravians on 
the spot where afterward Frederick w'as locat- 
ed, and the struggles of the pious and zealous 
Indian mi.ssionai'ies in their efforts to gain 
a pernumcnt foothold among the Chippcwas, 



PAST AND I'KE.SE.NT OF .MACU.MH COUNTY 



565 



who tlu'ii possessed that coiinti'v. Although 
aside from the fnet that it resulted in the set- 
tlement of the C'onners. wiio phiyetl so prom- 
inent a part in the history of onr county, the 
iloravian settlement left few permanent 
traces, yet more than a passinjr notice should 
be given to the efforts of this noble band, than 
whom no more Christian, law-abidinu- and 
thrifty community ever existed. Tlie Mora- 
vians or I'uited Brethren had their origin in 
]\Ioravia, and were an offshoot of the Greek 
church, tracing their origin back of the re- 
formation to the time of John IIuss. Early 
in the eighteenth century they were expelleil 
from Bohemia and ^loravia, and permitted to 
locate upon one of the estates of one of the 
Saxon nobility. Count von Zinzendorf. He 
devoted his entire pi'operty and energies to 
the spread of his faith, with the result that 
he himself was banished from Saxony, and in 
1741 came to America and established the ^lo- 
ravian church at Bethlehem, Pa., which has 
ever since been the chief seat of the church. 
No Chi'istian church, not even the Roman 
Catholic, has been more distinguished for zeal- 
ous missionary spirit than has the Moravian, 
and many were the missions established 
through the wilderness during the latter half 
of the eighteenth century. Among these were 
missions on the .Muskingum in Ohio, at whose 
head was the Rev. David Zeisberger, who be- 
came the foundei- of our settlement. He is 
described as a man of small figure, but well 
proportioned, with a pleasing, cheerful face, 
which had been .seamed by endless care and 
the exposures of his long life among the sav- 
ages. His constant intercourse with the In- 
dians had given him great influence among 
them, and his caution and taciturnity and de- 
votion to the Indian cause enabled him at 
one time to prevent the alliance of the Dela- 
waie Indians with the British du)'ing the Rev- 
olutionary War, an alliance which if carried 
out would have been serious if not fatal to the 
American cause. The ^Moravians were by the 
British constantly suspected of being Ameri- 
can sympathizers, and as a result the British 
and their Indian allies constantly persecuted 
the peace-loving conununities. Misled by un- 
truthful reports, the British conunandant at 
Deti-oit issued an oi'dei' to l)reak up the ^lo- 
rasian 1<iwns in Ohio, and to scatter the Chris- 
tian Indians, and bring their chiefs or their 
se;ilps to Detroit. Prominent in carrying oul 
tl)is order was Simon Cirty, who has been pro- 
nounced as pre-eminent among "all the vile, 
coarse. inhumaTi monsters develoix-d in border 
wai'fai'c. "' In Si'i)tember, 17S1, the mission- 



ai'ies, with tlieii- families and Christiiin In- 
dians, were ciinipelled to leave theii- homes 
of happiness and peace and, escorted by a 
yuard of Delaware and Wyandotte hulians, 
Were brought to the Sandusky River, where 
tiiey Were deserted in the midst of a wilderness 
without provisions, and scantily eliitlnil. The 
I'ollowinii' month thes(> te;ichers were sent for 
liy the Detroit comniandaut . and were kept 
in Detroit for some time Wry,' they were 
kindly treated, and but fm- the thoughts of 
the mihappy condition of their families and 
cdiivei'ts left behind on the Sandusky, might 
lia\e re.joiced in their new situation. Being ex- 
amined by the commandant. .Major DePeyster, 
ami the charges against them being with- 
di'awn, they wei'e ac<iuitted. From this time 
one no stronger or more etlieieiit frii'ud of the 
.Moravians could be found than Ma.jor DePe.ys- 
ter. He declared that he would feel great sat- 
isfaction and jileasure in aiding their endeav- 
ors to civilize and Christianize the Indians; 
promised them clothing and other necessary 
ai'ticles, and granted them free permission 
to return to their congregations. They were 
made the recipients of many kindnesses from 
the inhaibtants of Detroit and considerable of 
their proi)erty, which had been taken from 
them, was I'estored. They i-eached their fam- 
ilies and converts November 22, 17S1, and 
temporary quarters, which atforded insuffi- 
cient protection from the weather, enabled 
them to pass the winter at Sandusky, although 
much sutfering and sickness occurred. In 
^larch, 1782, ^kla.jor DePeyster ordered them 
to return to Detroit in oi-der to save their 
lives, the Indians, instigated by (lii'ty, having 
again commenced a systematic persecution. 
At Detroit they were offered an opportunity 
either to remain in Detroit or to be returned 
to Bethlehem. It was also suggested to them 
to establish a mission on the Huron (Clinton) 
River, and ]\lajor DePeyster secured permis- 
sion from the Chii)pewas for them to settle 
there. 

As a I'esult we tind tluit on ■]\il\ 20. 1782, 
foin- of the Moravian Bi'cthren and nineteen 
of the Indian converts .st;irted I'm' the new 
home in a sail boat, and on the evening 
of the next day located on tlie low bluff 
on the south side of the Clinton K'iver. 
almost exactly whei'e the |)resent hcime of 
Isaac Williams on section 1.'). P. ('. 137, 
III' ('lintcin, niiw stands. No doubt one of 
till' things which cau.sed this iiarticular 
spot to be selected was the bountiful su|)ply of 
spring water found in this blutV. springs which 
to this (lav affoi'd I'efreshment to man and 



566 



PAST AM) PRESENT OF MACOJIB COUNTY 



beast. This jiai'ty was made up of Zeishcrcrer 
Aud John G. .Jmiiiiiiaii, with their wives: AYill- 
iaiii Edwards and .Miehael Yoimu', and four 
Indian families. The spot selected was evi- 
dently tlie site of an old Indian town, since 
many "corn holes" and other indications were 
found. Tents wei'c pitched and religious 
services held the same evening. In a few days 
huts were erected, which in a short time be- 
came substantial cabins. Two I'ows were built, 
one on each side of a street four rods wide; 
each lot having a fi-ont of about fifty feet. A 
rude chapel was built and fir.st occupied on 
November 5tli of that year. Later additional 
brethren from Detroit and the Ohio district, 
and many of theii- former Indian converts, 
gathered at this jilace. which was given the 
name of Ganadenhutten (tents of grace), a 
favorite name of the iloraviaus. In Jloravian 
history the place is usually referred to as New 
(ianatlenhutten, to distinguish it from other 
places in Ohio and Pennsylvania, which had 
been given this name. The increase liy the 
emigratiiin of the Christian Delawares and by 
birth anil ;i few converts made among the 
Jlichigan Indians was such that toward the 
close of 1785 there were probably something 
like 135 or 1-10 members of the colony. De- 
Peyster had su])])lied them with unusiial lib(>r- 
ality until they themselves had been able to 
harvest sufficient to provide themselves with 
all necessary provisions. Hunting and fishing 
in the vicinity of the village were excellent 
and the second sununer enabled them to raise 
quite substantial harvests. .Stigar nmking was 
undertaken in its season and the Indians made 
canoes, baskets, brooms, bowls, ladles and 
other similar articles, for which a ready mar- 
ket was found in Detroit, the merchants of 
Detroit being vei-y liberal and ready to deal 
upon fav(u-ai)le terms. The Indians also lioiled 
out some excellent salt fi-om salt licks in the 
iieighbdrhood. The winter of 178;i-4 was ter- 
ribly sevei-e, the old settlers in Detroit telling 
the Moravians that they had never seen the 
snow so dee]i, being five feet on the level. This, 
togcthci- with a j)arfial l'ailur<> of flie corn 
crop the ])reee(ling year, caused gi'cat suffer- 
ing among the Moldavians, and had it not been 
for the woi'k of the Indians, who killed many 
deei', starvation would liave sfared fhem in 
the face. 

The colony I'eceived the encouragemenf and 
assistance of the successive commandants af 
Detroit — .Major DePeyster, John Hay an<l 
.Ma.jor Ancrum. Tluy. howevei-. succeeded in 
making very littli' iiiipi'ession upon the 
surrounding Cliipiiewa Indians, although 



friendly relations were maintained — a i-emark- 
able thing for a pioneer town. ^Vhell the 
L'hiiipewas learned the war had ended they 
iiiuuedately began claiming that the Moldavians 
were to renuiin there only until the close of 
the war, and to suggest the removal of the 
mission. The ^Moravians, however, wei'e able 
to obtain an extension of their stay for an- 
other year, antl in the meantime liegan to con- 
sider what jxiint they should emigrate to. 
Hesitating about i)utting in any large amount 
of crops in the summer of 1785, for fear that 
they would not receive the benefit of them 
upon theii- removal, they were assui'ed !iy 
^la.ior Ancrum and John Askiu that a sale 
would be found for any jiroducts that they 
desired to sell in the spring. They ])Ut iu 
their crops, and continued their work to the 
last, and after living in abundance during the 
winter of 1785-fi, they found themselves with 
sufficient wares and crops on hand, which, 
wlien purchased by Ancrum anil Askin, as 
they had ])romised, left the Moi-avians not 
only with enough to jiay tlieir debts, but with 
a comfortable balance for future use. On 
Thursday, April 20, 1786, final religious serv- 
ices were held iu the chapel ; and, loading the 
canoes, they sorrowfully i)addled down the 
river and lake to Detroit, where two sailing 
vessels were furnished them by Askin, in 
which they proceeded to Cuyahoga River, on 
whose biinks they renuiined for a shoi-t time 
and afterwards proceeded to Chatham, Can. 

Their improvements on the Clinton River 
were purchased by ;\Iajor Ancriun and John 
Askiu for the sum of ■'f!45f), and liy Askin 's 
inriuence they also obtained sales at good 
I)i-ices for their canoes and other wares. These 
improvements consisted of more than twent.y 
houses, with many outbuildings, together with 
the cultivated land, which was estimated as 
forty acres, and also it is presinned the inter- 
est that the ^Moravians had in the road which 
in 1785 was laid o>it between Uw settlement 
and Detroit. This was a straight road from 
New Oanadenhutten to Tremble's mill on Con- 
ner's Creek (then Tremble's Creek), and was 
the first wagon road made in the interior of 
Michigan, and described in flir .Moravian .jour- 
nal as "twenty -three miles anil a half from 
our town to Detroit, sti'aight through the 
bush." These purchases by .\skin ami .\n- 
cruiii led later to a controversy between tlieii- 
grantees and the Conner family foi- the title 
of file land on which the ^Moravian settlement 
had been located, th(> details of which will b(> 
touched upon later. 

The onlv faiiiih' of the .Moravian seftlemenf 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .ALVCaMB COUNTY 



567 



wilt) did not li^avc in the spring of 17S() was 
the Richai-d I'onnci' family, who either he- 
eause of ids ini-reasini;' aire or beeause. as has 
been sometimes repoi'ted. some of his ehildren 
were still Indian captives, or i)ossibly from 
mere att'eetion for the home he had stai-ted 
iu the wilderness, declined to aeeompan.v his 
white In-ethren, and remained amont;- the In- 
dians, wiio afterwards proved sueli friends of 
his family. Kiehard Conner was one of two 
brothei-s who escaped from Ji-eland aitout 
1744, when little more than a mere boy. By 
his energy, indnstry and per.severance, he had 
acquired at Painsville. Ohio, what in those 
da.vs was considered quite a property. In his 
business, trading: with the Indians, he had 
learned that a white gii'I was a prisoner among 
their ti'ibe. the Shawnees, and after negotia- 
tions, secured the purchase of her from the 
Indians for ;li2(X). This girl. ;\Iiss ;\Iyers, had 
been captured when about four years old on 
the ^lonongahela River iu ilai'.\land. and 
brought up among the Indians as their slave. 
Tradition has it that a part of the agreement 
for lier sale was that their oldest child slioidd 
be allowed to become a member of the Indian 
tribe, and that as a consequence James Con- 
ner, when a year old, was adopted bv the In- 
dian chief and brought up among the tribe, 
whost' life he learned to love, and wiiose hai)its 
be largely adopted. It was with difficulty that 
the parents afterward succeeded in per.suad- 
ing the chief to give up the child and with 
equal difficult.v that they reconciled the child 
to the white man's life. Indeed during all of 
his life James Conner seems to have found 
Indian wa.vs (|uite if not more congenial than 
were those of his more civilized ])rothers. It 
was while seeking this son among the Indians 
that Richard Conner and his wife became in- 
tei-csted iu the ^Moravian mission at Sehon- 
hriiii. and. being attracted by their simple life 
and tiie religious atmosphere about the mis- 
sion, they cast their fortunes with them in 
about 177-1. or. as some give it, 1778. They 
were with them at the time when in 1781 the.v 
were subjected to the forced march to San- 
dusky River under the dii-ection of (iirty. and 
sulfered in common with the rest of the .Mora- 
vians the hardshi])s and o\itrages of that dis- 
graceful chapter of our histoi-y. It is prob- 
able, then, that their childi-eii were scattered 
among the Indians, for it is certain that foi' a 
long time, even after tln-y came to New (!an- 
adenhutten. they were engaged in efforts to re- 
cover theii' childi'iMi and finally succeeded in 
one by one |)roeuring their ransom fi'om the 
Indians through the efforts of tlii' Mor.ivian 



converts. It is rathei- difhcult to determine the 
exact da.v when the Conners rejiched the Clin- 
ton Kivei-. but it is probalde that they came 
in 17S:{. as aliout that time some of the young 
men from the Ohio mission visited the nnssion 
here and. i-eporting their comfortable cii'cum- 
stances, some foi-ty-three of the additional 
mendx'rs came on. On Decendier Kith of 178;J 
there was born to Mr. Conner and his wife 
their youngest child and oidy daughter, Sus- 
anna, afterwai'ds the wife of Klisha Harring- 
ton, who live cla\s later was bai)ti/eil at the 
Moraxian mission. She was probably th(> first 
child lioi'u in this eountry, both ol' wliose j)ar- 
ents si)oke the English language, .\mong the 
.Moravian I'ecords it ajijieai's that in the spring 
of 1783 "some Indian brethren went to the 
mouth of the river to helj) block out his house 
for a white man. who wishes to settle thei'e. 
and invited them." This, was undoubteiUy 
William Tuckci- in lIni-i-ison. Ifichai'd Con- 
nei''s home in the .Moravian settlement was 
not included in the purchase from the .Mora- 
vians t<j Askin and Aiu-runi, and he continued 
to live there until his death, .\pril 17. 1808. 
His foui- sons. James. John. William and 
Henry, were each awarded piivate claims, on 
the strength of their fath<'r's possession. 
Claim No. 138, which included portions of 
the liutler. Trufant and Nunneley farms, was 
awarded to the widow and heirs of Richard 
Coiuier, and the claim lying next west thereof. 
628, was awarded to ^Margaret Conner, the 
widow of Richard Conner. This claim is de- 
scribed as bounded in front by a small creek 
eonunoid\- known as "Big Run."" This must 
havi- been what was afterwards known as Har- 
rington's Creek. Claim o4B. lying north of the 
main I'ivei- and west of the iioi'th branch, was 
awarded to Henry Conner. This included the 
Duckwitz, Schultz. Wolf and Dcxantier fai'ms 
and ran along the south branch around the 
farm now owned by Diener. In l)ecend)ei-. 
1808, seven or eight acres were cultivated and 
a dwelling and .stillhouse a\im'i' ei'cclcd on thr 
premises. .Xoi'lh of this claim and west of the 
north bi-aneh. and including the Little. Cou- 
lon. C. Dittrick and Dunham farms, claim (ilO 
was awarded to John Connei'. In Jaiuiai'y, 
18(>!(. alxiut four acres had been cultivated, 
inclosed and a grist null erected on this jilace, 
.\ci'oss the river and including tln' Hacker. 
Rowley ami Little fjirms. <-laim niniibeivd I'M 
was awarded to James Conner, the oldest son 
of Richard Conner. This was the claim to 
which, aftei-the war of 18lL', James returned. 
He held this fai'm until about 183."). when he 
sold it to Littli' in part and in |)art to Wells. 



568 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Ileiiry Coiimn-, the yoiintri'st son of Rii'hai'd 
Conner, proved to be one of the most intiu- 
ential men among: the Indians in this section 
and was for years Indian paymaster. lie has 
been descrilied as a man of great strength, be- 
ing six feet four inches tall, a large frame and 
.straight, athletic figure. It was after him that 
the creek now known as Conner's Creek is 
now named, and on its bank he built a large 
home, then recognized as the largest house out- 
side of Detroit. He married Therese, the sis- 
ter of Uazet Tremble, of ^lilk River Point. He 
was a personal friend and confidential adviser 
of General Cass. His oldest son was John II. 
Conner, for many years a prominent merchant 
in Mount Clemens, familiarly spoken of as 
Jack Conner. Of him and his wife. Josephine, 
there are several descendants still living in 
this locality. Two other sons of Henry Con- 
nei-, AVilliam and Andrew Conner, were em- 
l)loyees of the American Fur Company, and 
died in the West. Another son, Benjamin, died 
within the past few years in Lake Superior 
country. ]\lrs. ^Margaret Thelen, ilrs. Ther- 
esa Handley, and Mrs. Sarah (William) 
Chapaton of Detroit were daughters. Susanna, 
the daughter of Richard Conner, whose birth 
is mentioned above, lived most of her life at 
or near Frederick, and died there in 1848, 
Her husband, Elisha Harrington, was ap- 
pointed ju.stiee of the peace upon the organiza- 
tion of the county. January 20, 1818, and a 
few months later appointed one of the associ- 
ate .judges of the county court. They were 
the parents of Henry Ilarrinirton (born 1809 
and died at the Clinton liomesti-ad in 1874), 
for a great many years one of the prominent 
farmers of the locality, ^Iis. William S. Don- 
ald.son of IMount Clemens is .i grandchiiti. 
Henry Harrington, Jr., who until within a 
few years was a resident of Clinton, and 
John Harrington, who died at Mount Clemens 
about 1877. were also grandcliiklren. 

The territory occupied by the Jloravian set- 
tlement was included in private claim No. 137, 
claim for wliicli was filed on behalf of the 
widow and heirs of Richard Conner by James 
Cornier, administrator. Only formal ]>roofs 
of ])ossession and improvement were put in 
by the testimony of Batiste Comparet, Jr.. and 
Angustin Langdon. This claim was bounded 
on one side by "Old ^leridian Road," re- 
ferring unildiibtedly to the .Moravian Koad. 
Major Anci'um ;dso put in a claim to the same 
territoi-y under his i)urchase from the Mora- 
vians, 'i'lie interest of John .\sl<in had lieen 
sold to Isaac 'I'odd and James .Me(!iil. and 
eonsidei'alili' ti'slinMiny was taken in iMinin'c- 



tion witli theii- claims. William Dowler swore 
that in 178(i he rented i)<irt of this tract from 
ilr. Askin and for two years cultivated about 
.sixteen acres. That he left it in possession of 
John Cornwall, Askin "s agent; that more than 
forty acres were under cultivation by differ- 
ent tenants of Askin. Christian Clemens 
swore that Wittaness, tln' hulian chief, and 
his liand wei'c living in the liouses of the ilo- 
ravian town in 1799 and continued to for five 
or six years; that at tb<' same time Richard 
Conner Avas living on the lower part of the 
town. lia\ing a dwelling house, a bai'n and 
some ten or twelve acres tnider cultivation : 
that he continued to live there until his death, 
since which time his widow and heirs have oc- 
cupied the same. Jacques Lozon, whose name 
we have already seen in connection with claim 
604, swore that he recalled the time when the 
]\Ioravians with their Delaware Indians were 
living on the premises; that Wittaness had 
lived in the village and cultivated the land in 
and near the same for many years prior to 
and several years after July. 179(i. That 
Wittaness informed witness of ^Ir. Askin 's 
ownership of the land; that in about 179.") 
one McNiff, a surveyor, came up the river with 
his interpreter, Sanasci'ainte, and told the wit- 
ness that they were going to survey the land, 
by ^Ir. Askin "s order, wiiich they did, being 
helped by the Indians ; that some twenty or 
thirty acres were under cultivation and inclos- 
ed in several spots, and that some twenty or 
twenty-five cabins and houses were built there- 
on. The affidavit of John Askin. Sr.. was of- 
fered in evidence, relating that at the time 
of the removal of the Moravian ministers, 
he purchased for himself and Aucrum, their 
improvements, paying the ^Foraviau minis- 
tei's and the Moravian Indians each ^f;200.0() 
and one John Bull .$.50.(10 and that at the 
time the imjn'ovements consisted of more than 
twenty houses and many outbuildings; that 
for himself and Ancrnm he afterwards i)ur- 
cliased of the Chippewa Indians, eleven of 
their principal chiefs .signing the convey- 
ance, the soil on which the improvement.s 
were made, paying the Indians a valuable 
consideration. He also claimed to have 
borne the expense of laying out the road 
to the Detroit settlement tbroui;b the woods, 
lieing assisted soiiicwhat by the Moi-avian In- 
dians; that al'tci- the .Moravians left, he and 
Ancnun employed Cornwall to go and take 
charge of the purchase and that Dolai'. Ames. 
Weston and oliiers were there as their 
tenants; upon their leaving he obtained 
Wittaness, a Cliiiiiicwa i-hicf, to act as 



PAST AXL) i'KESEXT OF .MACU.MB COUNTY 



569 



faix'tala-r. wlm proiiiistHl tri linld ami 
cultivate till' propiTty. ami In prevent 
till' eueroachiiu'iits thereon by others, anil 
particulai'ly by Hiehanl I'onniT of wlioni Wit- 
tauess frequently eoniplained. That AVitta- 
uess i-eniained in jxissession until his ileath 
abdul 1804: that ten poumls per annum were 
paiil to the Indians for their eare of the prop- 
erty ; that Ihey had eaiised the lauds to be sur- 
veyed at thi' exjx'nse of twenty-four pounds 
besides furnishinu' men and provisions; that 
he, Askin had sold his half of the land and im- 
pi-ovemeuts to Todd and McGill. tlien mer- 
chants residing;' in ^Montreal for the sum of six- 
teen hundred pounds. New York currency. It 
apjH'ai's that Askin and his son with John 
Cornwall had also obtained a urant from the 
Chippewas of a strip twenty-four miles lon^' 
by two leagues wide, one league on each side 
of the ^Moravian Road. 

.Juiliied at this distance and from the mea- 
oer resume of the testimony it would seem that 
the Askiu-Anernm claim was far better sus- 
tained than that of the Kichai-d Conner heirs, 
but the Indian deeds produced by Askin were 
probably a detriment i-ather than an a.ssistance 
to him. It is likely, however, that the di.sfavor 
with which Askin was regarded l)y the Amer- 
icans at that time had something to do with 
the re.jection of these claims of his grantees. 
A conspiracy affecting Michiuan was formed 
by Askin with his son, Ricliard Patter.son, the 
Robertson.s, ]\IeNift', Ruland and several others 
who had been prominent in Detroit under the 
British regime, and who remaining faithful to 
the English had retired across the rivei-, tak- 
ing U]1 their residence chiefly at Maiden, now 
Andierstburg. They planned to secure con- 
trol of the territory by obtaining the purchase 
of all the land, and desired to impress upon the 
minds of Congressmen that no reliance could 
be ])laced upon peaceful disposition of the 
Indians, and that these formei- Detroit mer- 
chants were the only persons who could con- 
trol them. -Just how far the above named par- 
ties were involved in the plan, it is of course 
impossible to determine, but a comiiany of 
which the two A.skins, William and David 
liiilieilsdii were members, was oi'gani/'.ed 
with pi'o])osed stock of forty-one shares. A 
large luunber of these sliai'cs were turned over 
to one Allen of Vermont and one Randall of 
Philadelphia to be used with the members of 
Congre.ss really as bribes. Several of the Con- 
gressmen were applied to, and finally e.xpos(>d 
the cons]>ii-acy on the floor of the house. The 
belief that woidtl naturally arise that probably 
the attempted ]iurchase of the Moravian tract, 



together with the efl'orts to obtain Indian 
deeds for so much of the surrounding country. 
Were i)robabl\' a part of the working out of 
this conspiracy, may possil)ly have prejudiced 
the coiiniiissioners in considering these claims. 

Probably connected at least tentatively with 
this scheme w^as another purchase from the 
Indians which if it had been recognized, would 
have affected a large j)ortion of this county. 

In Febru.iry. 17!I7, an agreement was signed 
by six of the Chij)pewa chiefs by their totems 
and l>y .James Miiy. Patrick .McNiff and Jacob 
Ilarson. Hy this, the Indians gave to May 
and his associates, land lying on the northwest 
side of Lake St. Clair, commencing at a stake 
and stones at thi' Hank of the lake sevimty 
chains east of the mouth of Swan Creek; run- 
ning tlu'uee northwesterly by a line of marked 
trees a distance of twenty-five miles; thence 
west by a line of marked trees until .six miles 
west of all the forks of the North Branch of 
the River lluion; thence southwesterly by a 
line of marked trees keeping six miles from 
said north branch until it infei'sects the line 
run due west from said Noi'th Branch, which 
line is the noitlierly boundary of a tract of 
laud grantetl to John .\skin and others; thcuce 
east on said lin<' to the North Branch; thence 
easterly on the line of marked trees to the 
southwest cornel- of Benack tract ; thence 
northeastei'ly on the line of marked trees on 
said Benack tract, to the rear of a small tract 
granted to Henry Tiicker; thence east to Lake 
St. Clair; thence north and easterly along the 
Lake to the place of begiiniing. It is of course 
now impossible to determine exactl.v what iior- 
tion of the county would be covered l)y this, 
but it is evident that a large i)art of the north 
part of the county woukl have been claimed. 
At the same time May and his associates gave 
back to the Indians an agreement to pay to 
the chiefs or any three of them the sum of 
One Hundred Dollars or its equivalent in 
clothing or other necessaries yearly for a pe- 
riod of ten years conunencing with the year 
1800, "Provided the .said tract and evei-y 
l)art thereof be confirmed to us by and under 
the (Joverninent of the Cuited States." They 
also ]ir-omised to deliver to tlii' Indians "every 
year for thirty yi'ars, a half bushel of Indian 
corn for every fai'm of two hundreil acres that 
may be imi)roV(Hl on said tract, and every year 
from thence forward to the full term of 9(50 
years, one ipiait of corn for every such farm 
that may be on said ti-act, should the same be 
lawfully demanded." The jiolicy of the Amer- 
cian (lovernment of refusing to i-ecognizi* the 
Indian deeds as of anv validity, together with 



570 



PAST AND PRESEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



the (■xpt)siuv of their i)laiis iu Cougress, I'e- 
sulted in the eoinplete failure of the scheme, 
wliicli. if it had been sueeessful, would prob- 
ably have resulted in the whole northwest hav- 
ing remained a British province, or at least 
in causing a long delay iu the Americanizing 
111' Michigan, so that it might become the 
prosi)erous American state it did. 

After the foregoing material had been pre- 
l)Mre(l. the writer was. through the kindness 
of Henry H. Steevens given access to material 
prepared by him touching the ^Moravian settle- 
ment, and some original documents in his pos- 
session. This material confii-med the facts set- 
forth in the foregoing statement of the ]\Iora- 
vian settlement, which was largely based upon 
an article prepared bv Henry A. Ford and 
jiublished in the Detroit Triluuie some tweut.v 
years ago. ]\Ir. Steevens also kindly allowed 
the writer to use for publication in connection 
with this Ilistoiy a copy of a letter written by 
the Moravian missionaries to Ma.ior Ancrum, 
the original of which is in the possession of 
('. ;\1. Burton of Detroit. If the same has been 
published before, the writer is unable to as- 
certain that fact. The letter is of particular 
interest as showing the situation of the ]\Io- 
ravians, their relations with the Indians here- 
abimt, their claims to the improvements, but 
not in the land on which they wei'e located, 
and as well the general spii'it of meekness and 
good will which pervaded all of their actions. 
The letter is hei-e set forth verbatim and was 
addressed to "William Ancrum. IMa.jor. t'om- 
nuuulant. etc.. at Detroit. 



Sir 



Kivei' Huron. l''cbi-\-. L'lith. 17Su, 



It ma.v not be unknown to you. that W(> tin- 
Missionaries, now Living on the River Huron 
were towards the End of the last War taken 
and carried with the Christian Indians belong- 
ing to Us to Sandusky. We were from thence 
called into Detroit, where in a Coinieilj. the 
Warriors ju'csent. our cause was tried, and We 
honouraliiy ac(|uitted, after which. Ma.jor. now 
Col. DePeyster fui'nished us with .Vecessai'y 's 
ami a pass to return and Live with our In- 
tliaus in Peace, but finding soon after that our 
Life was iu Daniicr. he in the Spi'ing following 
sent for I's to come into Detmit. \Vc lived 
formei'ly on the River .Muskingum, wiicrc wc 
had foi' Years togethei- cn.joyed Peace on all 
sides. We had Three lai'ge Yillages, and thro 
Industrv- our Indians were so far advanced, 
that they hardly Icnew or remembered of any- 
thing tln-y w.-inlcil. Large and cnmplcjil 
dwelling Houses, with i'urniture; a great 
Xumbei- of Horses; upwards of "JOd C;ittlc: 



besides some hundreds of Hogg'.s, with the 
Corn im the (iround ripe for Harvest, amount- 
ing at a moderate computation to 5000 
bushel. Were either Destroyed thei'e. or after- 
wards lost. A few Days after our arrival at 
Detroit, Col. De Peyster consulted our welfare, 
and wished with Us, to see Us settled with our 
Indians again, that they might further be In- 
structed in the Gospel way. He first proposed 
ti) Us, to return over the Lake to where our 
Indians was, and pi'omised (>very assistance 
in his Power, ])ut we being too sensible, that 
the same People who were the cause of our 
Desti'uetion were still residing among the In- 
dians, and of whom we had good rea.son to 
believe, wished rather the Indians might re- 
main as they was, than to be converted or 
civilised, would always be ready to do Us any 
Mischieff which lay iu their Power. The Col. 
believing the Apreheution we were under not 
to be groundless, proposed next: That AVe 
and oiir Indians shcuxld settle down the River, 
either on an Island, or any other place which 
might suit Us best, but as ob.jections were 
made, the Island being to liea\y Timbered, and 
tlic Wai' path passing by the other places, he 
at length consulted the Chibbuway Chieff.s, 
and it was agreed upon between them, that We 
might Live on their land on this River luitill 
Peace should be made, then to return again 
wherever we chose. lie then sent Speeches to 
our Indians, at and about the Shawnee Towns 
to invite them in, and after the arrival of the 
first, informed them of the whole matter. We 
then accordingly went with those Indians in 
search of a place, iuid pitched ujion the sjiot 
We now live on, which was an entire Wilder- 
ness. We began the Work on our Imj)rove- 
ment the 2titli July. 17S2. and have eontiinied 
so untill the present Day. in which time we, 
with our Indians, have built a small Village 
consisting of 27 log Houses, besides some Sta- 
bles, out Cellars, and snudler Buildings. We 
have cleared Lands in difl'ei'ent jilaces about 
the Village, nuule fences ect : so that it ajipears 
to Us to be a Valuable Imi)i-ovement at which, 
if it suited our Destination, we couhl now live 
contentedly and moi-e at ease. But we. being 
sent by the Bishops u\' niiv ('bui-cb to reside 
near the Dellaware Nation, to continue tn In- 
struct them in the (lospel. as We had done this 
Thirty Years past, finding this not tn be the 
proper ])lace. that Nation being so far distant, 
and tlii'.N' not inclined to change a good bunt- 
ing gi'Dund for a worse, neither, that the one 
half of the Indians belonging To Us have .jet on 
this i)i'esent Day .joined Us on this very ac- 
count. Aiul moi'eover. We having found, that 



PAST AND T'KKSFA'T OK MACO.MI! CorXTY 



571 



tlie C'hililiiiways become more aiitl more I'n- 
easy tlial We stay here so Ions on their l^and 
after tlir I'laee. And that our Indians, wliooiu 
they call exjjert Hunters, destroy all theii- 
Game. AVe therefore, have at leni;th resolved 
to go ti) ou!- foi-mer place, and for tlmt pur- 
pose acquaint You of it. Hut at the same 
time \Ve betr leave to ask a favour of You, 
which is: to sell our Improvement. \Ve do 
not speak of sellinjr the Land. The Chiblia- 
ways have frequently told Us that it belonged 
to them, and to nobody else. We only mention 
the Imi)rovemeut. in which' a vast of Labour 
is sunk. We understand, that a number of 
French inteiul to take possession of our 
Houses and Labour, without giving us the 
least satisfaction, but we believe it to be far 
from the approhatimi of a Comnumding Offi- 
cer to see Us siTxril in such a mannei'. We 
rather believe that You will direct matters so 
that Justice may be done Us in that j'cspect 
And we are persuaded, could .v(i\i luit take a 
view of this our Im|)rovement. You would 
readily acknowledge, that we .iustl.v deserve 
something foi- it. 

AVe therefnre most humbly present this 
Petition to you. conHdrnt of receiving fi'om 
You a favourable Answer. 

We beg .vi't to mentiim that Xecessit.v 
presses us gi't-atl.v to such a i'e(iuest, for it is 
hard to begin again with empty hand. 
Written rinil siijued liy 
Sir 

Your most Obedt 
and IIuml)l Servants 

D.W. ZEISBERCiER 

John Heckenwelder 
William Edwards 
and in behalf of (George Youngman 

( GoTTLOB LeNSEMAN 

( Michael Young, absent, 
and in the Name of the Christian 
Indians with l^s. 



CHAPTER V. 



KAHI.Y MT. CLE.MENS. 



It is commonly accepted that in about ITU."), 
Christian Clemens, while with a surveying 
partv undi'r Lewis Cass (afterwards Governor 
and Si-natiu') reached the site of tliis village. 
The localit.v evidentl.v attracted Mi-. Clemens' 
attention, for some time later, and probably 
alioul 17II1I. he i-etui'iied hei'e and found at 
that time s(jme evidences of the counti'y hei'e- 
abont lieing occui)ied and cultivated. As 
eari\' as 17117. suffi<Men1 demand was had for 



the i)roduct of the distillery to .pistify John 
Brooks in building one near the present 
site of l-'luemer"s urist luill. The country 
included in the ju-esent limits of .Mt. Clem- 
ens was like all tile rest in the neighborhood 
along the river and lake. s(piatted upon 
by i)arties who eithei- themselves, or by their 
graidees, afterwai'ds claimed title before 
the American Commissioners, and like the 
I>rivate claims along the lake, the most re- 
liable and definite infornnition concerning 
the earlier inqirovements nnist be obtained 
from the testimony ]i\\\ in liefore the Com- 
missioners. As private claims No. 1-41 and 
1311. 541. 17:i and ^>V2 covered the main 
part of what is now .Mt. Clemens, a detailed 
statement of these prool's ma.s' prove interest- 
ing. 

Number 141 which covers the [nwi of the 
City lying between a line drawn at right an- 
gles with th(> river about where the Aveiy An- 
nex and the Original Bath House now stand 
and North Avenue and running as far south as 
the point on the river a little north of where 
Terry street would strike the same and run- 
ning as far north as the north line of the 
Kerner farm on the North Bi-anch Road, was 
presented and claimed liy Christian Clemens 
as the assignee of John and Richard Conner, 
two sons of the Richard Conner who came to 
Frederick with the IMoravians. The claim as 
presented, was described as "Beginning at the 
high bank of said river at a blazed black oak. 
and running down the said river v.ith the 
meanders thereof to a small run or marsh 
that emjities into said river, the distance not 
exactly known, but supposed to be about 14 
acres or arpents, French measure: thence run- 
ning from the mouth of this small run or 
mar.sh a north course 40 acres or ar])euts: 
thence running in a direct course across so as 
to intersect a line ruuiniig northwest fixim the 
place of begiiunng at a distance of 40 acres or 
arpents from said black oalc. The whole tract 
containing about 5()0 acres superficial meas- 
ure. It is bounded in front by Riv(>r Hiuvm. 
in rear by nnlocated lands: on one side by 
lands claimed by Hem-y Conner and on the 
othei- side by lands now claimed by James Ab- 
bott, Esquire." The blazed black oak referred 
to above stood on the high bank on the laud 
now owned by Joseph Xoeker Estate, lying 
next south of the Mt. Clemens Brewery plant 
and the line as linaily surveyed ran northwest- 
erly from there, ci'ossing (iratiot about where 
the New ,\ational Hotel now stands, and cross- 
ing Cass, angling from the Eastman property 
to the Clementine Batli House and continuing 



572 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



on tlie saiiR' line until Xorth .iVL-nia' is struck 
about opposite the property now owned by 
Mrs. Hitchcock. From here the line ran di- 
rectly north up to what is now North avenue. 

Batiste Coniparet. Jr. was sworn as a wit- 
ness and testified that one John Conner was in 
])ossession of this claim befoi'e July 1st, 1796, 
and had impi'ove.d the premises. In 1797 or 
1798, he permitted Nathan AVillianis and 
Jared Brooks to build a still house on the 
])remises: and that in the year 1801 John and 
Richard Coiuior sold to the claimant, who con- 
tiiuu'd in possession and occupation until 1804 
when Comparet left the River Huron di.strict. 
The possession and occupancy of the premises 
by ilr. Clemens from 1804 on was proven by 
Joseph Rol)ertjean. 

The still house above refei'rcd to is said to 
have been the first improvement made within 
the present limits of Mt. Clemens and was 
located on the bank of the river just below 
where Fluemer's grist mill now .stands. It was 
built about 1797 and business was carried on 
there by Brooks until Clemens and Wisewell 
came and liomrht the property. Raw nuiterial 
for the distilleiy Ijcing' scarce, Wisewell 
brought in a quantity of rye and distributed it 
among the settlers for seed, to be returned 
when the harvest was gathered. Some of this 
i-ye was sown liy Edward Tucker, one of the 
sous of William Tucker, so f I'cquently referred 
to in this history, and was the first crop of rye 
raised in the county. Clenu'us soon after pui'- 
chased the interest of Mr. Wisewell and car- 
ried (m the business. This distillery was after- 
wards moV(>d by Mi-. Clemens to the lot now 
occupied liy the hiniicstrail nf George .M. 
Crocker, and later to the right bank of the 
i-iver neai'iy opposite the ])lace where it was 
first located. The ownersliij) and opei'atiou 
of this enterprise gave Mt. Clemens the name 
among the Indians of ■'whiski-y ncne" ( Whis- 
key Maker). 

The tract lying next west and up the I'iver 
from Pi'ivate Claim No. 141 .just traced, was 
confirmed to Henry Coniuu- as jjrivate claim 
No. l;39 and described in his filed claim as 
being 12 acres in front on the river and 
bounded i>n tiic west and rear sides by lui- 
located lands jind im Ihr cast by tlic lands of 
Christian Clemens. I'rool's relative 1ii this 
claim wei'e taken on the day preceding the 
establishnu'ut of claim 141 and the witnesses 
sworn were Batiste Conii)aret, Jr.. Augustin 
Ijangdon and James Connor and from their 
testimony, it appears that on July 1st, 179(5, 
this tract was in the possession of one William 



Dawson, who sold to Richard Connor, who pos- 
sessed the same until his death, but who al- 
ways stated according to the testimony of 
James Connoi-, his sou and administrator, that 
he had given it to his son, Henry Connor, who, 
according to the testimony of Langdon had 
lieen in possession and occupation for upwards 
oH three years. This tract, which extended 
from the Clemens tract 141 westerly to the line 
of Smith street as the same now is in the city 
and ran from the river to the north line of the 
Kerner farm in section two of Clinton. The 
title to this tract soon after passed into the 
hands of Patterson, who received a deed of the 
same from the (lovernment in 1812, and was 
for many years known as the Patterson tract. 
Some complications arose over the ownership 
of the iH'ojx'rty and it was not luitil the decree 
was entered in June. 1851. that Arthur J. 
Robertson of Inverness, Scot la ml. was in posi- 
tion to convey satisfactory title. Cndoubtedly 
this state of the laud title, preventetl the 
spread of the villaiie and its development 
somewhat. 

A narrow strij) of land lying ne.xt west of 
l)i'ivate claim 1:59 seems not to have been in- 
cluded in any of these laud claims, as allowed, 
but in the descrijition of private claim 541 ly- 
ing next west, this uari'ow strip is spoken of 
as land claimed by Peter Donman and also 
as land claimed by Tobias Newcomer. If 
eithei- of these men ever occupied the land or 
claimed it, their claims wei'e not i)i'essed be- 
fore the Conunissionei's of the land office. 

Pi-ivate claim .')41 was liounded on the east by 
,1 line running back from the river which now 
marks the east line of the Cass avenue subdi- 
vision, iloi-oss addition and Eldrcdge's second 
addition to the city, being one tier of lots east 
of Jloross and Eldredge Aveiuies. ami extend- 
ed westerly to the llackei- farm or the present 
westerly city linn'ts. The claim was ju'csented 
li\' James Connoi-, the oldest sou of Richard 
Cunuiii-. and Christian Clemens and was first 
taken up by the Commissionei-s December 21st, 
1808, when Henry Connor was swoi-n and tes- 
tified to the ])oss(>ssion by John Chartiou on 
July 1st, 179(). and to his i-enmining there for 
five >ears. Hi-ni-y Tucker then took i)ossession 
and continued until he sold the sauu' to the 
elaimants. "wlm liavi- caused the same to be 
cultivated every year to this date; about six 
acres ai'e cultivated, the house is l)uilt and an 
orchard |)lanted thereon.'' At a further hear- 
ing on February 1st, 1809. the deed of this 
tract fi-om Henry Tucker to Christian Clem- 
ens was pi-esented, the deed b(>aring date 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



573 



.M;irc-li 4. ISOS, and tllc cniisidcfiit imi iimiiu'iI 
iH-illg .'I^IOO.UO. 

Till' part of ^It. Cleincns lyiiit;- rast cil' tlie 
river was inekukHl iu private claims N(i. 17:5 
and o-i'2, the line between whieh would strike 
tlu' rivei' very close totlie Fulton Bend at a 
point fixed in the description of juivatc claim 
1730 "a l)utton wood tree about one acre 
above a certain small creek thai empties itself 
into the said river." Holh of tlu'se tracts ap- 
pear to have l)eeu first occupied and imjiroved 
by Eilward llezell or Hazel who James Coiuior 
swore had improved the premises "a loiii^ 
time previous to July first, 1796." The ui)per 
claim Xo. 542 was sold by Hazel to James 
Abbott, Esq., who in turn sold it 1o his son, 
also James Abi)Ott. wlm sold ti> ('hi'istiau 
Clemens iu whose name the claim was present- 
ed and to whom it was confirmed. When the 
testimony was taken Dee. 21st, 1808, it aj)- 
peared that twenty acres were cultivated and 
the house and stables built on the pr<'mises. 
The lower claim No. 173 was in poss(>ssion of 
Hazel i)i 1796 and improved by cultiv;ition 
and the house being built. Hazel i-aised two 
crops on the land, and afterwards .sold the 
l)remises to James Abbott, father of the James 
Abbott in whose name the claim was presented 
and to whom it was confirmed. It appeared 
by the testimony that Christian Clemens had 
for eight years cultivated and impi-oved the 
premises as the tenant of James Abbott. A 
deed of this claim from James Abbott, 8r., to 
his sou was jDut in evidence in which the tract 
was described as follows: "situate on the south 
southeast side of River Huron of Jjake St. 
Clair, containing ten acres in breadth and 
eighty acres iu depth, the said tract beginning 
at an otter ]iond and ruiuiing up the said river 
a depth of ten acres." As the east line of this 
claim as finally snrvej-ed was the line between 
the Shoemaker and Reimold farms on the river 
road, it mnst be that the otter pond referred 
to was the swale or setback thi-ough which was 
afterwards dug the canal now foi'iiiiiig the 
"new cut" of the Clinton River. 

These five private claims coveretl the bulk of 
the territory now included in the limits of Mt. 
Clemens and while there were probably more 
improvements then (1808) on tlicm than 
might ajipear fi'om this testimony, it is likely 
that they were little moi'c than farms, wilh 
small clearinirs and log cabins for the peojjle 
antl log shelter of a poor sort for the pro- 
tection of the few cattle and horses, with 
a trail or at most a woods-road connect- 
ing them with each other. The river was 
ju'dbably dejiended npoTi for the usual way 



to and I'rom the farms to the outside world. 
The .Moravian settlement, at Frederick, and 
the settlement down the I'iver about the 
Tuckei- farm wei-e both ahead of .Mount (_'lem- 
ens in population and i)rogi'ess, while the near- 
est point for trading was at Detroit reached 
either by canoes down the river and lake, or by 
the old ^loravian or Jleridian Road running 
south from Frederick. 

Th(^ village progressed but veiy little until 
after the war of 1812. A log house stood 
at a point near the ])resent pumping station of 
the Original Hath Company, another built by 
;\lr. Clemeiis, stood on the corner of Front and 
;\Iarket streets where Heine's store now .stands 
and was occujiied l)y Mr. Burns, then iu the 
emi)loy of .Ml'. Clemens. Another log house 
stood across the river from the Fluemer grist 
mill and a second distillery had been built up 
the river about whei'c Paganetti's lumber yai'd 
is now locatetl. 

To get an id<'a of the \ill;ige at the out- 
break of the wor of 1812 one must conceive of 
the place as set down in an unbroken forest 
and maile up of the half a dozen or more log 
buildings above referred to. Each WMth a 
snuiU clearing above them and connected only 
by a rambling road which ran along the high 
points, or where a was- was found with the 
least obstruction. The main I'oad was the one 
coming up the river lui the north side and fol- 
lowing the high banks of the river passed 
through whiit is now the city and on to the 
Connor settlement at Frederick, not along the 
line of the present Shelby Road or Cass ave- 
iuu\ but meandering thi'ough and striking 
the river again j)robably somewhei-e near the 
present home of John 1'. Wilson. The (ii-atiot 
'furnjiike of coui'se was still decades away 
and the Shelby Road still unthought of. There 
was probably also a road running down the 
I'iver on the east sitle and striking the Detroit 
Road whieh was the main thoi'oughfare not 
(udy for this section but all the settlements up 
the lake and St. Clair Ixiver. The changes in 
the Lake Shore and as well the improvements 
in other roads have caused many modifications 
of this Lake Shoi-e Road, but at this time it 
pi-obably ran from Baltimore (piite close to the 
shoi'es of Anchor Bay and Tucker Bay and 
came U]1 along the line between jirivate claims 
144 and 145, wlu're now a long lane separates 
\ho farm of iloi'ris Tucker and that of Louis 
J(jbse until it strikes the river road. P^jUow 
that up to a point above oppo.site the Reimold 
Farm wh(>re the River was crossed by ford or 
boat and the ])resent angling road along the 
sand I'idge past the town hall of Ilari'ison and 



574 



PAST AND PRESENT OF j\IACOMB COUNTY 



the home of David Tucker, was used to reach 
the road on the shore of the Lake again from 
which jxiiut the Lake was again closely fol- 
lowed until Milk Kiver Point was reached. 

During the war of 1812, most of the English 
speaking settlers were eonipelled at one time or 
another to take refuge in the Fort at Detroit 
to save themselves from the assaults of the In- 
dians. -Memliers of the Tucker family were 
usuall,v exempt from these raids and also the 
Connor famil,v as were a lai-ge niunber of the 
French .settlers, whom the Indians regarded 
.rather as allies than as supporters of the 
American Government. After the close of the 
war, ilr. Clemens and his family returned to 
;\It. Clemens, ilr. Harrington and his family 
to Frederick; ilr. John Connor and his family 
to his farm in Harrison, now the Eeimold 
farm and the work of restoring the burned 
buildings was begun with all the energy early 
settlers are proverbially possessed of. From 
this time until about 1818 ilt. Clemens pro- 
gressed as a countrv settlement without an.v 
organization, but luitil at least 1817 there were 
not nuiuy new American settlers. The place 
was frequently referred to as "the High 
Banks" or "Big Springs," and it was not un- 
til the platting of the heart of the A'illage by 
Judge Clemens in 1818 that the town was 
formally given the name of Mt. Clemens. In 
1818 there were about tifteen families in the 
Village. 

At this time, according to Gen. Stockton, 
there were about twenty families in the ~Sio- 
ravian Village at which point a saw and grist 
mill had been erected before the war. Judge 
Clemens at this time, as for many years after, 
was the mo.st active and intluimtial resident of 
the District. 

It is probable that it was largely through his 
intluenee that Governor Cass acted favorably 
upon the petition for a new count.v and on 
January l.'jth, 1818, laid out ^Macondj Count.v 
by proclamation as herein elsewhere detailed. 
By the same proclamation, "William Brown, 
Henry J. Hunt and Conrad Ten Eyck were 
appointed connuissioners for the purpose of 
examining the County and reporting to the 
Govei-nor the most eligil)le site for a seat of 
justice. The shrewdness of Judge Clemens 
was again ai)parent when these Connuissioners 
reported as the most favorable site, "The town 
of Mt. Clemens recentl.v laid out upon the 
farm of Christian Clemens, Esquire," a point 
well in the southeast coi-ner of the vast terri- 
torv laid out fm- this County. Judge Clemens 
was not lacking in either libci-ality or enei-g.y, 
for it appears that he had alread.v conveyed 



for the use of the County a plot of land select- 
ed by the Commissioners for a court house and 
county .jail, and had given to the Treasurer of 
the Count.v. his obligation for work, money 
and materials that might be required for the 
erection of a public building. The outcome of 
his efforts was a prochunation made by Gover- 
nor Cass ^larch 11th, 1818. estalilisliing the 
town of ^It. Clemens as the seat of .iustiee for 
the count.v of Macomb. The following month, 
April 8th, the Count.v was divided into town- 
ships again b.v proclamation of the Governor. 
All the part of the Count.v lying south of a 
line drawn due west from Swan Creek was to 
form one township called Hui-on, and the part 
l.ving north of that line, to be known as St. 
Clair. May 5th of 1818 the sum of $400.00 
was approjjriated l).v the (iovei'uor, and Judges 
of the territorv to aid in the erection of a court 
house and gaol for the Count.v of ]\Iacomb. 

"The town of ^It. Clemens recentl.v laid 
out"" b.v Christian Clemens was a town bound- 
ed bv the river. .Market strt'et, Cherrv street 
and the Patterson Ti'act above referred to, be- 
ing a line running from near the foot of Terry 
street northwesterl.y to Cherry street directly 
back of the Fenton house. It will be seen this 
constituted the heart of the present citj'. It 
was made up of seven lilocks besides the court- 
house .square and laid off in lots mostl.v of six- 
ty b.v ninet.v feet. The Street now known as 
New Street does not appear on this plat and 
the street, so far as that portion of it within 
the limits of this original plat is concerned, 
l)ecame a .street merely b.v use, and probabl.v 
ac((uired its name from the fact that it was 
not platted but was in fact a new street. In 
it was built the first vessel built here, the 
"Harriet" directl.v in front of Czizek"s store, 
and the launching of the craft from this novel 
ship-.vard called for the combined efforts of all 
the oxen and men of the entire viciuit.v and as 
well for the sacrifice of all the soft soap that 
all our grand-dames of the village had on 
hand. It was built in 1821 bv ^Messrs. Funson 
and Rn.ss and finall.v reached the river at the 
foot of ^Market street where the bridge is now. 
It was christened in honor of the oldest daugh- 
ter of Judge Clemens and was first sailed l).v 
Captain Russ. It was poi'ticall.v apjiropi'iate 
thai this same schooner later i)rought up from 
Detroit on his first coming to Blount Clemens 
the future husband of .Mi.ss Clemens, Dr. 
George Lee. Captains Ila.vward and Atwood 
conunanded this craft, wdiieh at one time sailed 
as far awa.v from home as the Soo. While 
no formal platting of additions to the village 
jqipears of record after this until 1835, it is 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



575 



iu)t to he assuiiu'd that tlir vilhiiic itsi'lf was 
so contined. 80011 aftor the war ol' 1812 closed 
Josei)h Hayes, who liad carliiT come from 
Genesee Coiiuty, New York, settled where the 
Gratiot crosses the Clinton, on the south hank, 
and here he and others at'terwartl platted .Mar- 
cellns. ^Vith him and his family also caiin' 
Nicholas Boyer. who settled near the old Mo- 
ravian site. These two families had removed 
from the St. Clair Kiver to Detroit in order 
to escape the depredations of the Indians, and 
on their way had passed through .Mount Clem- 
ens, camping' all night in the distillery, then 
located on the north side of .Market street be- 
tween ^Valnnt and Court (site of i\Ir. George 
Crocker's present residence). The capture of 
the Boyer eliildren at Frederick in 1813 will 
serve as an illustration of the dangers of those 
early days. In October, ilrs. Boyer. being 
some distance from the house, noticed the In- 
dians stealthily approaching and suspecting 
mischief from their manners, concealed her- 
self outside. The Indians on entering the 
house found Mr. Bo.ver and the four children 
and a friendly Indian named Tick-ke-sho. 
After searching in vain for ;\Ii-s. Boyer, the 
Indians took all the others prisoners, except 
the oldest child, who lay dangerously sick. 
After some discussion regarding the disposi- 
tion of the child the Indians went away leav- 
ing her. expecting that she would soon die. 
Mrs. Boyer had gone in searcli of help and 
after the departure of the Indians the sick 
child managed to get into the woods and across 
the river. The hostile Indians at their first 
camping place had tied Tick-ke-sho to the 
tree and laid their plans to send one back in 
the morning to kill the girl, and then lay 
down and went to sleep. Tick-ke-sho managed 
to free himself, and. returning, traced the sick 
gii'l and cari-ied her to her uncle. ^lichel 
Tremble. The shock and excitement appar- 
ently cured rather than killed the child, as was 
expected, and she lived to become the wife of 
E. Campau of Springwells. Later the father 
and all of the children were rescued and ran- 
somed from the Indians. Two of the children, 
a boy and girl, were taken up to the Saginaw 
region and their return was onl.v i)rocured b.v 
the shrewdness and craftiness of a trapper 
named Smith. The boy grew to be an aged 
man and lived near Swan Creek: and to the 
day of his death, it is said, the sight of an In- 
dian would arouse uncontrollable fears. 

In October. 1817, Col. John Stockton, who 
had during the stay of the Clemens famil.y 
won the heart and hand of Mary Allen, daugh- 
ter of Mrs. (^lerni'iis by hor f'oi'iiiei- liusbnnd. 



came to Alniint Clemens and for their accom- 
modation a irame addition was built to the 
log house of Christian Clemens — tiie first 
fi-ame structure in tiie new settlement. This 
stood facing l<"i-oiit street about where now is 
the Ferrin hai'dw.ire stoi'e. Col. Stockton 
\\as a man of more than average clerical and 
administrative abilit.v. ami served in many 
public positions, as will appear later, lie was 
the first postmaster of the place, when the 
office was established in 1819. At this time 
tlici-e were about fifteen families in the village. 
In 1818 came Daniel Li'Koy and William 
Thompson, both of whom, however, proved to 
be but sojourners, as they removed to Pontiac, 
where the.v helped lay the foundation of the 
village there. During his stay Dr. Thompson 
built a log house near where Fluemer's grist 
mill now stands, near the northeast corner 
of Front and .Market streets. Ezra B. Pres- 
cott. a lawyer from New P^ngland. was here 
and presented his credentials July lith, 1818. 
at the opening of the county court, but how 
long he tarried here does not appear. He built 
a house on the west side of Front street about 
where ^Miller's plumbing shop now stands, 
and there kept bachelor's hall. "The ladies of 
the village would sometimes intrude upon his 
premises, and alwa.vs left declaring their high 
appreciation of his talents for housekeeping." 

In 1819 a square-timbered log court house 
was built by Captain Benjamin AVoodworth 
on the square dedicated b.v Judge Clemens 
for that purpose in the center of the village. 
The lower story was fitted up for a jail by 
partitioning off a few cells with plank, where 
the unrul.v and criminal could be restrained. 
For years the upper storv rendered triple 
service as court house, church and school room. 
The sum apin-opriated by the territory and 
the ordinary public revenue proving insuffi- 
cient for the purpose, authority was obtained 
from the governor and judges of the territory 
to .spread an additional special tax for the pur- 
pose of completing the building. On Christ- 
mas eve in 1839 a prisoner from St. (.'lair 
couiit.v, charged with mui'der, was confined 
here; and. hoping to escape thereby, set fire 
to his jail. He came near to furnishing his 
own funeral jiile, for in the excitement the 
key to the jail could not be found, and it was 
only by the vigorous use of an axe that the 
door was battered ojien in time to save the 
prisoner. .\s will appi'ar elsewhei-e. the new 
court house which ga\c way to the present one 
was built the following year, 1840. 

Thomas Ashle.v in 1820 came from Batavia, 
New York, and built a framed house on tlu' 



576 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



northwest corner of Front and ilaeonih 
streets, and there he kept a hotel, or, to 
use the better and more descriptive term, a 
' ' tavern. ' ' He had practiced law in New York 
and on Jul.v 11th. 181^0, was admitted to prac- 
tice here. He purchased some twenty acres of 
land, where afterwards Ashle.v's Addition was 
located, and found sufficient occupation to sat- 
isfy his untiring industry in his three-fold 
capacity of lawyer, farmer and tavern keeper. 
Of Mr. Ashley and liis family more will be 
said elsewhere. 

In 1820 there came Ezekiel Allen from Gen- 
esee county. New York, who built several of 
the early structures of the place, among them 
the frame store building which until some 
thirty years ago occupied the .southwest corner 
of Gratiot and Cass avenues, a frame dwelling 
on the site of the present Slush building, oceu- 
jiied b.v the "Smoke Shop"" and the telephone 
offices, and for himself a tannery on the i-iver 
bank between Macomb and New streets, alwut 
where now stands the Wilson block, and also a 
store on Front street on same lot. For a while 
he lived in a log house standing where Czizek's 
hardware stoi-e adorns the northwest corner of 
Court and New stivets. Imt later in the build- 
ing where his store was on Front street. 

Blount Clemens evidentl.v enjoyed some- 
thing like a "boom"" in 1820, for besides the 
impi'ovemeuts already mentioned, Thomas 
Wattles, our first "village blacksmith," built 
him a place of business on Gi-atiot street about 
wliei-e now stands the Medea Bath House, and 
not long after he had a competitor in John ilil- 
ler, who built a shop on the northeast corner of 
^laeonib and Walnut streets (now ShotwelFs 
drug .store), and also built a house on the eor- 
nei- ne.xt west. That year, too, Henry Halse.v 
built al)out where now is located the Blount 
Clemens Savings Bank a building intended 
for a i)ottcry. which, howevei', was used for 
more s])iritiuil purposes, being early used for 
religious purposes, ilr. Halse.v died in 1821 
and his was the first body interred in the 
burial ground whei-e now is Clemens Park. 
I'l'ior to this the dead had been buried on lots 
lying north of New sti'eet, the exact location 
being uncertain, but either just west or east of 
Court street. There were but few ever buri(>d 
there, and as early as 18.58 all trace of the 
fact of their burial there had been obliterated. 
It was not regarded as a suitable place, and 
some discussion had arisen over it; and before 
Ibo Ilalsey death Mr. Clemens, the Pooh-Bah 
of tile village, had stated he wovdd find a bet- 
ter spot when it again became necessary to 
make a grave. Accordinirlv Judge Clemens 



led the Ilalsey funeral pi-ocession northward 
into what was then almost unbroken forest, 
and, pacing oft" a .space that \mdoubtedl.v 
seemed to his companions liberal enough to 
provide for their dead for all time, thus des- 
ignated the new cemetery. No other or further 
dedication was attempted or deemed neces- 
sary. 

The writer is imable to find whether this 
Henry Halse,y was anj' relation of the Silas 
Halsey who came about 1823 and built a tav- 
ern ( Mount Clemens seemed to have had a 
call for extensive hotel acconnnodations even 
in those da.vs) on the southwest corner of 
Court street and ^lacomb street, where Jaeobi 
keeps store toda.v. ^Ir. Ilalsey was still one 
of Mount Clemens' taveru keepers as late as 
1840 at least. He married in 1825 Luc.v Cady, 
a sister of Chaneey and Horace Cad.v and step- 
daughter of Peter Atwood, all of whom will 
be found mentioned elsewhere. The building 
he used as a tavern was later moved back 
on the lot and faced onto ]\Iacond) street, 
where is now the Citizens' Savings Bank build- 
ing. It can still be remembered by many 
;\Iount Clemensites as the store, dwelling and 
photograjih gallery of the IMinton.ves. 

Mount Clemens' first mei'chant so far as 
known was Ellis Dot.v, who came from Chau- 
tauqua county. New York, and in 1822 built a 
house at the north^vest corner of Front and 
Market streets and kept store in a cabin across 
Market street, where Heine's store has been 
for years past. Up to this time ])rovisions were 
bi'ought from Detroit, usuall.v in canoes. It is 
related that storekeeper Ellis bought his tea 
by the pound and sold it by the two ounces. 
Our forebears evidentl.v had little means to 
waste on luxuries. Flour had been frequentl.V 
brought up from Detroit li.v Fred Hoxie on his 
back and jieddled out bv him in snuill quan- 
tities. A grist mill had been l)uilt at Freder- 
jck b.v a Tremble before the wai- of 1812. but it 
was freqiumtl.v not in woi'king order. Some- 
time after 1818, probably about 1826, Job C. 
Smith built another one thei-e. 

Ague was verv prevalent in the i>arl.v days 
and in 1818 and 181!) the village was very 
sickl\-. Gen. Stockton related that at one time 
■very man. wonuui and child in the place, him- 
self alone excepted, was sick. Accordingl.v Dr. 
Chamberlain, who came in October, 1819, was 
a most welcome addition to the connuunity, 
but neithei- he nor Dr. Thom[)son. our next 
physician, remained long. Di-. H. S. K'iee was 
here from 1823 to 1827, when he removed to 
Detroit. Our first doctor who made his home 
here permanently was Dr. George Lee from 



PAST AND PKKSFA-T OF :\tACOMB COUNTY 



577 



Ontario County, New York, who came in 1823. 
lie married Harriet, the oldest daughter of 
Christian Clemens, and was for years one of 

the most prominent and sueeessful of our 
physicians. 

In 182t). Dr. Henry Taylor, gi'andl'atlier of 
our present Dr. (Harry F.) Taylor, who had 
a couple of years earlier come from Cayuga 
Co., N. Y., to Rochester. Mich., came to this 
vicinity, but until 1S29 liad his head(iuaiiers 
with the Tuckers down the river, a communit.v 
almost as jiopulous as the village itself, lie 
was a pioneer in the pedagogical as well as 
the medical profession and a large part of 
these three years were spent in teaching the 
youthful idea how to shoot. In 182!) he locat- 
ed at Mount Clemens, and from tlu'n until his 
death faithfully followed the practice of his 
cjjosen i^rofession. 

Later came Dr. Philo TiLson. whu built and 
lived in the old brick house on tiie corner of 
Clinton and East streets, long the home of 
iMrs. Josejjhine Connor, which has lately 
yielded to the machine shop of Phillips & Me- 
Creedy. He did not come until about 1835 
and removed in 1858 to Komeo. where he died. 

Associated with Dr. Tilson was Dr. Alex 
Campbell, who during his short stay (1835-37) 
livetl on the site of the Clifton House. He aft- 
erwards acquired a high standing and great 
success in his profession in New York state, 
where he went from here. His leaving was 
occasioned by the suspicions and indignation 
of the Indians. The boys attending school at 
the school house standing on the southwest 
corner of New and Cherry sti'eets found 
buried in the hay in a neighboring barn the 
dead body of an Indian. The indignant na- 
tives for some reason fastened their suspicions 
on Dr. Campbell and that disciple of Aescu- 
lapius found it best by flight to escape the dire- 
ful eonse(iuences that wei'c thi'eatened, and he 
was not seen here again for upwards of a 
((uarter of a century. 

In 1823 a saddler by the name of William 
Mcl)(»nald built on the lot, cornering on New 
and \Valnut sti-eets, where I^osncr's building 
now stands, and in it kej)t his shop aTid dwell- 
ing. Later he bought a farm mi the .Xnrlli 
Bi-anch Koad in section 36 of Macomb, where 
he died in 1856. His .son, Theodore ;\IeDon- 
ald, was for many years a resident of Mount 
Clemens and latei- and still of Ann .\i'b(ir. 
James II. McDonald, the well-knuwn l)etroit 
attorney, is a gi'andson, 

.Vini .Moe, a cooper by trade, came from \'er- 
mnnt and oecupir-d a log cabin ni'ar tln' pres- 



ent residence site of .Mrs. Sandei-s, and on 
the bank of the river, a little fui'ther up, he 
built and ran a distillery, which was after- 
wards owned by Coinier & (irey. He was 
proiiably a mei-e s(|uatter, without title to the 
re;il estate. He Went from here to Frederick, 
and later to Ctica, where he became a land 
owiu'r as early as 18211. 

Eai'ly there had been built on the corner of 
Front and Mai ib, where now stands the Ull- 
rich Savings Hank, a building whicli was used 
by William Cantield as a store and trading 
])ONt with the Indians. This building was also 
later long used by .lerry h'olsom as his store. 
Eai-ly. too, by .some one a log house was built 
on the .southwest corner of Court and New 
streets, which the family of ()liver Chapaton's 
jiarents occupied when tluy first came to 
Mount Clemens in 1830. This is the site of the 
home of K. (). Cooley, the merchant of a lit- 
tle later date, who built there the building 
that still .stands. 

In 1825 Judge Clemens l)uilt a frame house 
on the same premises that his distillery had 
occupied, where now stands George 'SI. Crock- 
er's home. The house was later moved and re- 
modeled beyond recognition, and now stands 
on the northwest corner of North Gratiot and 
Welts streets. 

In 1828 Alfred Ashley built on the site of 
Fluemer's Mill the hostelry long and favor- 
ably known as the Phelps House, but at first 
spoken of as Ashley's Tavern, and the next 
year ILu'ace Cady built a story-and-a-half 
fi'anie, which was painted I'ed, the first part 
of what in later years was known as the Em- 
pire Hou.se, on the corner of Court and Cass 
streets — the Sherman House corner. The 
Shelby Road was then a thing of the future — 
the nuiin travel westei'ly going by the River 
Koad to Fi'cderick. if the rivei- itself was not 
utilized. 

Sometime prior to 1835 were also built two 
dwellings on the south side of ^lacomb sti'eet 
between Walnut and Cherry streets, which 
wei-e oecu])ied by Robert P. Eldredge and 
Janu's Williams. On Cass street besides those 
buildings alreaily noted were the dwellings of 
Fletchei-, where now stands the Clementine 
Path House; of C. N. Mathers, the wagou 
maker (the first brick structure in the place) 
on tlie Fenton House site: of Theron Patter- 
son, the mason, about where now stands the 
home of the late E. Wright Hall, next west 
of the T. \V. Snook place: and the dwelling 
which stooti on the site of the Olympia Bath 
House, occupied and probably built by Jere- 
miah Folsom. the merchant. 



578 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOJIB COUNTY 



Thi'st- last iiieiitioiU'd dwclling-s. together 
with the Empire House on the (Iratiot eorner 
anil the stoi-e built by Alh'n. then oeeupied by 
Fieteher. were all the buildings on Cass in 
1835. Sciiith of that street there were only 
a school on the high bank about where now 
the offiee of the Mount Clemens Brewing Com- 
pany and the Hiehai'd Butler home (after 
known as the Oliver House), where is now the 
^ledea Hath House. Soon after, however, on 
South (iratiot. Aaron Weeks biult what 
is now the (ioldenbogen boarding house (No. 
22) ; R. P. Eldi'edge liis residence, where he 
died (No. 50) : Capt. Sylvester Atwood a 
house, where now stands the New National 
Hotel (long known as the Kimnieritz home, 
with large, sipiare pillars to its poi'eh 1 ; Fred- 
erick Hatch, the house long the ]\losei' home- 
stead, now the Florence Cottage (No. 53), and 
John J. Leonard, the lawyer, the house long 
used as the James Snook homestead, where the 
Fairview now stands (No. -iH). About that 
time. too. Aaron Weeks built on the east side 
of South (iratiot. not far from Cass, a store 
building and later the Clinton House on the 
eorner with its second storv running up over 
the store also. Prior to 1835 Dr. Lee had built 
the large, pretentious frame house on the 
southeast coiner of Marki^t and Walnut 
.streets, a mansion in its day, the main part of 
which still stands: and Dr. Taylor had built 
him a house on the river side of Front street 
just below New .street. 

It is believed that mention has been uuide of 
all buildings, so far as the.v can be ascertained, 
put up in the village prior to the intlux of 
population aiul the stirring times of the mid- 
dle thirties. Mount Clemens had. i)erhaps. not 
its full share, .vet a goodly share in the pros- 
perity and boom that aft'ected ^Michigan aiul 
all the northwest after the Erie Canal was 
opened, and in genei'al "good tinu's" that 
preceded the panics and finaiu'ial disasters of 
1837, and the yeai-s following. In 183.') the 
first addition to the original villag(> of Mount 
Clemens was i)latted and I'ceorded by Robert 
P. Ehli-edge. It included the land outside 
of Clemens' ])lat Iving south of Cass street 
as fai- as anil including his own residence and 
west (d' (iratiot nearly as fai' as South aveinie. 
It is woi'th.\' (d' passing notice that the surve,v- 
(II' of the plat was AVilliam .\. liurt ot solar 
coiii|)ass fame. It ma,v not be strictl.v true to 
call this the fir.st addition, since it is certain 
that Christian Clemens had caused the same 
lands included aftei'wards in .Mullett's sur- 
ve,v to be ])latte(l and a surve,v thereof to be 
nuide by A. E. llathon, a i)ronnnent surveyor 



of Detroit. Some lots were sold by this plat, 
i)Ut it was never j)ut on record. In December, 
1835, ('lemens sold a ti'act of land, which in- 
cluded all of the lots afterwards platted in 
Mullett's sui'vc.v of the village, to Kodney (). 
Cooley, Edwartl Brooks and Enoch Jones, wlio 
the next year recorded their plat thereof nuule 
b,v John ;\Iullett. also a ])roininent Detroit sur- 
ve.vor. The new proprietors, excepting (,'ooley, 
were Deti'oit men, and to Coole.v fell the work 
of making the new I'cal estate enterpi'ise pa.v. 
For a while he did a livel,v i-eal estate busi- 
ness and the little village fairly boomed. The 
l)lat included all of the present cit.v lying 
east of North (Iratiot. west and north of the 
I'iver. and the (triginal Clemens plat, anil also 
some eiuht blocks west of (ii'atiot. lying be- 
tween Maeond) aiul Cherr.v streets, and the 
Ashley lands platted in 1845 as Ashley's Ad- 
dition. Coole.v had been a resident here for 
sonu' time, it seems, as he was a land owner 
as earl.v as 1833 and ver.v earl.v held count.v 
and local offices. He kept a general store on 
Front street not far south of New street on 
the river side, and did a thriving and i)a.ving 
business, as is evidenced b.v the si/.f (if his 
estate when he died in 183S, upwartls of 
$38,()U() — a millionaire fortune f(ir a back- 
woods town of tho.se da.vs. (ireen Freeman 
was for several .vears lud'ore his death associ- 
ated with Jlr. Coole.v and became after his 
death, with Alfred Ashle.v. administratiu' of 
his estate. Coole.v left no famil.v here. He 
first lived on the northwest corner of Macomb 
and Front .streets and later built the house 
that still stands on the southwest corner of 
Court and New streets, where he continued to 
live up to the time of his death. The date of 
its erection is uncertain, but as it was con- 
sidered at thai time the most pretentious 
house in the village, it was jiroliablv before 
the Lee house was built. 

The building of the glass factory iu the mid- 
dle "30s by Hall and (irovier on the site of 
the pumping station of the Original Bath and 
Hotel Compan.v. down the river, had much 
to do with the boom in building that East 
street enjoyed in the next few .vears. On the 
north side ol' the sti'eet William Cantield. 
sou-in-law of Judge Clemens, built on the east 
side of .Mullett street I now Park avenue), 
while on the south side (if Mast street the 
(irovier home and others were put up. which 
later gave place to the present Aver.v House. 
Soon after, in 1S38, Dr. Ebenezer Hall. Janii^s 
Snook and William Beer built the niw of 
houses ill the block next east that have iieen 
known to us of later davs as the For.ster. Allen 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF MACUMB L'OLXTY 



579 



aiul Wjult' jilact's. Hall & (Irovicr first kept 
thi'ii- stock (if dfuirs and 'ji'iu'ral wares 
ill a small Imildini;- near the foot of Mar- 
ked stivct. hut lati'i- liiiilt a nuiri' lu-cteii- 
tious liuildiiiy cm tlir site of Donaldson liros. " 
factory. This latter- luiildin^' jn-ovcd sonu'- 
thiiiii' of a traveler hefore it landed on 
South (iratiot avenue and furnished the 
basis of the dwellin-;' lonir oeeupied hy the 
(irovier family ( Xo. KiD). having' stood at one 
time on the .laeolii corner and later \vhei-e now 
is the .Miinnt ('lemciis Saxines Hank liuild- 
ing. Mr. Alfred Ashley had liefoi-e this time 
built the lar<>:c hou.se on th<' south si<le id' .Mai'- 
ket street just west of (iratiot, which but a 
few years ai;o disappeared hefore the march of 
time, and about this time built the lare-e house 
much further up the sti'cet, on the same side, 
which was for a time the home of James Wil- 
liams, and later for yeai's of the L'Etourneau 
family (No. 133). William Lewis early in 
1835 boui;ht the lot where now stands the 
county .jail and soiui built the house that stood 
there until the eount>' purchased thi' lot in the 
'«Us. 

Between Court and Fi-ont streets on the 
north side of Macomb, about whei'e is now the 
gas company's office ( Xo. '2'2 \ . a small bi-ick 
buildiny furnished a home foi- the Macoml) 
County Bank, whose pi'esident was Col. Stock- 
ton, and cashier, Charles Emersiui, and which 
later passed into the hands of the Tucker 
Bros., when James G. Tucker (father of oui' 
present circuit .iudtre) became cashiei'. Just 
west of the bank buildinii' James Brown, a ro- 
mantic and mysterious fieure in the society of 
our little villaee, built a two-story buildiui;-, 
with stores below and ;\ hall above, the first 
public hall of the place (aside from the court 
house). Here political meetings, and, after 
the bnrnino: of the court house, church services 
were held. This man Brown was from the 
south, handsome, versatile and. in modern |)ar- 
lance, "a smooth article." Ili' made himself 
notorious by hor.sewhippint;' the first editor. 
Mr, Avery of the 'Macomb Democrat, for some 
fancied insult, and succeeded in so ucttint;' 
him.self talked about that he was sometimes re- 
puted to have been a [lirate. It was. at all 
events, when he hied himself hence to be seen 
and heard of no more, a •>i'cat relief to the 
father and family of one of Mount Clemens' 
fairest and most iirominent social youui' maid- 
ens, whose affections he had won by his fas- 
cinatinu; iiianners ami brilliiint tonuMie. 

It was about IS:?.") that the old licviathan 
Block (where are now the .Meyer drugstore 



and McSweeny ])lace, .\os. l(i ;ind '2- Xorth 
Front street", was built by .\aroii Whitney, 
tir., and his brother, who foi- a short time were 
active merchants here, .\aron was especially 
acti\'e in real estate dealinjjs. but he returned 
east when the liard times came on and no fam- 
ily oi- relatives were left here by him. As 
early as this, too, thei-e had been put up a 
small frame buildine-on the northwest corner 
of Cratiot and .Macomb, where Robert F. East- 
man, who came in Is:}."), lived and kept store. 

.Miout ls:!(; \\ penini; of Frederick, and 

later the canal iiuildin^- there, caused a de- 
mand for betlei' hiuhway connections than the 
old rambliuL: river roiid (now obliterated en- 
tirely), and the Shelby Koad was opened. The 
wild-cat times (as they wei'c called most fre- 
i|uently) caused so much buildine- and so 
;nany chanjies that it wduld be tiresome as well 
as useless to attempt to follow them all. and 
the detailed and personal method atteniptecl .so 
far in this history must be abandoned for a 
more statistical and hence dryer and less in- 
tel-estinii' method. 

.March 13. 1S37. an act was approved incor- 
porating the vilhifii' of .Mount Clemens, author- 
i/.iuK the election of a pi'esident. recoi-di'r anil 
si.x trustees, lint 1 he exeitement and eliaiioies 
incident to the |ianie that sti'Uck the countrv 
at that time and the total prostration of en- 
ti'i']irises that followed seems to have con- 
sumed all the enereies and ,-itt I'acteil all the at- 
tention of the I pie. and uothiiiir seemed to 

have lieen done towards observine- the provi- 
sions of the ai-t. In IS.")!, by an ac-t approved 
Ajiril 4th. the \illai;-e was aiiain incorporated 
and from that time until .\|>ril. ISTil. when the 
city oruani/.ation was effected, the villaire was 
in full operation, .\mendments to the act of 
village incorporation \v<'i'e made by the legis- 
latures of 1S.")3, 18()3, 1873 and 187o, the act 
of 1873 iiroviding for increase in territory. 
A list of the village officers will prove interest- 
ing as furnishine- a partial list of the active 
citizens of the village and may have also a 
reference value. The presidents of the village 
were as follows: Daniel Lutes, 1851: Benja- 
min Robertson (father of (ieorge W. of Cass 
avenue), 1852: Edward C. (lalhip. 1S53: Jolin 
Stockton, 18.54: John S. Parks, 18.55: Eben 
W. Hall, 18.5(i; Joshua B. Dickinson, 1857-8: 
Ciles Hubbard 1859: Wm. S. Robinson, 
18(i()-l: (leo. B. Van P:;ps, 18t;2: John E. Van 
Eps, 1863: Joshua B. Dickinson, 1864: Oliver 
Chapatou, 18()5: Jndson S. Farrar. 1866: 
Thomas "\V. Snook, 18()7: (ieorge B. \'au Ejis, 
I'^liS: Oliver Chapatou. IStllC T. L. Sackctt, 



58o 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



1870; John II. ('(iimor, 1871; ]Myrou "White. 
1872; James B. Eldredge, 1873: Thomas il. 
Crocker. 187-1-7 ; Charles S. Groesbeck, 1878. 

The various recorders of the village were : 
George Scott, 1851 : Robert Thomson, 1852 ; 
John S. Fletcher. 185.S; Joel ('. .Mi-Donald. 
1854; George Scott, 1855; Sam A. Fitch. lS5i;; 
John S. Fletcher. 1857; James B. P^ldredge. 
1858-9; Oliver Chapatou. 1860-2; Ira Stout, 
186::i-t; William S. Robinson, 1865-6; T. C. 
Bradford. 1867; AVilliam S. Robinson, 1868; 
T. J. West. 1869; W. S. Robin.son. 1870; My- 
ron White. 1871; Charles S. Groesbeck. 1872; 
James .M. Heath. 1873; Ilenrv W. Bal)eock, 
1874-8. 

The various treasurers of the village were; 
Robert Thomson. 1851 ; ( ieorge C. Fletcher, 
1852: D. C. Williams. 1853; George C. Van 
Eps. 1854; Silas Dixon. 1855; Wesley Hin- 
man, 1856; Silas Di.\on. 1857; D. C. Williams. 
1858; Abe Wise. 1859 ; J. H. Connor. I860: 
John E. Van Eps. 1S61: Josejih llubbai-d. 
1862: Robert Shook. 1863; Oliver Chapaton. 
1864-5; William Flummer. 1866; (J. B. Van 
Eps. 1867: Silas Dixon. 1868; T. AV. Snook. 
1869; E. J. Tucker. 1870; John Otto. 1871-2; 
Paul Ullrich. 1873; Robert Shook, 1874: Will- 
iam E. Ilall, 1875-t) ; Robert Shook, 1877 ; 
Charles Mosei', 1878. 

The various trustees of the village were : 
1857 — John E. Van Eps, A. L. Gurber, W. L. 
Rutter, Benjamin Robertson, Giles IIubli:u(l. 
1858 — Henry Taylor, Sr., Francis Latour- 
neau, (George Nicliolls, Ed. J. Tucker, D. C. 
Williams. 1859 — (ieorge B. Van Eps. Charles 
IMosei-, Orrin W. DeLano, Abe Wise, Loren 
Phelps. 1860— John H. Connor, Elisha W^est, 
Myron White. Joshua B. Dickinson, Henry 
II. Huntington. 1861 — .Myron Wliite. Dennis 
McCaffertv. Elisha West, J. II. Coinior, John 
E. Van Eps. 1862— David Shook, .lohn Tuck- 
er, Joseph Hul)l)ai-d, John ^M. Sanders, Loren 
Phelps. 1863 — Varnuni Lufkin, Bruno Van 
Landeghem. George 0. NichoUs. Robert Shook, 
Aug. Dahm. 1864 — C. Generonx. Dennis Me- 
Cafferty. William Flummer. Fred Hatch. 
Olivei' Chapaton. 186.5— Elisha West, W. S. 
Donahlson. Charles Ullrich. John I. Eraser, G. 
O. Xicholis. 1866 — William Fluiiniier. J. E. 
Van Eps. ^Michael Stapleton. Varuum Lufkin, 
John Roskopp. 1867 — Silas Dixon. A. Strong, 
G. B. Vail Eps, Varnum Lufkin, Alvin 
Bi-andy. 1868 — Silas Dixon, Varnum Ijuf- 
kin. .\. Hraiuly. Alex Strong, Thomas W. 
Shook. 1869 — Theo. Travi-r, A. 'I'. Doiialdsoii, 
J. E. Van Eps, William .M. Coiiuoi', T. W. 
Snook. 1870— S. Dixon, William Flummer, P. 
P. Ci-incr. M. Peltier. 1871— Varnum Lufkin. 



Robert Hunt. William Heine. John Otto, D. 
McCart'erty. 1872— Ed. Lewis. John Otto. 
William Heine, W. S. Donaldson. Varnum 
Lufkin. 1873— Robert Shook. Paul Ullrich, 
John Roskopj). Edward Tremble, C. S. Groes- 
beck. 1874 — Robert Shook, Caspar Peters, C. 
D. Crittenden, Emanuel Mandel. J. 'SI. Heath. 
1875— C. S. Groesbeck, E. J. Tucker, B. B. 
He.ss, D. C. Tilden, G. W. Robertson, J. Ros- 
kopp, William Heine, G. R. Law. 1876 — B. 
Van Landeghem, V. Lufkin, F. G. Kendrick, 
G. W. Robinson. John E. Van Eps. Jo.seph 
Lonsby. 1877 — lohn Otto. John E. VanEps. 
William S. Donaldson. Joseph Lonsby. 1878 
— Jacob Roessel, Ed. W. Lewis. Kd. Troiiibley. 
Henry Fries. 

The formation of the city in 1879 coincides 
with the connnencement of a new epoch in the 
history of Macomb county, since about that 
time commencetl a period of lu'osperity and 
growth much more marked than any other. 
All reference to the bathing and hotel indus- 
tries which have played so prominent a pai't 
in modei'ii iMount Clemens will be left to an- 
other chapter, as will the little that will bfe 
said of the schools, churches and fraternal 
organizations. Interesting though it might be, 
time and space forbid any attempt to follow 
chronologically or in detail the various enter- 
prises which intere.sted Blount Clemensites, 
and only a mere reference will be made to 
some of the more public and successful ones, 
but much could be leai'ued of the others in the 
information scattered through the chapter en- 
titled "Old Mount Clemens Families and 
Residents," and the biograi)hical sketches else- 
where included in this volume. 

The Eldretlge. Mullett and A.shlcy additions 
have been referred to. 

In 1845 Aaron Weeks |)latteil the addition 
which included lots on both sides of North ave- 
nue for a short distance north of Cass, and 
the following year Eraser's Addition, which 
included lands from South Walnut street 
westerly on each side of .Maple avenue, was 
made. Although Robertson's addition, which 
covered nearly all of the land south of the 
original plat lying east of the line of Smith 
street, must have been platted much earlier, 
the official plat of it was not made or reported 
until 1851. No further additions to the vil- 
lage were made, although considerable growth 
took place, until 1870. when Giles Hnbliard 
))latted a strip running from North avenue 
Westerly, lying on both sides of (iraiid avenue; 
and two years later R. P. EUlredge platted his 
second addition, running from Ca.ss avenue 
on each side of Eldredire street northerlv to 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IIACOMB COUNTY 



581 



tlif raili'iiad. In tlir yrars 1ST4 and IST.") no 
loss than ton suhdivisinns and additions wore 
iiiadi' to the viihige — heini:' Moi'oss. Ferrin and 
AVelts Additions, and the (ireiner and Butler 
subdivisions of parts of tlie Rohei-tson Addi- 
tion iu 1874, and the Zuhn and \'an Eps Ad- 
ditions and the Be.vne, Lewis and Bi'ehler. and 
Paul I'Urieh subdivisions of parts of the Rob- 
ertson Addition in 1875. 

The eonstruetion of the .Miehiuan Division 
of the (Irand Trunk Railway S.vsteni in 1859, 
under the name of the Detroit, Chieauo and 
Grand Trunk Junction Railway Company, 
gave our village its first raili'oad connections 
from the outside world, and sounded the death 
knell of the old-time stage line. Its construc- 
tion brought to the village many new resi- 
dents, several of whom, appreciating the ad- 
vantages of tlie place, became permanent 
citizens. 



CHAPTER VI. 



OKGANIZ.VTIOX -VXD POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE 
COUNTV. 

As has been heretofore noted, ^laeomb 
county was organized by the proclamation of 
Governor Cass January 15th, 1818. and by 
that proclamation was made to include all of 
the land north of the base line (north line of 
Wayne county) included in the territory, 
the Indian title to which was relinquished by 
the Treaty of Detroit, 1807. This comprised 
all of the laud east of the principal meridian 
and north of the base line and south of a line 
drawn from White Rock on the shore of Lake 
Huron to a point on the principal meridian di- 
rectly west of the mouth of Lake Huron, and 
included all of the land in the pre.sent coun- 
ties of Macomb, Oakland, Livingston, Gene- 
see, Lapeer and St. Clair, and also the bulk 
of Sanilac and Shiawassee counties, the east 
half of Ingham county and the southern por- 
tion of Tuscola eount.v. The county was the 
third county iu the state to be organized, being 
preceded by Wayne county in 1796 and Mon- 
roe county in 1817. By proclamation of April 
8th, 1818, Governor Cass divided the new 
county into two townships, the dividing line 
between which was a line drawn due west from 
the mouth of Swan Creek, the northerly town- 
ship being designated St. Clair and the south- 
erly one Huron. On August 12th, 1818, Gov- 
ernor Cass, because of a petition pi-esented to 
him "signed h.v a number of the citizens of the 
county of ^Macomb, rorjuesting that a new 



townslii[) lie laid nut tbrreiii.'" by prcn-lama- 
tion cstalilished tlie township of Harrison, to 
include all of the co\int\' which la.v east of a 
line between i)rivale claims 144 and ]"_'9 on the 
north side of the river extending to Salt River 
and east of a line between private claims 175 
and 178 on the south side of the river and in- 
eluding also "the settlements northeast of the 
base line ne:n- Milk River on the lake shore to 
the mouth of said River Huron." 

The county was not long to en.jo.v such ex- 
tensive domains, since b,v jn'oclamation of Jan- 
uary rJth, 1819, Oakland county was estab- 
lishetl, which, however, did not take effect 
until January 1st, 1823. By this all the ter- 
ritor.v l.ving west of our present westerly 
boundary and included in the first six tiers 
of townships north of the liase line was set 
off as Oakland eount.v. Before this act went 
into effect the eount.v of St. Clair was set 
oft', which by the proclamation of March 28th, 
1820, reduced the county of ]\Iaeomb to its 
smallest area that it has ever had, leaving it 
to include only the ])resent townships of 
Washington, Ray, Lenox, Shelby, ilacomb, 
Chesterfield, Sterling, Clinton, Harrison, War- 
ren and Erin. However on September 10th, 
1822, Governor Cass issued a new proclama- 
tion by which the township of Bruce and the 
west half of Armada were added to the county 
of ^lacomb. 

In Jul.y, 1824, the townshii) of Huron was 
changed to Clinton and by the same act the 
name of the river was changed to Clinton, 
in order to avoid the confusion and uncer- 
tainty arising from the number of streams 
and places that had been given the name 
of Huron iu the state. This was the third 
name that we know of borne b,v our river, 
since it was commonly known among the 
Indians and the very earl.v French by the 
name of Nattawasippee. 

Ai)ril 12th, 1827, the comity was divided 
into five townships, viz: the township of Wash- 
ington, including the present Bruce and 
Washington : Shelb.y, including the present 
Shelb.v and Sterling ; Ray, including the pres- 
ent Ray and. the west half of Armada ; Har- 
rison, including Lenox, Chesterfield and our 
present Harrison; and Clinton, which included 
]\Iacomb, Clinton, Warren and Erin. In 1832 
^lacomb was extended to its present size bv 
the addition of the township of Richmond, and 
the east half of Armada, the act to take eft'ect 
]\Iarch 31st, 1833, the new territoiy being 
added to the township of Ray. l\Iarch 9th, 
1833, the north half of the township of 
AVashingtoti was formed into a new township 



582 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



to lie cmIIciI Bnifc. mirI in the saiiii^ year, on 
April L'L'il. the present townships of Arnuida 
and Kiehniond were formed into a new town- 
ship to be called Armada, the first township 
meeting' of which was to be held at the honse 
of Edniond Stewart. By the act of JIarch 7th, 
1884. Kay township was made to include the 
jjresent townships of Kay and Lenox, and 
Macomb to include the present townships of 
^lacomb and Chesterfield, and Harrison re- 
duced to its present size. Prior to this time 
the line between Clinton and Harrison had 
been run so as to include in Clinton the farm 
of Jos. Sansfacon (private claim 164). 

On March, 18:i5. the present township of 
Sterling was taken from Shell)y township and 
made the township of Jefferson, and ^larch 
11th. 1837, Clinton was reduced to its present 
size and the townships of Hickory and Orange 
were organized: the township of Hickory in- 
cluded the territory of the present township 
of Warren, except sections 12. 13. 24. 25 and 
3(i thereof, which were added to the territory 
now included in Erin to constitute the town- 
ship of Orange. March 20th. 1837, Lenox 
was sejiarated from Ray and on March 6th. 
1838, Richmond from Armada. At the same 
time the name of Jefferson was changed to 
Sterling. April 2d. 1838. the township of 
Hickory was changed to Alba, and was in- 
creased by the addition of the sections of town- 
ship 1. 12 east, which had heretofore been in- 
cluded in the town.ship of Orange as above 
mentioned. In 1839 (JIarch 26th) AVarren 
was given its present name and in 1842 ( Feb- 
ruary 2t)th ) the township of Chesterfield was 
separated from ]\Iacomb. March 9th. 1843. 
Irish patriotism triumphed and secured the 
change of name from Orange to Erin, leaving 
tlie county divided into townships substantial- 
ly as at present. Section 36 of "Wai'i'cn has 
been transferred hack and forth fi-om Warren 
to Erin sevei'al times and some slight modifica- 
tions have taken i)lace in the Imunihiry line 
between Clinton and Harrison. 

In 1S48 a .scheme was set on foot, evidently 
at the instigation of the I'csidents about Al- 
mont. to establish a new county to be called the 
county of .Mniont. This contemplated taking 
from MiU'onib the townships of Bruce and Ar- 
mada, .seventy-two square miles with a popu- 
lation of 2.425. The scheme was defeated, be- 
ini:- I'cpoi-ted adversely to by the committee 
aiii)(>inted by the house, as it would take from 
the county of .Macomb "now the smallest in 
the state in point of territory" and leave it 
with "eight s(|uai'e miles less than the mini- 
ninni limit lixcd by tin- constitution." 



An amusing l)it of confusion arose at the 
time of the organization of the townships of 
Hickoi'y and Orange. The first election of 
Orange was designated to be held at the house 
of Louis Groesbeck, and the first election of 
Hickoi'y at the house of Louis B. Chapaton. 
Now it hajipened that Chapaton lived in the 
new town of Orange and (iroesbeck in Iliek- 
oi-y. The provision of the statutes led to con- 
fusion and uncertainty on the jiai't of the vot- 
ers. The people of Hickory took possession of 
the polling place fixed by the act for Orange 
and there held their election, as it was really 
intended they shoidd. The j)eople of Orange 
failed to hold an election. A special election 
was provided, to be held in Orange on June 
3()th. 1837. by act of the legislature at its spe- 
cial session in 1837, and the election held by 
the people of Hickory at the improper place 
was I'atified. At the October session of 1837 
of the boai'd of supervisors, accordingly, 
(ieorge Bolan appeareil. representing Ilickoiy 
and John B. Cottrell i-epresenting Orange. 

In 1837 there was a return to the commis- 
sioner's system of administering the affairs of 
the county which had been in vogue up to 
1827. The first conunissioners were Solomon 
Porter, Sanfoi-d 11. Corbin and Ephraim Cal- 
kins. They organized as a board of conunis- 
sioners Noveml)er 20th. I8:i8. In 1841 Neil 
(J ray, Jr,, succeeded Corbin and in 1842 
Henry Teats succeeded Solomon Porter. The 
last meeting of these commissioners was held 
.Maivh 10th. 1842. After that time a return 
was had t(j the system of the cotuity legisla- 
ture, consisting of the supervisors of the sev- 
ei-al township. At the fir.st meeting of the 
board of supervisors, after the return to this 
sy.stem, .shows the following supervisors: From 
Bruce. Jlinof T. Lane: Washington. John 
Keeler; Shelby, Samuel .Xxford: Sterling, 
William A. Davis: AVarren, (ieorge Bolan; 
Armada, Solomon Lathi-o|i; Kay, Alexandci' 
Tacki'ls: Alacomb, Calvin Davis; Clinton, 
Richard Butler: Orange. Solomon I'oi'ter: 
Richmond. James Flowers: Lenox. Aldis L. 
Rich; Chesterfield. Samuel P. Canfield ; Harri- 
son. Ileni-y Teats. 

.\s has ali'cady been said. .Mount Clemens 
Wiis. ujion the organization of the county, tles- 
ignated as the seat of justice by the jiroclama- 
tion of ]Mareh 11th, 1818. and has I'cnuuncd 
the county seat ever since, but it lias not been 
without effort that Mount Clemens has .suc- 
c<>eded in holding this vantage ]ioint. Direct- 
ly after the burning of the log coui't house, 
in December. 1835, a bill was inti'oduced by 
Si'uator Sunuiici's to proxidc for the I'elocation 



PAST AND PRESENT OV .MACOMB COUNTY 



583 



of tilt' county scat of Mai'oiiib couiity. It is 
iiiipossil)lc now to detorniiiR' cxiR'tly who were 
the active promoters of this hill, hut in view 
of Mv. Snniiiier"s home hcing at I'tica, and the 
fact that just at that time Utica was more 
jironiinent and active because of the Itnildin'r 
of the canal, the Deti'oit and Utica Railioad 
and otlici' enterpris(>s. it seems probable that 
the hope of the pi-omoters of the bill was to 
secure the location of the county scat at Utica. 
Febi'uary l28th the .senate in a conniiittee of 
the whole considered tlie bill and asked leave 
to sit anain, which was granted, against the 
opposition of ^Ir. Sunniiers. March 'Ad tlu' 
i)ill was laid on the table, from which it was 
taken thirteen days later, and together with 
certain letters presented by Mr. Sunnners was 
referred to the committee on the judiciary, Mr. 
Summer.s voting No. Jlarch 18th the bill was 
reported out with amentlments and laid on the 
table, from which it was taken ^larch 8()th. 
and. on the question of being put to third 
reading, was lost by a vote of six to eight. 'Slv. 
Sunnners voting Yes. The bill again came up 
for eonsidei-ation April 1st, and was taken 
from the table : and after the loss of the mo- 
tion to strike out all after the enacting clause, 
was ordered engrossed for the third reading, 
and passed by a vote of seven to .six. The 
house, however, disposed of the bill very 
promptl.v by striking out all after the enacting 
clause and indefinitely postponing further 
consideration thereof. At this time the mem- 
bers of the house from iMacomb were UeWitt 
C. Walker. Samuel Axford and John Stock- 
ton. 

Another and more serious et'foi-t to depi'ive 
.Mt. ('lemeiis of the count.v seat took place in 
\S~'J. It was openetl l\v a i)etition addressed 
to the Boai-d of Supervisors of the county, 
signetl by Harvey Mellen and 126 others from 
in anil about Romeo, stating that they recog- 
nized the necessity of the count.v having a new 
coiirtiiouse and jail aiul that the citizens of 
Romeo and vicinity had subscribed ^I^O.OOO as 
a frei' gift to the county if the county seat 
should be located at the Village of Romeo, and 
asking the submission of the question of the 
removal of the county seat to Romeo at the 
next election to be held. The controversy be- 
tween Romeo and ilt. Clemens foi' the coimty 
seat of that time, was warm and not without 
its bitterness. The ]iroposition of subnntting 
it til the electol's in the s|)ring eh'ctiiin of 1S7II 
was (lereated only by a tie vote, and the ex- 
citement became inten.se. The outcome of the 
conti'oversy, however, was that the liberal oH'er 
of K'omeo was declined and tlie offer of 'Sli. 



(Memens to furnish $"2.").0()() towards the t'rec- 
tion of a new courthouse was accepted. This 
sum was secured liy the bonding of the city to 
the amount of .^20,000 and i)rivate subscrip- 
tions to the anu)unt of .'^5.0(R). The corner 
stoiu^ of the ni'W courthouse was laid October 
21. ISSn, under the ausjiices nl' the (iranil 
Lodge of .Masons. (_)n this occasion a histori- 
cal address was delivereil by (leorge .M. Ci'ock- 
er. then mayoi' of the city, in which the history 
of the site of the buikling ami of the former 
courthouses were touched upon. 

.\t this time the jail of the county was lo- 
cated on the 11111II1 side (if .Mai'kct street, a 
shoi't distance west of i'inc. and fi'om its poor 
construction and its dilajjidation was a dis- 
gi'ace to the count.v. In 18S() the projjositiou 
ajipropriating $1U,000 for a new jail was sub- 
mittccl to the people and carried by a snudl 
majority, and the jiri^sent jail, situated on the 
corner of Cass and Finiit. was finished in 
March, 1882. 

AuKmg .Macomb ('oniit.\"s sons who have 
tilled offices outside of the ( 'ount.v should be 
named our Congressman. Hon. James L. Con- 
ger, in 1851-3, and Hon. Edgai- Weeks. 1899- 
190:5; the Secretaries of Stati" (.Michigan). 
Robert P. Eldredge. 1842-4(i : and William 
Jeiniey, 1879-82; Thonuis M. Ciockei', Collec- 
toi- of V. S. Customs at Port Huron; Porter 
Kibbee, Commissioner of Sl;ite Land Office, 
18.")()-5-I; Judsou S. Farrar, I'. S. Consul at 
Sai'iiia, 1885-89, and State Adjutant-(!eneral, 
1891-9:1 

In the Territorial LcLiislature. M: nib was 

rej)resented as follows: 

1st Legislatui'e, 1824-."). by John Stockton 
and Joseph Miliei-. 

2d Legislature, 182(i-7. by John Stockton 
and William A. Burt. 

:5d Legislature, 1828-9, by John Stockton. 

4th Legislature. 18:^0-1, bv John Stockton. 

.')fh Legislature, 18:52-:5. bV Alfred Ashley. 

(ith Legislature, 18:54-."). Iiy John Stocidon. 

The State Senators who have hailed I'lom 
iMacondi with the sessions at which thc.v lield 
seats are as follows: Charles Andrews, of Ar- 
iiuida, 18(17-9-70; William W. Andrus. of 
Utica. 1881-82; Joim E. Bai'ringer, of Arma- 
da. 1887-89; Se.vmour Hrownell. of Utica, 
1872; Jlartin Crocker, of Mt. Clemens, 1891- 
1892; George B. Davis, of Utica, 1899-1900: 
Robert P. Eldredge. of Mt. Clemens, 1847-48 ; 
N<'il (!ray, Jr., of Ray, 184:3-44; William Jen- 
ney, Jr.,' 1877; (iiles Hubbard, of ilt. Clem- 
ens. 18t)5; Cortez P. Hooker, of Ashlev (New 
Baltimore). 185."); Henry C. Kibbee.' ol' .Mt. 
Clemens, 1851 ; John N. .Mellen, of Ronu^o, 



584 



?AST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



1873-1-5: Harvey Mellen, of Romeo, 1893; Je- 
rome AV. Xims, of Washington, 1901 ; Oel Rix, 
of Ricliiuond. 1846-7; Andrew S. Robertson, 
of Mt. Clemens. lS(i3: Abner C. Smith, of Mt. 
Clemens. liS4r)-6; John S. Smith, of Armada, 
1853; John Stockton, of Mt. Clemens, 1835-6; 
Jacob Snmmers, of Utica, 1837-8-9-40, '49-50; 
and Dewitt C. Walker, of Romeo, 1841-2. 

The members of the Michigan Ilonse of Rep- 
resentatives elected from ilacomb County are 
as follows: Oliver Adams, I'tiea. 1853; Sam- 
nel Axford, of Shelby, 1839-40-43 : Adam Ben- 
nett, New Haven. 1893: William Brownell, 
Utica, 1857-8-61-2; William A. Burt, Mt. Ver- 
non, 1853 : Richard Butler, :\It. Clemens, 1838 ; 
Fred C. Buzzell, Romeo, 1893; Chaimeey G. 
Cady, Mt. Clemens. 1849; Horace H. Cady, 
Mt. tlemeus, 1843-65-73-74: Ephraim Calkins, 
Utica, 1837; Lucius II. Cantield. New Haven 
(now of Mt. Clemens), 1877-89-91-2; Samuel 
P. Canfield, New Haven, 1853 ; Harlehigh Car- 
ter, Utica (later of :\lt. Clemens) , 1845-50 ; Ira 
0. Chapman, Utica, 1901-3: Sanford H. Cor- 
bin. Armada, 1851: Martin Crocker, ]\It. Clem- 
ens, 1887 : Israel Curtis, Erin, 1849 ; Calvin 
Davis, ilaeomb, 1845; Geo. B. Davis, Utica, 
1895-7 : Jas. B. Eldredge, Mt. Clemens, 1863- 
1864: llieronvmus Engleman, Centerline, 
1885-7: Philander Ewell, Utica, 1855; Cortez 

B. H. Fessenden, Utica, 1842: James Flower, 
Armada, 1849: Linus S. Gilbert. Romeo, 1837; 
Daniel G. Gleason, Richmond. 1883-5: Alonzo 
A. Goodman, ]Mt. Clemens, 1857 ; Alexander 
Grant, Utica, 1881-3; Daniel C. Greene, Ro- 
meo, 1879; Charles S. Groesbeck, Warren, 
1863-4; Isaac J. Grovier, Mt. Clemens, 1839; 
Hiron Hatheway, of Ray and Armada. 1842- 
1855; Cortez P. Hooker, of Romeo (later of 
New Baltimore). 1850: Frederick G. Ken- 
driek, Roseville (later of ilt. Clemens), 1869- 
1870: :\linot T. Lane, Romeo, 1838-48; Gnrdoii 

C. Leech, T^tica, 1841: Payne K. Leech, Jr.. 
Utica, 1846 : Josiah Lee, Ray. 1841 ; Chas. F. 
Mallory, Romeo. 1863-4-5: Elisha F. Mead, 
R(mieo. 1867-9-70: Harvey ^lellen. Romeo, 
1889-91-2: Norton L. Mi'ller, :\It. Clemens, 
1869-7(1-1-2: Isaac :\lonfort, Ray, 1835-6-7: 
Dexter Mussey, Romeo. 1855-7-8-9-61-2 
(Speaker of the House for 1861-2) ; William 
F. Nank, of Mt. Clemens. 1905 ; Warren Par- 
ker, Milton. 1879-81-2: Layman B. Price, 
Utica, 1847; Deliverance S. Priest, Romeo, 
1871-2-3-4: Henry L. Reeves, Roseville, 18.59; 
William A. Rowley, Mt. Clemens. 1895-7; Hi- 
ram D. Runyan, Disco, 1871-2; Peter Schars, 
New Baltimore, 1865-7; Caspar F. Shattler, 
R.iseville, 1875: Orson Sheldon, Utica, 1838: 
Srth K. Shetterlv, Utica. 1869-77: David 



Shook, ilt. Clemens, 1851 : Jacob Shook, Mt. 
Clemens, 1847 ; John B. St. John, Sterling, 
1848 : John Stockton, :\It. Clemens, 1840-1-50 
(Speaker pro tein in 1850) : Jacob Summers, 
Utica. 1835-6: Alexander Tackles. Romeo, 
1835-6-9: Henry D. Terry, .Mt. Clemens, 1848; 
Robert Thompson, New Baltimore, 1859; Philo 
Tillson, INIt. Clemens (later of Romeo), 1844; 
DeAVitt C. AA^alker. Romeo, 1840-4-6 (Speaker 
pro tem in 1844) : Frank C. Wells, Warren, 
1899-1901): James E. Weter. Richmond, 1899- 
1900-1 : Thomas .M. Wilson. New Baltimore. 
1861-2-75. 

Those who. as sheriff.s. have held the chief 
executive ofifice of the eount.v of ]\Iacomli are 
as follows: 

James Fulton 1818-22 

AVilliam .Meldrum 1822-28 

Al. Nye 1828-30 

Addison Chamberlain 1830-32 

William Canfield 1832-36 

Abraham Freeland 1836-38 

Calvin Davis 1838-40 

Lyman B. Price 1840-42 

Amos B. Cooley 1842-44 

John G. Dixon 1844-46 

Varnum Lufkin 1846-48 

Milo Selleck 1848-50 

Walter Porter 1850-52 

Thomas Golbv 1852-56 

Charles C. Lamb 1856-60 

Joseph Hubbard 1860-64 

Geors^e E. Adair 1864-66 

Haswell Church 1866-70 

Frederick G. Kendrick 1870-74 

Winfield S. Hathaway 1874-78 

Louis Groesbeck 1878-80 

Thomas W. Newton 1880-82 

Louis (ii-oesbeck 1882-86 

Samuel DeKay 1886-88 

(Died in office. January, 1888.) 

William Long.staft' Jan.. 1888-89 

Frank Culver 1889-92 

Leoimrd Schneider 1892-94 

AVilliam F. Nank 1894-98 

Louis T. Cady 1S98-1902 

Alexander Mclnnis 1902-04 

George P. Eckstein 1904- 

The Judges of Probate for the coiuit.v have 
been as follows : 

Christian Clenu'iis 1818-36 

Prescott B. Thurston 1836-40 

Peter S. Palmer 1840-41 

(Resigned and at sjiecial election Por- 
ter Kibbee elected June 19, 1841. 

Porter Kibbee 1841-48 

Prescott Thurston 1848-60 

Isaac B. (iilbert ]8(iO-64 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACCBIB COUNTY 



585 



Henry 0. Smith 1864-(38 

Thomas L. Sackett 1868-75 

(Died in office, July 15, 1875.) 

Edirar Weeks 1875-7(5 

James B. Eldredge 1876-84 

George 'S\. ("roeker 188-1-92 

James (i. Tncker 18!)-2-96 

Sihis B. Spier 189fi-1900 

Seth W. Knight l!)(H)-0-t 

Franz C". Kiilm 19U4- 

The county clerks have been as follows: 

John Stockton 1818-25 

Thomas Brandon 1825-26 

R. S. Rice 1826-28 

Robert P. Eldredge 1828-30 

Richard Butler 1830-36 

Amos Dalby 1836-46 

Robert Thompson 1846-48 

Ira Stout 1848-50 

Theron Cudworth 1850-52 

John S. Fletcher 1852-54 

Perrin Crawford 1854-56 

John B. Ellsworth 1856-58 

n. O. Smith 1858-64 

James Whiting 1864-66 

William ^I. Connor 1866-70 

Charles S. Groesbeck 1870-78 

William L. Dicken 1878-82 

Watson W. Lyons 1882-86 

Fred C. Kettler 1886-90 

"Watson W. Lyons 1890-92 

Edward C. Wiemann 1892-94 

Milo W. Davis 1894-98 

Harvey P. Edwards 1898-1902 

Charles C. Bradley 1902- 

Registers of Deeds : 

John Stockton 1818-28 

William .Meldrum 1828-32 

Rodney 0. Cooley 1832-38 

Amos balbv 1838-44 

Henry Teats 1844-48 

Robert H. Wallace 1848-52 

John J. Traver 1852-56 

Norton L. :Miller 1856-60 

(ieorge W. French 1860-62 

Thonuis L. Sackett 1862-68 

Alonzo M. Keeler 1868-70 

George "W. Robertson 1870-72 

Alonzo M. Keeler 1872-74 

Trangott Lungershaiisen 1874-80 

Judson S. Farrar 1880-86 

Arthur E. Van Eps 1886-90 

Sanuiel P. St. John 1890-94 

Frank W. Preussel 1894-98 

Henry J. Switzer 1898-1902 

Elmer V. Sutton 1902- 

Treasurers : 
Christian Clemens 1818-27 



John S. .\xlnrd 1827-32 

Hiram Calkins 1832-34 

Horace II. Cady 1834-36 

Rodney O. Cooley 183(i-40 

Ilenrv" .M. Doilge' l.s4()-42 

Th as .M. Perrv 1S42-48 

Allen P. Jientley 1848-52 

Joshua B. Dickinson 1852-56 

Charles B. Matthews 1856-60 

Edwai'd C. (iallup 1860-62 

Justus H. Crandall 1862-66 

Josiah T. Kohinson 1866-67 

Joseph Iluliliard February 1867-68 

(By appointment.) 

( )livcr ( 'hapaton" 1868-78 

Charles Tackles 1878-82 

John E. Barringer 1882-86 

Paul Lefevre 1886-90 

John Priehs 1890-94 

August F. Kaiser 1894-98 

(;ili)ert R. Lovejoy 1898-1902 

Ferdinand JIatz 1902- 

Prosecuting Attorneys : 

E/.ra B. Pre.seott ' 1818-20 

( ieorge A. 'Keefe 1820-28 

Alexander D. Fraser 1828-32 

Robert P. Eldredge 1832-34 

Cornelius O'Flvini 1834-38 

DeWitt C. AYal'ker 1838-40 

John J. Tjeonard 1840-42 

Ilarlehigh Carter 1842-44 

AVilliani T. Mitehell 1844-46 

Andrew S. Rolx'i-tsoii 1846-50 

(iiles Hubbard 1850-56 

Riclmrd Butler 1856-58 

Giles Hubbard 1858-60 

Elisha F. Mead 1860-62 

Thomas .M. Crocker 1862-64 

James B. Eldredge 1864-66 

Edgar Weeks 1866-70 

James B. Eldredge 1870-76 

( ieorge 'SI. Crocker 1876-80 

Ii-ving D. Hanscom 1880-82 

( Removed from county and resigned Jutic, 
1SS2.) 

Dwight N. Lowell June 1882-83 

Franklin P. ilonfort 1883-88 

James G. Tucker 1888-92 

Oscar C. Lungerhausen 1892-94 

John A. Weeks 1894-98 

Franz C. Kuhn 1898-1904 

Allen W. Kent 1904- 

( 'ountv Surveyors : 

John B. 'llollister 1830-32 

William A. Burt 1832-34 

Ephraim Calkins 1834-36 

Joel Manlev 1836-44 

Charles F. Mallorv 1842-50 



586 PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 

Liiilwick Wesldwski 1850-5"2 inaki- in'iivisioii hy law fm- ascci-tainiiii.' the 

(!eo. E. Ailair 1852-56 [)r(>i)er objects of iinprovcincnt in I'clatioii Icj 

Addison 1'. Hrewer 1856-6(1 roads, canals and navigable rivers, and it shall 

Geo. II. P'enner 1860-62 also be their duty to provide by law for an 

Ludwick Weslowski 1862-6-1 e(iual. systematic, and eeononiieal application 

Oscar S. Burgess 1864-70 of the funds which may be appropriated to 

Ceo. E. Adair 1870-72 these ob.ieets. 

Oscar S. Bnri'ess 1872-74 Although the state was not admitted formal- 
Clarence Stephens 1874-76 l,v until January. 1837, it was then recognized 

(ieor^e E Adair 1876-84 as having existed as a state since November, 

(' E Adair 18S4-!)0 1835. when the Governor came into office and 

^lilton Nye 18!:)0-!(4 the Legislature met. At the first session of 

Cortez Fessenden 1894-1905 the Legislature, which lasted but twelve da.vs. 

The population of Maeomb county accord- both houses appointed committees on internal 

ing to the ottieial census for the various years improvements, and when the Legislature again 

is as follows: ""'t '" Februar.v, 1836. the Governor in his 

IS'A-; 8,892 message recommended as among the objects 

j^4() 9.716 calling for tiie attention of the new legislators 

]^y45 13.491 that of inti'rnal improvements. He recom- 

]^g5Q 15,532 mended the appointment of an engineer or 

]^i^34 18.114 Board of Commissioners to investigate, an 

j^(^(( 22,843 application to Congress for a donation of pub- 

ji^(j4 22.404 lie lands and the passage of a law authoriz- 

Ifi-ji) 27.619 ing the state to subscribe for a large amount 

If^-j^ 28.305 of the capital stock vested in the companies 

]^j^g() 31.927 which had an,v improvements in process of 

jgg4 31.330 contemplation. ]\lany i)etitions for the im- 

jg9Q 31.813 provement of rivers, construction of dams and 

2j^t)4 32.382 building of roads were granted or referred 

|i)()() 33.244 to connnittees, and in the next Legislature, 

;i^(jy4 :^3 095 that of 1837, the work of internal improve- 
ments was pushed forward with all possible 

enargy and enthusiasm. Indeed it has been 

said that from the proceedings of her early 

Legislatui'es, it might well be imagined that 

CHA 1 I hli \ it. ^licliigan sought the privileges of a state solely 

«,, ,.., . for the jnu'iiose of building caiuUs, railroads 

THE I.NTEKNAL 1 M TROVEMENTS FUROR. AXD VI'S i ^ ■, i • .'^ . ' , , 

and turniukes anc naprovnig rivers anc liar- 

IIACOMB CorXTV RESri,TS. , .J 1 • 1 1 ,1 

bors. It was desired l)y those in i)Ower to 

-Michigan eiitereil with all the enthusiasm of secure either the absolute ownership by the 

its youth into the internal improvement move- state of the internal improvements, or the 

meiit, which swept over all of the Western ownership of enough stock to give the state a 

States in the fourth decade of the last cen- controlling influence. It was thought that 

tui'y. The ((uestion of a national system of the needs of tlu' country could be better deter- 

internal im|)rovements having been settU'd in mined b.v the state than by a private compan.v. 

the negative by the veto of the bill for the and it was even expected that the entire in- 

establishment of the .Maysville lload in 1830, come of the state could be obtained from the 

the .states undertook to carry on the work, and profits arising out of the operation of these 

during the next few ycvirs entered upon vast improvements. January 24. 1837, the house 

schemes of intci'iial improvement with bor- committee made a leiigth.v report which shows 

rowed capital to such an extent that confii- the effect of the ra])id development of the 

sion. discredit and in some cases ri'|)udiation country upon the imagination of the |)eople, in 

followi'il. The constitutional convention, the exi)ectation which seems now little less 

which met at Detroit in .May. 1835, adopted as than visionaiw of vast wealth and prosperity 

part (if the constitution this article: "Intel'- which was to follow the adoption of the policy 

nal improvements sliall be encouraged by the I'ecommeiuled. Internal improvements was 

Government of this state, and it shall be the designated as "the high road to national pros- 

'int>' of the Legislature', as soon as niay be. to perity." Tlie policy of internal impi'ovemellts 



I'AST AM) I'RESEXT OF .AIACOMIi ('OINTY 



587 



was ilrclarcMl liy this (•(iiimiitti'c lo lii' im Imiizcr 
ail I'xin'riiiii'nt. Imt tn liavi' been tested all 
(ivcf thf country; that a stiuly of the iiiiprovi'- 
iiii'iits ill the otlicr states would pivseiit a safe; 
LMiide of the juiluiiieut upon uiidertakiup* of 
this eliaracter. The benefits to he derived 
from tile new poliey hy the state in the way of 
inereased iMipiUation. inereased industry and 
demand for produets of the soil were lai't;cly 
dwelt upon. The prineijial art;iniu>nt. how- 
ever, was based upon the i)roposition tiial the 
inont-y was to be an investment and not ;in 
expenditure, and an estimate of tlie ineome to 
be derived from the investment was iinule. 
Speaking' of the development of the statt'. the 
eoinniittee deelared, "Tlie romauee of the past 
age is the realit}' of the present."" \'iewed in 
the light of its re.sults and the disasters which 
have followed, this report and e.stimate excite 
our astonishment and almost our contempt, 
and yet it is impossible to deny, but that inider 
the same eireinnstanees and with the infor- 
mation which was then available, iiiiy of us 
might have been ecpially carried away. The 
result of the Legislature's work was the adop- 
tion of a scheme of internal improvements 
which, besides minor details, pi'oposed the es- 
tablishment of five lines of communication be- 
tween the lakes on the ea.st and Lake .Michigan, 
three of which were railroads and two canals. 
Interesting and inviting as the sub.ject is, the 
proposed improvements, aside from the Clin- 
ton and Kalamazoo ("anal, must be j)assed by 
without other notice than to say the railroads 
thus started, ultimately became the ^lichigan 
Central and Michigan Southern railroads, and 
that the third railroad was projected to start 
at I'almer, now St. Clair, or at Port Huron 
and to terminate at the navigable waters of the 
(irand Kiver. The canals were known as the 
Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal and the Sagi- 
naw Canal. The first commencing at or near 
Mt. Clemens and terminating at oi- near the 
mouth of the Kalamazoo Hiver in Ijake Michi- 
gan: the second connecting Saginaw and J\la- 
]>le ii\-ers. For the survey of the routes of 
these canals, and for the survey of the St. 
Joe, Kalamazoo and (irand I'ivei's to be used 
ill connection therewith, the sum of ^2(1.011(1 
was appropriated. 

The re]iort of these surveys and of all the 
investigation relative to internal improve- 
ments was adopted, and thus the state was 
committed to the undertaking of work which 
was estimated to cost many millions of dollars. 
and if carried out woukl have cost twice the 
estimate. In considei-ing the folly which led 
to the ado]itioii of such a course, it imisl bi' 



ri'membered that .Michigan, accordinir to the 
ei'iisus of lS;i7, only had 17"), 000 jxijiulatiou; 
that Detroit, "the great commercial market 
and cmpoiinm for the State," contained a 
l)o|)ulalion of l',27S, of whom 4,'^')') were under 
'2\ years of age; that the iiK'ans of communica- 
tion through the state were very meagre, and 
that although population and industry had 
grown most rapidly, there was little to .justify 
the ex])ectatioii that business woukl increase 
io utilize all the improvements proposed. On 
the other hand, looking back from 1887 upon 
the rapid growth of the preceding two decades, 
the ojitimist seems justified in indulgino: in 
fairy dreams of wealth and i)rosperity. The 
population of Michigan in 1820 was 8,896, 
showing an increase in seventeen years of 
twenty fold. The increase in population dur- 
ing the thi'ee years from 1884-1837 was over 
87,000. As illustrative of the strength of the 
tide of immigration flowing into the state, of 
which ;\lacomb County received its due share, 
a ipiotation from the Detroit .Journal, I\Iay. 
1l'. 1S8U. may be allowed; "on the 5th inst., 
we stated that the number of persons who 
landed at this jxirt with the intention of set- 
tling in the territory was bcween 400 and 500. 
The number since that date may be estimated 
as between eighteen and nineteen hundred. 
Since the first of April ( a i)ci'iod of six weeks) 
twenty-four hundred have landed at Detroit 
alone. Another important factor in the high 
hopes and enthusiasm of the time was the suc- 
cess of the Erie Canal in .New York State, and 
the prosperity which followed its opening. 
This canal opened a route by which could be 
reached, "The territory of .Michigan, the Y:m- 
kee land of i)romi.si' flowing with milk and 
honey," as our .state was eui)liemistically 
called in one of the toasts of the day. 

Not only was the stat<' itself active in the 
way of internal improvements, but the Legis- 
lature was besieged by private companies for 
charters authorizing tln' huilding of roads 
and canals, twenty-eight of these being organ- 
ized in 1888. 

The day after the approval of the bill for 
the survey of the various routes, two bills were 
approved by the (ioveriior also touching the 
internal improvements. One of these pro- 
vided for the borrowing of .'f;5.0()(),()00 to be ex- 
piiided for internal improvements, for which 
ImiiiiIs Were lo be issued, and the faith of the 
state pledged. H'rom this loan was secured the 
most of the Viist sums expt'iided in the internal 
improveiiieiits the next few years. The other 
act )irovi(le(l for the jilacilig of the superin- 
tendence of this wdj'k in the h.'iiids of six com- 



588 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF JIACO:\IB COUNTY 



iiiissionei's to \n' iippoiiited by the Uovcrnor, 
who should have charge of the work, employ- 
ing as many agents, engineers, surveyors, 
architects and others as was thought neces- 
sary, with power to fix their salaries, deter- 
mine the rates of toll and attend to all other 
necessary details. During the year, surveys 
were made and the roads ;uid canals provided 
for, were located and the work begun. The 
following year, the danger and folly in such 
an extensive system of improvements began to 
be apparent, and the financial panic, which 
spread all over the country, resulted in great 
difficulties in financing the proposed improve- 
ments; difficulties which increased until they 
compelled the abandonment of the scheme en- 
tirely. 

Turning now to the Clinton & Kalamazoo 
Canal, the larger jiart of which so far as con- 
structed lies within the limits of our county, 
it is interesting and instructive to follow the 
I'eports of the various officials on the work 
itself, and the various proposed improvements 
in connection therewith. 

In 1838 the connnissioners on internal im- 
provements reported that they had held a 
meeting at Pontiac for the purpose of heai-ing 
all parties interested in the location of the 
canal. and that at that meetinga resolution was 
passed declaring that the proposed route was 
practicable, and that the improvement should 
consist of a canal the entire distance, rather 
than part canal and part railroad. They fur- 
ther reported that the surveyed route passed 
near the center of almost every county 
through which it ran. and for whose benefit it 
was intended ; that several long levels could be 
obtained, and an abvindant supply of water 
procured for all seasons and at a moderate ex- 
pense. "That the question is now settled, and 
it remains for the Legislature to say how soon 
a work so splendid shall be commenced and 
forced to its completion. At this date there 
is no doubt in the public mind as to the supe- 
rior advantages of canals over railroads in the 
country on the immediate line of the improve- 
ment, when heavy and bulky articles are to 
be ti'ansported. For the convenience of pas- 
sengers, i\licliigan has now three railroads iu 
progi'css. running across the state, and this 
canal will do all the hea\y transportation to 
and from the navigable waters of the Grand 
and Kalamazoo rivers. This improvement will 
place ^lichigan before any <)f her sister states 
in the work of internal improvement, early 
and wi.sfly coiicfivefl and vigorously prose- 
cuted for the benefit of her citizens. '' 



The estimate of the engineer for the first 
sixty miles west of IMt. Clemens was sut)mit- 
ted. From Utica eastward there were two 
routes proposed, one to Mt. Clemens, a dis- 
tance of eight miles, and one to L' Anse 
Creuse, a distance of ten miles. The ^It. Clem- 
ens route was estimated to cost more per mile, 
l)ut less in the aggregate. From Utica west- 
ward, there were also two routes proposed, 
one known as the Rochester route, which was 
afterwards adopted, and the other. Troy and 
Aul)urn route. The estimate of the total cost 
of the 61 miles lying ea.st of Oar Creek to 
L'Anse Creuse Bay was .lil.Ono.TOl. and of the 
shorter route to Mt. Clemens. .-i;;);iU..j.')().2!l. The 
estimate of the connnissioners of the entire 
length of the canal to the mouth of the Kala- 
mazoo River was 216 miles, with an entire cost 
of construction of .$2,250,000. 

By the report of James B. Hunt. (Commis- 
sioner of the Clinton & Iv;damazoo Canal, 
made in January. IM.SI). it apjjcars that he 
succeeded James Ilurd. Chief Engineer on the 
canal, the May preceding and innuediately 
proceeded to let the contract for that part of 
the canal commencing at ]\It. Clemens, and 
running as far west as the appropriation 
would reach. That the part between ]Mt. 
Clemens and I'tica was atlvertised to l)e let 
June 28, 1838, at which tiuie about 60 pro- 
posals were received for the whole or different 
parts of the work-. That the stone lock con- 
necting the canal with the river at Mt. Clem- 
ens was let to Alexander Clemens, of Ohio, for 
the sum of ."j^l.-fOO per foot lift with lock gates, 
etc.. comiilete: that the contractor had deliv- 
ered part of the stone which had been brought 
from Ohio : that the canal was divided into 
sections of one mile each, the first of which was 
let to Jas. B. Van Rensselaer, and on that sec- 
tion the grubbing was principally finished, and 
considerable of the excavation had been made; 
that the next section was let to Robert Wat- 
tles and the third .section to Messrs. Pines, 
Wilson & Co., of New York, "and includes one 
stone lock and two aqueducts across the river 
on stone ])iers with wood trunks: it is the 
most exjiensive mile on the eastern section of 
the canal.'" This last section is the section 
which would cross the main river .iust above 
where the Hacker bridge now is. and the south 
branch at a point directly west. We quote 
further from the report. "It is known to the 
Board that the engineers were opposed to this 
])lace of crossing the river, both on account of 
the expense of the fii'st construction and the 
cost of repairs, as well as to the interruption 



PAST AND PRESENT OP IMACOMB COUNTY 



589 



of iiavii;atioii wlu'ii ivpaii's should W riHiuirod. 
The citizens of 'Sit. Clemens were opposed to 
the plans of the engineers, using the river 
from the mills of Judge Steevens (at Freder- 
ick) down to the village, which would have 
done away with the necessity of these aque- 
ducts. They applied to the Hoaj'd then in ses- 
sion to make a per.sonal examination of the 
route and determine the manner in which it 
should be constructed. The woi-k now under 
contract is in conformity witli that decision 
of the Board, and although it is an cxijcnsive 
piece of woi-k, yet at the prices paid and the 
great experience and high ehai-acter of the 
persons who took the contract, it is supposed 
that it will be done well and more reasonably 
than the undersigned had anticipated. The 
stone lock was let at $1,36."> per foot lift with 
gates, etc., complete." 

The question of construct inn- the canal prop- 
er from Frederick to Mt. Clemens, oi- of using 
the river between these jioints. was much de- 
bated, both by the citizens of the two places 
and by the engineers and workmen on the 
canal. The citizens of 'Sit. Clemens were evi- 
dently fearful that if the canal itself termi- 
nated at Frederick that that villagi> would sur- 
pass ;\It. Clemens in population, business and 
importance, as indeed at that time it promised 
to do. Accordingly ^It. Clemens strongly 
urged the con.struction of the canal itself to 
Mt. Clemens and as it appears by the above 
report was successful in its efforts. Frederick, 
howevei'. under the lead of Judge Horace 
Steevens. was equally .sti'enuous in protesting 
against the unnecessary expense incurred by 
making a canal rather than using the river, 
and urged that the river eould be deepened 
and made of service with comparatively little 
expense. At the same time Conger and his 
supporters at Belvidere were vitally interested 
and were strongly urging the adoiition of a 
project which would practically turn the river 
into the canal from Fredei-ick to Belvidere by 
the construction of a tow path along its north 
bank and cutting a new channel through one 
or two of its sliar)) ox-bow bends. This latter 
pro.iect also appealed to the .iudgment of im- 
partial engineers, and it is jirobable that the 
iuHuenee and pull of .Mt. Clemens people was 
necessary to prevent the ad(>]>tion of a jihiii 
which contemplated making .Mt. Clemens a 
iiiei'e station alon<;' the line of the canal. 

Turning again to the i'e|)ort of the I'hmi- 
neers of January. 18:?'J. it apjiears tluit sec- 
tions 4. 5. f), 7. and H and the west half of !) 
were Icl t(i .Messrs. Parks. Buyer 1.^ Co.. wim, 
alter till' wdi'k had pi'ogressed sdiiie, iilitaiiird 



the cDiiseiit of the engineer to a division of the 
contracts between the |)artners. AVork was 
coiiiniriiced on section 4, hilt not jtuslied with 
energy, and in Decemlier was abandoned by 
the eontiactoi-s. The cniiineer speaks of the 
security taken for the performance of the con- 
tracts and the i)i-ecautions adopted to the same 
end among which pi-ccautions was the prohibi- 
tion "the use of ardent si)ii-its as a drink for 
the workmen on the several .jobs, on pain of 
foi'feitinu' their eonti'acts." The second let- 
ting ditl not take |ilai'e until September 18, 
and as it had not then been determined wheth- 
er both Paint Creek and Stony Ci'eek should 
be used as feeders, nor how f;n- the work could 
be carried within the ap]ii'o]iriation, contracts 
were let only as far as Rochester. Again about 
60 ])roposals wei'e I'cceived and contracts were 
let to Klisha Hamlin. .Ir.. Hilton & Allen, 
Bronson. Kniylit & Ingalls, John F. lT;nnliu, 
Parshall llawley & Co., and .loluison. Xiles & 
Co. The eneinet'r reported that some work 
had been done on each of the sections, except 
14, and much timbei- gotten out for the locks; 
that the road and farm bridges were contract- 
ed to Jeremiah II. Crittenden and the tim- 
bered locks were bid by Isaac Kelly : that the 
work of obtaining releases of right of way 
from the land owners had progressed and com- 
promises made in some cases whei'c damages 
were claimed from pai'ties residing near the 
villages of ilt. Clemens and Ttica. and one 
submission made to the referees to determine 
the amount to be awarded for damages under 
the statute. The engineer conunented upon 
the fact that although it was exjiected that the 
construction of the canal being a, desirable im- 
provement would largely increase the value of 
the land through which it jiassed, yet experi- 
ence had shown that the land owners were 
never at a loss for an excuse foi' makini!: a 
claim for danuiges and that the claims, when 
presented, were genei'ally of tln' most extrava- 
gant character. 

The engineer complained that the appropri- 
ations for the canal I'oi- the past two yeai's had 
been only .'f;24r),l)(l(), wliere.is the apju-opria- 
tions for the central railroad had Ihh'U $7iiO,- 
()()(), "while the ival advantages to the state to 
be derived fi-om these works are altogether in 
iavor of the canal." and urged that ".justice 
to this important work i'e(iiiires from the Leg- 
islature as large an approjiriation as has ever 
been eiv(>n to aii\' other improvement in the 
state. It is destined not only to be the pride 
and oi-namcnt of the state, but at some futui-e 
dati- to be the source of its jiermanent revenue, 
and although we are not vain enough to com- 



590 



PAST AND PRESPIXT OF .AIACO.AIB COUNTY 



pare it with th<' Erii' Canal, yet who can say, 
that when ^lifhigau shall be .settled with an 
enterprisinu' po])nlaee along the line of this 
canal, extendinfr more thau two hundred miles 
thi-()ujj:h as fertile a country as even western 
New York, when Wisconsin shall have reached 
the present population and wealth of Ohio, 
that this canal sliall not be at least secondary 
in point of character and revenue." The 
engineer reported further that the estimated 
cost of the 16 miles from Rochester to j\It. 
Clemens would be $292,762.28. That the esti- 
mated amoinit of woi-k done on this portion up 
to January 1. 183!). was $16. .")88. 42. 

Engineer Hunt also connnents upon the 
fact that the money expended had been used 
upon the most expensive and least useful part 
of the canal, and that the same amount ex- 
ponded on the canal westerly from Poutiac, 
where it c(mld be ci instructed cheaply and 
without lockages, would have proved much 
more .serviceable to the inhabitants and much 
more productive of revenue. A portion of his 
argument upon this sub.ject is here presented, 
as it touches upon some of the other improve- 
ments then under way in this part of the state 
and also brings tip the sub.ject which still 
haunts us of the improvement of the Clinton 
River. 

"The canal commences 20 miles from the 
city of Detroit, at a point on the Clinton River 
where the smaller size of lake vessels only can 
navigate, and then by a crooked river naviga- 
tion with a bar at its mouth. AVhen the canal 
shall have been completed to Pontiac, a dis- 
tance of about 27 miles, it is only about 24 
or 25 miles from Detroit, the present business 
market of the state. At this point, a railroad 
owned by an incorporated com])any runs di- 
rectly to the city and is now near-ly completed. 
It is scarcely to be pi-esumed that a person 
having produce at Pontiac. or within a rea- 
sonable distance of that ]dace. would send it 
by the canal to ]\It. Clemens to be stored, and 
thence reship|)ed to Detroit to go throTigh an- 
other pi'ocess of storage and trans-shipment 
for Bufi'alo or any other port on Lake Ei'ie 
with a consei|ueiit exjieiise and delay of stor- 
age and through a canal averaginu' more than 
nine feet of lockage to the mile, when the same 
coukl be. sent in a few hours by the railroad to 
a warehouse in Detroit. It becomes nece.ssai'v 
therefore that th<' navigation of the river from 
.Mt. Clemens to its mt)uth be imi)roved. and the 
obstructions i-emoved by the time the canal is 
comi)ieted. so that the large lake vessels can 
meet the river and canal boats at that point 
or that the work must I'emain unjiroductive. 



The remedy is that the Legislature, the Board 
have no power, excejjt to order a survey of the 
river for the purpose of obtaining information 
which they have done.'' 

■"The expenditure of this appi'opriation 
west of Pontiac. on a cheaj) part of the work, 
without lockages, would have been highly ser- 
viceable to the inhabitants of the interior of 
the state and more productive of revenue; for 
although the eastern part of the state is more 
densely po])ulated. yet they have more direct 
routes to Detroit tlian by the valley of the 
Clinton River. 

"The Detroit & Shelby Railroad, now in 
l)rogress (to which reference is made in the 
Chai)ter on Ptica herein^, will do most of the 
business of the western i)art of Jlacomb Coun- 
ty, and almost every othei' part of the line west 
of I'tica for an ea.sy communication with the 
other raili'oad or with the tui-npike to De- 
troit." 

By the report of the committee appointed 
to investigate the accounts of the Boai'd of In- 
teruid Improvement, it appears that there had 
been expended on the Clinton & Kalamazoo 
Canal up to February 21. 1839. the sum of 
.$58,661.16. 

Among the engineers and assistants em- 
ployed on the Clintt)n & Kalanuizoo Canal dur- 
ing 1838 were Jarvis Ilurd. chief engineer, 
ErastusHurd, JIarcus Ilurd, Cyrus \V. Ilurd, 
assistant engineers {the recurrence of the fam- 
ily luime suggests the ]ii'obable ju.stice of the 
charge of grafting, which was early made in 
eoimection with this work). E. K. Blackwell, 
surveyoi': Azro C. Woi'ks and Thomas J. 
Hunt, second assistant engineers: Ludwick 
Weslowski (afterwards a resident of ilt. 
Clemens for sometime), draftsnuui: A. B. 
Lincoln and Truman Andrews, rodiuim. The 
annual salary of this force aggregated a little 
over $1().5()(). 

The etfoi'ts of .Mt. ('leiiiens having proved 
sucee.-sful. the actiial wdi'k on the canal was 
begun at ilt. Clemens and evidences of that 
work wei'c apparent even within the memory 
of many of our citizens who have not yet at- 
tained middle age. The starting of the work 
on the canal was made a festive occasion by 
the citizens of >lt. Clemens, who in their 
dreams saw their little village grow to be a 
iriagnifieeiit city at the terminus of one of the 
most important wa\'s of couununication be- 
twei'u the far west anil the eastern mai'kets. 
(iovernor .Mason and many other pronunent 
residents of the state were invited to attend 
the celebi'ation held at Mt, Clemens on the 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :MAC0:\IB CorNTY 



591 



turnin": of the first sod and tho day was made 
one of p:reat rejoicing and hilarity. Tlie fol- 
hiwinir report of the celebration, written by 
.Mr. John N. Int;ei-soll. then a younjj; man of 
21. ,jnst enterintr upon his sneeessfnl eareer as 
a .ioiii'iialist appeared in the Detroit .Journal 
and Courier, and is deemed worthy of repro- 
duction and preservation here. 

THE CLINTON' AND KA1,.\ JI.\ZOO CANAL 
CELEBRATION. 

Mount Clemens. Kridav Evcninu'. .Iul\' -i). 

With a view of attendiiii;- the celebration oi 
the connneneenient of the Clinton & Kalama- 
zoo Canal, a work frausrht with so much inter- 
e-t and ]n-osi)erity to a very lar»e jtortion of 
the people of .Michigan, if not all of them. I 
cmbai'kcd on boartl of the neat miniature 
steamboat .^h^comb. Capt. Allen, which left 
at 2 o'clock yesterday for this ])lace, with the 
representatives of Detroit, among- whom were 
Governor Mason, Judge Wilkins, and District 
[Marshal Ten Eyck. The [Macomb took us up 
the laki^ in a style which would vie with the 
best among the larger class of boats. On 
reaching Belvidere, which is about six miles 
from 'Sh. Clemens, we stoped for the purpose 
of receiving on board the chosen president of 
the day. Col. James L. Conger; but having 
been slightly indisposed, he was prevented 
from accompan>-iMg us to this place that even- 
ing. However, as the aftei'noon was ozie of 
"Fairy's own," we took advantage of it, and 
enjoying ourselves to the soul's content, we 
jogged on up the waters of the beautiful Clin- 
ton, whose narrow and graceful windings 
could not be discovered from any one point 
of the river over thirty rods, until wc i-eached 
this delightful and most enchanting spot, so 
very appropriately designatetl .Mount Clem- 
ens. Here hundreds of the good citizi'iis of 
the village and their geutlciiien conniiitt(>e of 
arrangements were in waiting I'or Iheir 
guests, who were received fi'om the boat with 
the cheers and shouts of the goodly inhabi- 
tants, amid the firing of cannon and the in- 
spiring sounds which flowed from a full and 
excellent band of nuirtial )nusic, stationed on 
the shore. The whole body of citizens, I'li 
masse, then escorted their guests to the toj) 
of the hill, where is kept th(> "Clinton Hoti'l,'' 
l)y my young host, Mr. Joseph Iluiii)ar(l. at 
whose spacious house ai);irtmeuts had been 
provided for the (iovernor and suite, and who 
had also been appointed the cat<'rer of the 
da.v. well meriting all the praisi- that was 
liouut ifullx' bestowed ujion liiiri. and to which 
wi' would add in his lu'lialf onr own small 



note of recommendation foi- his excellent man- 
iiiicment and the great attention p.iid his pat- 
i-ons. 

At (hiylireak this morninu a signal gun an- 
nouuci'd to the sleeping inhabitants of "the 
([ueen village" the dawning of the 2()th of 
July, 1S:5S. a day wiiich will be recollected by 
the people of .\Iiciiigan as the proudest that 
ever happened, or can again transpire while 
her soil remains a com])onent part of terra 
firnia. AVt-re 1 to attempt to give an accurate 
and a minute description of the celebration of 
the commencement of this work, which will 
l)i-ove, when eom]ilete, second only to that 
of the grand JM'ie Canal. 1 should not only 
lu'ove myseir inade(|uale to the task, but find 
the space it would oeeu])y far too limited for 
my reuKirks. 

At sunrise a national salute of thirteen guns 
was fired. The music of the shrill fife, the en- 
chanting sound of the bugle, and the harmon- 
ious beat of the di-um (together with the dis- 
cordant I'affliug of the bell of mine host im- 
mediately ovei- the heads of his slumbering 
guests), all contributed to swell the import- 
ance of the day, and "change its stern alarms 
to merry meetine. 

And in;w commenced the bustle of the day. 
Hundreds of the people from the surrounding 
country came pouring in. and with them the 
popular jiresidenf (d' the day. Even the red 
men of the surrounding forest were attracted 
to the village by these unconnnon liilarities of 
the white men, who told them that the former 
hunting grounds of the Indian should hence- 
forth serve as a noble river, on the bosom of 
which the floating castles of their white neigh- 
bors would convey to them the luxuries of 
more eastern climes. 

At eleven o'clock the citizens assend)led at 
a liower vci-y tastefull\- erected on the public 
scpnire of tlii' veneratile courthouse, at which 
place an oration was delivered by Kobert P. 
Eldredge, Esq. The oration was one which 
reflected considerable credit on the uiiiul of 
the orator. The time of coiiunencement was 
annomiced by a liuii. and as soon as the ad- 
di-e^s was finished, a large procession was 
foriiH'd under the direction of Major Henry 
1). Teii'v. th<' marshal of the day, whose nntir- 
ing exei'tions ami gentleumnly dejiortment 
thi-oughimf the celebration gained him nuiny 
and lasting friends who will ev(>r proudly rec- 
ollect his distinguished civilities sliown them 
on the occasion. The procession then moved 
to the line of the <-anal. on section one, in the 
following order: .Maishal of the day; Music: 
I'resideiit of the da\, and the (loveruor of the 



592 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACO:\rB COUNTY 



State: Vice-Presidents of the day. Orator of 
the day; Members of the Board of Internal 
Improvement; the Reverend the Clergj^; In- 
vited Guests; Committee of Arrangements; 
Citizens. 

On ari-iving at the ground, the president of 
the day, in a few pertinent remarks to the 
Governor, presented him with a spade, when, 
after a brief and appropriate reply by His 
Excellency, he proceeded to break the ground, 
amid the deafening sliouts of ''lookers on," 
the roaring cannon, and the mighty thunder- 
ing of heaven's own artilleiy. 

After all the customary field exercises had 
been gone throiigh with, the procession re- 
turned to the bower on the public square, 
where a sumptuous dinner was in readiness, 
of which we should think over a hundred and 
fift\' persons partook — the following gentle- 
men officiating at the head of the table : 

President : Col. James L. Conger. 

Vice-Presidents : Dr. Ebenezer Hall, of 
]\louiit Clemens; Hon. Judge Clemens, of 
^Idunt Clemens: Hon. H. Steevens, of Fred- 
erick: G. C. Leech, Esq., of Utica; E. Cal- 
kins, Esq., of Shelby: William Burbauk, Esq., 
of Rochester. 

After the cloth was removed thirteen regu- 
lar toasts were drunk, accompanied by the 
firing of cannon and appropriate music. The 
volunteer toasts, as well as the regular ones, 
were witty and to the point. The best spirit 
and good feeling prevailed with all who were 
present, entirel.v foi'getting all distinctions of 
a partisan character. At the festive board 
they were as one man, and never did I wit- 
ness anything pass off more Jinppihi than the 
celebration of this auspicious day. In closing 
this letter I should not only do in.justice to 
my own feelings, but neglect to speak the sen- 
timent of all others from Detroit, did I fail to 
state that many thanks are due to the citizens 
of Jlount Clemens for the very liberal spirit 
which has strongly mai-ked their civilities 
thi'oughout the occasion, and which will never 
be forgotten liy their honored guests. 

According to the accounts of some of our 
oldest citizens who recall as children seeing 
this celebration, its hi.story is too mildly poi'- 
trayed by the above. One extremist declai'es 
that "the male adult at ]\lt. Clemens who 
didiTt get drunk that day. must have been 
sick abed." and that if any such rare excep- 
tion existed he told of it afterwards with cha- 
grin rather than ]>ride. It nni.st be remem- 
bered that in those days the use of li(|iioi', even 
to great excess, was common and viewed with 
iimcli more leiiiencv than it is to-dav. 



By the report of the Commissioner of In- 
ternal Improvements made under date of De- 
cember 20, 1839, it appeai-s that during the 
vear 1839, up to November 30. there had been 
expended $93,221.35 beside the >i;16,429.53 ex- 
pended in 1838. This report referred to the 
eontrovers}' which had been had relative to the 
use of the river of an independent canal be- 
tween Frederick and ilt. Clemens. Engineer 
Jarvis Hiird had reported in May of 1839 that 
he had carefull.v estimated the expense of the 
two routes and that liy using the river route, 
cutting across two narrow peninsulas and con- 
structing a tow path, that $382,000 could be 
saved by the adoption of the river route, al- 
though already $1-1,000 had been expended on 
the independent route. He refen-ed to the 
fact that two long expensive aqueducts which 
would be exposed to danger from tiood, ice 
.jams, drift wood and i[uicksand under their 
foundations would be dispensed with by using 
the river route, which he strongly recommend- 
ed "as the one best calculated to pi'omote the 
good of the .state and advance the interest of 
the canal in the cost of construction, in the 
safet.v of the works and in the expense of re- 
pairs after the works are completed." In Jul}' 
the engineers appointed by the Board to in- 
vestigate concerning the reconunendation of 
Hurd, emphatically favored the adoption of 
the river route, stating that the shoalest part 
of the stream had been sounded and depth of 
water had been found sufficient for the pas- 
sage of boats of the proper draft for the canal, 
but that as the depth of the water in the river 
depended upon the rise and fall of the waters 
in the lake, it would be necessary to build a 
dam with a lock attached at oi- near Mt. Clem- 
ens, or else dredge out the shoaler ])arts of the 
stream. 

Because of these reconuiiendations Counuis- 
sioner Thompson, to whom had been assigned 
the charge of the construction and numage- 
ment of the canal, had suspended opei-ations 
upon the portion of the canal lying between 
the two villages. In July of 1839 Connnis- 
sioner "William 1\. Tliom])son, who had ehai'ge 
of the construction of the Central Railroad, 
at his re(iuest was relieved of the charge of 
the eanal and L. S. Humphrey ajijiointed as 
Commissioner in charge. He reported that 
work upon the canal was progressing satisfac- 
torily, and suggested to the Board the pro- 
j)riety of their reconniiending to the Legisla- 
ture ■'that a change be made in the line of 
the canal near the village of ^It. Clemens so 
as to turn it into the Detroit River at the 
I'ity of Detroit; a rnnte which in my opinion 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



593 



woultl yix'iitly increase the utility of the woriv, 
while it would form a eoiiihiiiatioii of inter- 
ests siilficient probably to seciire its whole 
eompletioii." 

The river route between Fretleriel< ami Mt. 
Clemens was evidently thereafter oftieially 
adojited. aithouj;h the writer is unable to lind 
tliat the rivci' was ever dredged as was pi-o- 
posed. In March of 1840, a resolution was 
reported to the Senate providing that the 
canal from Rochester to Mt. Clemens sliouhl 
be liuished and put into operation as soon as 
practicalile: "and the same is liereby located 
and continued so as to connect with Lake St. 
Clair at the moutli of the Clinton River at Bel- 
videre: and that said continuation and cou- 
iieetiou shall be formed by means of a towing 
path to be eon.structed along the northerly 
l)ank of said Clinton River so as to form a 
complete connection according to the plan and 
sui-vey of the same reported by Erastus Ilurd 
umln' date of .March 20, 1839."" 

In order that one may better appreciate the 
situation of the country at this time and as a 
not uninteresting diversion from the subject 
under consideration, it may lie well to note 
that in the same report from the Connnission- 
er t)n Internal Improvements, it appears that 
tlie Board had under the resolution of the 
Legislature comjileted the work of construct- 
ing the Central Railroad "from its termina- 
tion at the Campus ^lartius in the city of De- 
troit down Woodward avenue to its intersec- 
tion with Atwatei- street. This work has been 
completed at a sum less than the amount ap- 
propriated by the Legislature for that pur- 
pose, but the undersigned regret to state that 
since its completion, no use has been made of 
the sam(>. and the apathy manifested by those 
for whose convenience it was constructed, 
seems strongly t<i indicate the fact that as a 
|)ul)lic tlioroughfare it is perfectly useless.'" 

ill his message to the Legislature of 1840, 
(iovei-nor AVoodbridge called attention to the 
pecuniary liabilities against the estate in- 
oirred in the "prosecution of oiir gigantic 
])ro.iect of intei-nal improvements." recom- 
mending tiiat measures lie taken for meeting 
these obligations, and suggesting the expe- 
diency of ])roviding that no allowances be 
nuide upon any eojitraet, "except such as may 
have been entered into in the most perfect 
good faith." lie fui'ther reeonnnended that 
all existiiii;- authority on the part of the com- 
missioiiei's to enter into new contracts be (Mther 
alirogated or at least suspended until ways 
and means shall have been provided. Another 
indication of tlie financial difficulties which 



wei-e constantly arising is found in the peti- 
ton from some of the contractors and the al- 
leged contractors on tlie canal dated at Utica. 
July 28, 1839, asking for relief because they 
had not received theii- pay and hail been un- 
alile therefore to i)ay their laborers. It ap- 
l)ears that in conse(|Uence of the failure of the 
state i)ank, many of the contractors were not 
paid t'oi- the iiioiiths of February and iNIarch 
until A|iril. ami that for the work done in 
-\|H'ii. .May ami .liine. they W(>re paid by 
drafts on .biliii Wai-d i^ Co.. of New York. 
"The wild-eat hank system" then pi'evalent 
had i-endered all financial matters so uncertain 
and unreliable that untold confusion and dif- 
ficulty continually arose. Among these peti- 
tioners were names familiar to the older Ma- 
comb County residents like William Beel', 
James Snook, C. .\. Cha])i'll, Cyrus (iilbert, 
AYiJiiam Adams, and B. B. Knight. 

By the annual report of the Board of In- 
ternal Improvements of 1841 it appears that 
Alvin Turner had been appointed principal 
engineer and Ludwick Weslowski assistant 
engineer, ]May 15, 1840: that there had been 
$32,897.18 expended from December 21, 1839. 
to .March 31, 1840: that there was about 4520,- 
OIH) Hnex])ended of the amount apiirojiriated 
for the canal : that it was estimated that in 
addition to this sum about $21,800 would com- 
plete the canal from Rochester to Frederick ; 
that the cost of improving the Clinton River 
from Frederick to Mt. Clemens, including 
locks into the river at Frederick, was estimated 
at $.")]. 888.1 7 : that the cost of comi)leting the. 
indejiendent I'oute to ;\It. Clemens, including 
the aqueducts necessary at Frederick, was 
$1(14,912.22. The Board expressed the belief 
that in spite of the inci'eased cost, "should the 
time ever arrive when this canal would do 
sTifficient Inisiness to iiulemnify the state for 
keeping it in operation, the in(le|)endent route 
would be found to b(> the moiv .judicious, per- 
manent and economical." This opinion was 
evidently based upon the report of E. A. 
Ilathon. chief engineer, as he reviewed the 
relafiv<' costs and advantages of the two plans, 
and strongly recommended the in(1(>pendent 
route. The Board fui'ther reported that the 
dam across the Clinton R'iver at Fredei-ick on 
the mill j)roperty owned by the state had been 
washed away, causing a total .suspension of 
the ojiei-ation of the mill and a serious injury 
to the interests of the state: that the Board 
had authori/.ed David French, the agent hav- 
ing charge of the i)ro])crty. and .Mvin Turner, 
the canal engineer, to erect a dam of sutTicient 
height and durability to answer the pui'poses 



594 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\IB COUNTY 



of the mill and the canal; that the amoimt ex- 
pended on that dam up to November 30, 18-iU, 
was ij;t)lU.S3, and the estimate necessary to 
complete the same, $710.97. 

In 1843 the Board of Internal Improve- 
ments reported that although .$330,330.55 had 
been expended upon the canal, yet it was iu 
such shape that it was of no practical use 
and was fast going to ruin and destruction. 
They estimated that the sum of $19,500 would 
complete the canal from Kochester to Freder- 
ick. This estimate included the construction 
of locks into the river at Frederick and the 
letting into the canal of Paint Creek as a feed- 
er. The visions of great wealth and glorious 
markets along the canal had vanished and the 
Board cautiously expressed the hope that the 
business of the canal, if completed as recom- 
mended, together with the rental of water 
power, which would be furnished at Freder- 
ick, would be sufficient to maintain the works 
and perhaps provide a balance to pay the in- 
terest on the further iuvestnunit of $19,500. 
which the.v reconnuended. 

In ^lai'ch, 1843. the Legislature adopting 
the reconuoendations of the Board, authorized 
the completion of the canal between Rochester 
and Frederick conditioned, however, that the 
work should not be let at a price exceeding the 
estimates of a competent engineer. In accord- 
ance with this, proposals were advertised for 
and received, but as all of them were higher 
than tile estimates, no contracts could be let. 
The Board, in its report of 1844, reported this 
fact, but stated that the price of warrants for 
state lauds had advanced sufficiently to make 
them more attractive to would-be contractors 
and expressed the belief that if the restriction 
to the amount of the estimates were taken off 
by the Legislature and a suudl amount appro- 
priated to cover the expense of repairing the 
injury done by the last spring freshets tluit 
the canal could be completed from Rochester 
to Frederick practically within the appi'opria- 
tious. "The work is rapidly decaying and it 
is hoped that the Legislature will adopt means 
for placing it in operation, so that the ]>ortion 
of the work now neaily completed may be pre- 
served from ruin and the inhabitants of that 
portion of the state through which it runs be 
relieved from the mortification of seeing a 
work on which such a large amount was ex- 
pended entirel.v neglected and deteriorating 
in value every year more than it will cost to 
place it in a situation that will at least pre- 
serve it from decay and proljably render it of 
.some value to the state. ' ' 



III 1845 the last hope of profitable use of the 
canal apjieareil to have vanished, and although 
the committee on internal improvements re- 
ported to the House in favor of a small ap- 
propriation for the purpo.se of locking the 
canal into the river at Frederick, and thus pre- 
venting the canal being a nuisance and a men- 
ace to the health of the inhabitants, the com- 
mittee were careful to state that they had no 
hoi)es that the canal wt)uld ever prove a source 
of revenue to the state, but thought that pos- 
sibly it might provide sufficient to take care of 
its maintenance. It was to this same Legisla- 
ture that a recommendation was made that 
Woodward avenue be planked adjacent to the 
tlepot of the Central Railroad on the Campus 
-Martins, thus making a continuous plank road 
from the depot to the Detroit River. 

To the Legislature of 1846 the Ways and 
Means Connuittee made a comprehensive re- 
port upon the internal improvements system 
which had been adopted by the state and 
which had proved such a disappointing fail- 
ure. The entire system was estimated, when 
it was started, to be likely to cost some $10,- 
000,000, and would probablj- have cost, had it 
been carried out, fully double that sum. The 
couunittee estimated that approxinuitely 
$4,392,593 had been expended in candying on 
this system of internal improvements, of which 
$392,965.91 was expended in the Clinton & 
Kalamazoo Canal. 

The financial situation of the state rendered 
it hopele.ss that anything further could be done 
I'oi' the relief of the canal, and all hope of its 
completion was abandoned. It appears by the 
report of the Auditor (ieneral nuide to the 
Legislature of 1848 that out of the .$406,152.37 
which had lieen appropriated for the canal 
$405,880.77 had been expended. The net re- 
sult of this ex[>enditure of nearly half a mil- 
lion has been an artificial .stream from Roches- 
tei- to Utica, which has acted as a mill race and 
furnished water power for a few mills and an 
open drain for farm lands from Utica to Fred- 
ei'ick. The glorious dreams of white-winged 
argosies which were to make ^It. Clemens and 
Liverpool and Frederick great connnereial 
markets faded away to one small fiat boat, 
which, laden with a few bushels of grain, made 
one (U' two trips between Utica and Kibbee's 
Mills at Frederick. The melancholy excava- 
tion seenu'd to be an open grave in which were 
to i)e buried the hopes and dreams that mis- 
guided the (>nthusiastic minds of our early 
legislators, but let it not be thought that the 
system of iutei'iial im|irovemonts was worth- 
less, nor without its beneficial results, disap- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JMACOMB COUNTY 



595 



pointing though it was. As was pointed out 
in the memorial of the Ijegishiture of 1S4S, 
api)ealing to the National (lovernment for aid 
by till' granting of alternate seetious of lands 
along the lines of publie improvements still 
owned by the state for the purpose of aiding 
in their eonipletion, this exi)enditure was 
largely instrumental in the development of the 
eountry. At the time these improvements 
were projected, fully three-fourths of the land 
was owned by the general Government, and 
the i)rosperity and iunnigration which fol- 
lowed the adoption of this scheme had resulted 
in the purchase of the larger portion of this 
Government land by the settlers. This fact is 
emphasized bv the ra[iidity with which lands 
were taken up all through this country from 
1835 on. 

Many other enterprises were projected, vil- 
lages laid out. railroads planned and like im- 
provements contemplated, which were more or 
less the result of this policy of internal im- 
provements adojited bv the state. Elsewhere 
in this work will be found more elaborated 
mentions of the villages of Frederick and Bel- 
videre, which are intimately connected with 
the canal movement. Among the improve- 
ments petitioned for to be made by the gen- 
eral Government in the memorial of the Leg- 
islature adopted 1S39, was the removal of the 
bar at the mouth of the Clinton River, and 
in 1840 another memorial to Congress was 
prepared, asking for the appropriation of $10,- 
000 for the improvement of a harbor and the 
erection of a light house at the mouth of the 
river, plans and estimates for which had been 
made. 

Another project which began even earlier, 
was the St. Clair and Romeo Railroad. Of 
this, Thomas Palmer (father of ex-Senator 
Palmer) was the President and H. N. Monson 
was Secretary and Treasurer. By their affi- 
davits it appears that up to Januarv 1, 1838, 
$8,793.68 was expended on the I'oad which a 
year later had been increased a couple of luui- 
dred dollars. 

In ilarch, 1837, an act was passed incorpo- 
rating the Lake St. Clair & Frederick Rail- 
road Companj^ which was to run from Fred- 
erick to some point on the lake, either Belvi- 
dere or L'Anse Creuse. Nothing appears to 
have been actuall.v undertaken in the way of 
building this i-oad. 

Another important and far-reaching result 
of the rash spirit of unrest that called itself 
entei'prise that seemed to take possession of 
the entire state in the fourth decade of the 
last century was the illy-regulated banking 



s^j-stem that grew up in cduncctiuu with, or at 
least simultaneously, with these vast schemes 
of publie impi'ovements. Our first bank was 
not strictly of the "wild-cat"" variet.v. since it 
was organized by special charter before the 
general banking law was adopted, and was 
theoretically a side issue instituted nominally 
foi- the pui'pose of affording a fiscal agent to 
provide the means of constructing a railroad 
from Mt. Clemens to Saginaw via Lapeer. 
Yet i)racticall.v the distinction was slight, for 
the bank shared the same fortunes, suffered 
the same dangers, was the object of similar 
injunctions, and ultimately shared the same 
humiliating fate of extinction as did its truly 
"wild-cat"" brothers. As early as Januar}^ 20, 
1834. a petition was presented to the territorily 
legislative council by .John Stockton. Macomb 
Count.v's representative, asking the incoi-pora- 
tion of a bank to be located at ^It. Clemens. 
Gen. Stockton introduced a bill providing for 
a bank with a capital stock of $200,000, to be 
called the Bank of ]\Iacomb Count.v, which he 
endeavored to have enacted into a law, but 
failed to do so. About the same time a move 
was on foot to secixre a charter for a bank to 
be located in Shelby Township, to be called the 
Clinton River Bank. The temporary defeat 
in nowise discouraged Gen. Stockton, and al- 
though the next session of the coimeil lasted 
onl.v nine da.vs and the attention of every one 
was drawn to the change from a territory to a 
state, through which ^lichigan was then pass- 
ing, he succeeded in getting passed "An act to 
incorporate the jMacomb & Saginaw Railroad 
Compan.v. and for other purposes.'" The 
"other purposes" proved the more interest- 
ing and important. "Whether the construc- 
tion of the railroad was ever seriously contem- 
plated is not now known, but certain it is that 
nothing along that line was ever seriously un- 
dertaken. 

The story of the Bank of i\Iacomb and of 
^[aeomb County's "wild-cat" bank has been 
so well tiild bv the Hon. Lewis ^I. ^liller, the 
compiler of our State's statutes (whom Ma- 
comb County is proud to claim as one of her 
"boys") that the author feels he cannot do 
better than to appropriate bodil.v the results 
of ;\rr. Miller's researches. 

Speaking of the Bank of ^racomb act. ^Ir. 
^Tiller sa.vs : 

"B.v its provisions Christian Clemens. John 
S. Axford, Neil (ira.y, Azariah Prentiss, James 
Brown, Rodney O. Coole.v, and Lansing B. 
Mizner were appointed Commissionei's to open 
books and receive subscriptions to the capital 
stock of the railroad company, which was to 



596 



PAST AXD PKESEXT OF :\L\CO:\rB COUNTY 



l)e $1,()()I).0(H). divided into shares of $50 each. 
iWhen l.OUO sliares were taken the subscribers 
were to become a body corporate, by the name 
of the ]Macomb and Saginaw Railroad Com.- 
pany. '■ A single or double railroad to be 
located by Israel Curtis, Jacob Tucker and 
Charles C. lla.seall. was to be constructed from 
Jit. Clemens to Lapeer, and thence to the seat 
of justice of Saginaw County. Nine directors 
were to be chosen annually on the first Mon- 
day of October, and a president from among 
the directors or stockholders. Section 21 con- 
fers ujjon tlie stockholders of the I'ailroad com- 
pany the authority to establish a liank at ilt. 
Clemens, with a capital stock of $100,000, di- 
vided into shares of .$50 each. The banking 
.'orporation was to be known as "The Presi- 
lent. Directors and Company of the Bank of 
.Uacomb Country," and its att'airs were to be 
managed by the president and directors of the 
railroad company. Bills might be issued in 
ienominations of not less than one dollar, pay- 
able on denumd at the company's banking 
hoiise. within u.sual bi;siness hours, in the le- 
gal money of the United States. Upon failure 
.so to redeem its bills, the corporation was lia- 
ble to l)c dissolved: subject, however, to the 
provisions of the act relative to banks, ap- 
proved April 23, 1833, which allowed a limit 
of sixty daj's within which to make payment. 
Before bills were issued the entire stock of the 
railroad company was to be conveyed to the 
bank as security for their i-edemption, and 
the directors were to give collatei-al secui-ity to 
the territoiy for such redemption, until ten 
miles of railroad had been completed. Unless 
foi-feited sooner, the charter was to remain in 
force for fort.v years. Many other provisions, 
limitations and restrictions, which it is un- 
necessary to enumei-ate here, ai'e incorporated 
in the chart I'l-. 

The bank was not i»ut into operation for 
more than a year after the charter was oli- 
tained. The majority of the stock appears to 
have been originally subscribed for by Gen. 
Stockton. Among the original subscribers 
appeal- also tile names of (Uiristian Clemens, 
Rui'l Ambi'ose. II. 11. Farley & Co., James 
Brown (of "pirate" fame), S. F. Atwood 
(Capt.), Aaron Whitney. Jr., R. Steward, C. 
S. Mather. Rodney 0. Cooley, DeGarmo Jones, 
of Detroit. Enoch Jones, Edwards Brooks, 
Ebonezer Hall (Doctor), Isaac J. Grovier, A. 
1^>. Rawls, Jacob Beekman, E. G. Pratt. George 
Lee, Jr., "William Canfield (two sons-in-law of 
Judge Clemens), Mrs. E. Iv. Hawkins (daugh- 
ter of Clemens, afterwards Mrs. Gallup), Miss 
Tjouisn Cleiiions ('nftci'wards IMrs. Henry D. 



Terry), Daniel Chandler, James Williams, 
William Roy, William A'andervoort, of Tona- 
wanda, N. Y., and Israel F. Hatch and Lucius 
H. Pratt, of Buffalo, N, Y. If there were 
other original suhscribcis. their names ai'e 
lost, for the original subsci'iption book dis- 
appeared very early in the history of the bank. 
It was destroyed by reasons best known to 
those who destroyed it. The following per- 
sons became stockholders at an early date by 
subsequent purchase: Aaron Weeks. James 
Sweeney. Cornelius O'Flynn, Charles A. Em- 
erson, Dodge & Kibbee. Lewis Godard, 
George B. Martin, Richard Butler, R. Ander- 
son, James C. Allen, Stephen White, of Bos- 
ton, Daniel F. Webster, of Peru, 111., Caroline 
Webster, Laura Weeks (mother of Congress- 
man Edgar Weeks), IMary Stockton (wife of 
the (ienei'al), John Norton, Ji'., J. H. Lath- 
rop and S. F. Pratt, of Bufl'alo. 

In Oetolier, 1836, the following board of di- 
rectors was chosen : Christian Clemens, Rod- 
ney 0. Cooley, William Canfield, C. S. Ma- 
ther, Enoch Jones, Edward Broolts, Daniel 
F. Webster, Aai'on Weeks, and Isaac J. Gro- 
vier. Jolm Stockton was elected President. 
By the first of February two installments of 
stock, of ten per cent, each, had lieen paid 
in, and the bank was about to begin opera- 
tions. Charles A. Emerson was then made 
cashier and bills were executed for the first 
time, beai-ing the signatures of John Stockton, 
President, and Charles A. Emerson, Cashier. 

The fir.st business transaction of the hank 
was of a decidedly peculiar natuiv. It dates 
by courtesy on Saturday, February 11, 1837, 
but was in realit.v executed on Sunday the 
12tb. William Vandervoort and l..ucius II. 
Pi'att, who then owned a controlling interest 
in the .stock, as stockholders, took each $10,000 
of the newly signed bills, leaving notes of 
$10,000 each in place of them. They also took 
an additional .$20,000, withotit Icavini;- any evi- 
dence of indebtedness, to ci'eati' a credit for 
the ]\Iacomb County Bank with the Connner- 
cial Bank of Buft'alo, as they said. With this 
Sinn they left the county on the Sabbath, and 
a knowledge of the transaction was for a long 
time kept from a majority of the directors. 
When it became known, it created much dis- 
satisfaction, and from that time date the hard 
feelings and mutual recriminations which 
characteri/.e the history of the bank. Chris- 
tian Clemens, Ebenezer Hall, Isaac J, (iro- 
vier and William Canlield speak of this trans- 
action and others witli much indignation. 

Besides the regular issue of bills, another 
was conteinp1at(>d somewhat later, but not 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMIJ COUNTY 597 

ett'eetcil. Willijim \','iii(lci'V()(irt (/Miiscd 1(i ln' im-s. w lim cIimMciI. iIh' aimMint pniil tn liiiii, 

t'lifrrrivi'd I'or the liiiiik a plate of liills |)ayiil)l<' or to n'lurn tlic saiuc^ to the suljsi'i-ilicrs. if 

at Tonawaiula. \. ^'. linprcssions wci'i' taken the oruaiii/.al ion of the hank slionlil not he 

and a few hroniiht to "Sit. Clemens, hut none coinpieted. 'I'lie sureties on this l)ond were 

were ever sii;ned. It was veiy doulilful (i'ui-d(ni ('. Ijeeeh. Lyman T. .lennev. Orson 

wllethei' the iiaid< rould IcLjaHv issue any Siieldon, and I'ayiii' K. L 'ii. .Ii-. ( )n Au- 

SUeh notes. jillsl :ll Ihe lie\\l\- clei-ted dil'eetors. .laeoli 

We have now reai-hed the |iei'ioil of Summers, (ti'son Shi-hhrn. (iurdou ('. hei'ch. 

I'a\ni' K. liceeii, .Ir.. Kphraim Calkins, Dan- 

WII,l)-CAT BANKS, ,' ,.• ,,, II- \\'i|- \ I^ ■ , • 

' lel \\ . J'liillips. W uhani A. Davis, deortre 

a few of which nuuie their ai)])earanee in Hansom, and .loiui .lames, with A. Freeland 

this eount.v. This term is applieahle to those aiul .(os<'pli Li'slei- as sureties, in presenee of 

hanks onl.v whieli \vei-e oriianized under the Waltei- I'cu'tir aii<l William .\l)ernath.v as 

li'eueral liankinjj- law of IS'M. Ilenee, al- witnesses, entei-i'd into IkmhIs to the Audi- 

tliouK'h elosely allied tln-reto. the .Maeoudi tor Gonural, in the penal sum of ^125,000, 

County HauU was not of that species.. conditioned for the punctual ])a.vment of all 

When the Leuislature of I8.'i7 convened. debts, iioti's. liabilities, and obligations, as 

the whole state was wild on the sub.ject of required by law. The lU'Xt da.v a duiilicate 

baidvini;'. Petitions for the or.uaiu/.at ion ol' was filed with tlie connt.x' clerk, and then 

banks came from aearl.v ever.v haiidi't and a I'ei'tilicale. issued b\- the clerk and treas- 

foiir-corner settlenu-'nt ill the State. Ainoni;' iirer was tiled in the ol'tiee of the Secretary 

them were two from citizens of ;\rac()mb of State. sluMvini; the due org'anization of 

eount.v for a hank to be located at Rcuneo. the Haidc «>f Ctica. with a ca]iital stock of 

presented in the House b.v Linus S. (iilbert. ."f 50. 0(10. 

The J^euislature fiiudl.v passed a general law Jacob Sinmru'rs was elected the first Presi- 

for the oruanization of bankiiii;- associa- dent and John James ap|ioiuted Cashier. At 

tions. which was approved ilarch lo. This some subscipicut cli-i'tion (iurdou C. Leech 

act passed almost without opposition. ()id.\- seems to ha\e been made President. Thus 

four repi-esentatives voted a.si'ainst it. one organized, the baid; ccnumeneed business 

of whiuii was Isaac ^fonfcu-t. of jMacomb about Se]itembi'r 'J. and continued opera- 

eounty. I'nder this act were oruauized the tions a little more than a year, when its le- 

famoiis ■• wild-i'at ■■ baidxs. i;al trilnilations liejian. In addition to the 

directors named above, the fidlowinu- iier- 

TIIE BAXK OF UTICA <^ i i 1 i • .1 • /■. 

sons ap|)ear as stocklioldei-s m the institu- 

was the first one organized in this county tion : A. (^4. Fintlen, E. Endres, J. S. Fletch- 

under the general law. The petition to the cr, Joseph Lester, Sheldon (hven, C. S. ;\Iad- 

elerk and treasui-er of the county hears date ison, A. Keeney, S. Ladd, A. B. Adams. (). 

at Shelby. .May 18, 1887, and prays for the Steevens, L. D. Owen, and A. Bond. 

organixatiou of a liank with a cajiital of On November '27. the baidc made the fol- 

^.■)0.(l()0. It is signed by Jacob Summers. lowing report : 

Paviie K. Leecdi. Jr., Esquire W. Aldrich. , ,,„,,-^„ 

Ben.iamiu I>. \Vatkins, L. T. Jenney. Samuel KKSOI KCES. 

Lad.l, A. ( ;. Deshon, (Jurdon C. Leech, Orson Specie $ 5..')ti.S.00 

Sheldon. L. I). Owen, John James, James Notes of other baid<s, discounted 

(.'ovel. Jr.. and Jos. Lester. On the L':2d no- ''iU^- banking house -J.'i.T-Jl.Sli 

tiee was given by Hodnev 0. Coolev, treas- 

urer, and Amos* Dalby, ' clerk, that books $31,289.86 

would be opened at I'tica on ]\Ionda.v. .luin' Li.\ l!I I JTIES. 

26, and ke,,t open for four days,_ for sub- ,,;,.,, ^^,„.,. ' ' ' ^i.-,.,),h).00 

scrii)tion to the capital stock. Copies ot the ci,.,.,,].,, j,,„ l-I2-'.50() 

notice wer<' IJOsted in twelve of the st i\ ,, .\,. .jiieioi; 

■ I- , '• ,, , , >, , deposits J.0()4.»b 

])ul)lic places 111 tile county l).\' Abraham 

Freeland, then slierilV. On June 7. .John j;9i ■)^(l ce 

.lames was appoiided temiioi-ar.v treasurer 

to I'cceive the first installments on subscrip- Perhaps the baid< owned a luuise and lot 

tions. giving a bond to the clerk and treas- at that time, as rep(u-ted amoiiii' its res(uircc>s, 

urer. conditioned to pay over to the cashier, but the deed of lot nine, bhxdv six, in L'tiea. 

when appointed, on the order id' the direc- I'rom (iurdiui ( '. Leech and wifi' to the I-?ank 



598 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MAC O:\rB COUNTY 



of rtica. huai-s date .M.ucli 1(J. 1838, nearly 
four months later. 

On ]\Iareh 22, the bank paid a semi-annual 
State tax of $37.50. and contributed to the 
".safety fund" in the State treasury, for the 
redemption of its notes, just $23.21. The 
holders of its .$14,223 worth of bills must 
have fetched a lon<;-drawn sigh of g-enuine 
relief when they read the State Treasurer's 
report for 1838^ 

At the close of the year its affairs wei-e in 
a sorry condition. Its liabilities were .$33,- 
753. 04, ■while its only resources were $2.- 
055.. 51 in real and personal proiierty and 
$31,114 of discoiuiteil pajxn- — more than 
$22,000 of which was due from stockholders 
and directors. The bank was utterly desti- 
tute of specii' or any other ready means for 
the redemption of its notes. The bank com- 
missioners took immediate steps to wind up 
the concern. A liill was filed in the court 
of chancery by the Attorue.v General. Chan- 
cellor Elon Farnsworth allowed a writ of 
injunction, January 5, 1839, and the days of 
usefulness of the Bank of Utiea were ended. 
Its only reason for existence afterward was 
to |ilay the ])art of shuttlecock to the le^al 
battledoor. ,Vs Chancellor Farnswcn'th had 
allowed a similar injunction against the 
Bank of ^lacoiub County, just 364 days be- 
fore, he must have indulged in a grim smile 
as he thought of the inexpediency of grant- 
ing charters td any banking institutions in 
jMacond) county. Meanwhile the bank's 
magnitiei^nt "safety fund" in the State 
treasury, had shi-nnk to $3.34, and what 
finally became of that is uncertain. Lilce 
all the rest of the bank's valuables, it |ii-i)Vi- 
ably kept on shrinkini;- to inlinify. 

Peter S. Palmer of Itii-a. was appointed 
receiver, February 4. 1840. His rejxirt filed 
in April, .shows $8,3l)().05 liabilities, of which 
$4,770 wa.s for notes still unredeemed. The 
resources were only $7,835.56, of which but 
$(),775.32 were e<insidered available. Notes 
and accounts against citizens of Utica were 
generally considei-ed good, while notes of 
other "wiM-eat" banks were aeemuitiMl 
wortilless. 

The Legislatnri- ol' ls42 passed an act to 
aiMud the eorporati' riiihts of certain hanks 
among which was the jiank of Utica. Under 
that act the receiver caused an a|)pi'aisal of 
assets to l)c made. April 2!t, 1S42. by Jjimes 
B. Carter. James Covel. Jr.. and C. B. IT. 
Pessenden. This a|ipi'aisal was sifrned by 
P. S. Palmi-r. i-eceiver. 1)\' J. James, and 
Pavne K. iii'ci'h. Jr.. his aucnts. The tutal 



valuation was $2,462.77. Individual notes 
were appraised at from par down to fift.y 
I)er cent; Shelby and Detroit lailroad cheeks 
at par: the banking house and lot, which 
cost $2,015.98, at $806.39 or forty per cent; 
liank furniture, from seventy-five to thirty- 
four per cent; a claim against the Detroit 
City Bank at thii-ty-seven and a half |)er 
cent. Then follows a batcii of notes, ■"wild- 
cat" liills and claims all thrown together 
M-ithout apin'aisenient, too worthless to be 
considered. The sinittleco(d\ had now been 
banged about by the battledoor, mitil it was 
too dila|)idated for fui'thei' use. and the game 
sto]iped here. 

THE F.VRMERS" B.\XK OF ROMEO 

was the next ventui'e. On ()ctol)er 3ti. 1S37. 
a i)etition was drawn \i|) foi' the organiza- 
tion of a bank with a capital stock of $50,- 
OOt) to be located ;it Homeo, and known as 
"The p^iu'mers' Bank of Romeo." It was 
signed by Daniel Ti'ombley. Jacob Codding- 
ton, (ieorge Finch. ;\lartin F. Soutliwcll. 
Asahel Bailey, ;\larvil Sliaw. Isaac Brabh, 
James Thoringfon, Charles F. Snover, Ben- 
jamin Crissnnin, Abner Smith, Jr., Adam 
Armstrong, A. B. Coolev, Jas. Harvev, David 
Phelps, John A. Shaffer, A. B. Ayres, Ebe- 
nezer Kitridge, A. Prentiss, Orratus llulett. 
Rufus Car|)enter, John S. Axfortl. and Eph- 
raim (Graves. The books were ojiened for 
subscription on Decendiei- 12th, in the "old 
red tavern." The ca])ital stocdv was all sub- 
scribed, the requisite ten i)er cent install- 
ment Vicing paid on the spot in g-old coin, a 
scarce connnoditx' in those days. John 
James of Utica was ai)i)ointed temiioi-ary 
treasurer, and he gave the usual liond. with 
(i. C. Leech. O. Sheldon, A. B. Cooley, R. L. 
Clark, A. B. Hawls, (i. (iate.s, A. B. Ayres, 
G. Rix, and J. \V. Dyar, as sureties, and H. 
A. Tutner and I. Cummins as witnesses. Di- 
rectors and a cashier were chosen, and John 
W. Dyar was elect (>d president. An order 
for jilates was madi' on a New York en- 
graver, and in due time the bills were re- 
ceived. They were de]>osifed for safe keep- 
ing in the Bank of Utica. but the great col- 
la|)se came before any of llicm were signed 
by the officers of the banl';. an<l all idea of 
further business was iiidelinitely ])Ostponed. 
Yet some of the bills got out and went on 
their way rejoicing in forged signatures. 
Martin Bu/.zell. still living in Romeo, had a 
$2 bill of that bank presented to him in 1838, 
while doing business at Xatchez, Miss. Not 
having nuu-h confidence in tliat kind of i-ur- 
rcncN'. he I'efuscd to fake it. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB CorXTV 



599 



;Mr. Jdliii W. Dyar. still a rL'suloiit of 
Romeo in LS,S2. int'onns me tliat the citi/.fiis 
of RoiiH'o really wanted no hank at all; but 
a nniiiliei' of I'cnnsylvania "wild-eat" 
selieniers had lixed upon that village as the 
scene of one of tlu'ir nrrai-iims swindles. 
Til order to antieii)ate them, the more suh- 
tantial linsiness men of the villaire oriian- 
ized a hanU. and with the friendly aid of 
^lessrs. James. Leecli and Clark, of I'tiea. 
subserilied I'lir all flu' stock. 

THE CLINTON HIVER BANK 

eame next, and was the .second of that name. 
The first, it will be remembered, was to be 
oruaiiized by sj)ecial charter, and located 
at Shelby. The second was to be, of the 
"wikl-cat" species and located at ^It. Clem- 
ens. Its capital stock was to be $50,000, antl 
books were to be opened for subscriptions on 
January it. 1838. The petition was dated 
and filed November 29, having' been signed 
by C. S. ilather, Frederick Ilatcli. (ieorge 
Whitney. Porter Kibbee. G. C. Fletcher. E. L. 
Atkins, P. S. Fletcher. James B. Van Rens- 
selaer. William Lewis, R. P. Eldredge. H. :\r. 
Dodge, James Williams, H. J. Higgins. and 
R. F. Eastman. But the crash came like 
"An envious, sneaking frost 
That bites the first-born infants in the 

spring:" 
and the Clinton River Bank No. 2 went to 
meet its illustrious namesake. 

There was still another member of this 
"wild-cat" family, which as Artemus Ward 
would say, was the most "amoosin" little 
cuss" of the whole litter. The general law 
having been changed somewhat, as to the 
mode of organization, a document was drawn 
up. on the 26th day of ^fareh, 1838, and 
filed in the office of the Secretary of the 
State four days later, eertifving that a bank- 
ing association had been formed with a cajii- 
tai stock of .$50.00(1, to be located at the vil- 
lage of Belvidere — oi' "Belvidere City" — 
and to be known as 

THE B.\XK OF TiAKE ST. CEAIU. 

James I,, ('(iniicr was its ju'i'sident; -V. C. 
Hatch. I). I!, ((lugcr. S. .\. Hathaway. C. 
W. Hussey. S. C. hangdon were its direc- 
tors, and .\. \Vil<-ox, I). C. (iurnsey and Ed- 
ward H. Blackwell were tlii' other stockhold- 
ers. Bills were claboi-atclx- engraved and 
jirinted in abiiiichinci'. lint licfdi'c they witc 
rcguhirl.v issued the bank was swamjied by 
hard times and the city by high water. To- 
getlli'r thev 



"Came anil failed like a wi'eath "f mist 
.\1 eve." 

The bills wci'c extensively circulated by 
the buys iif the ad.jaccnt ciiuu1r\-. and in 
siuue instances, no doubt, were passed as 
money upon the ignorant or unwarv. 

Having now disposed of the "wild-cats" 
Id us I'cturn lo our own tlomestie feline, 

Till-: HA.Mv OF MACOMB COfNTY. 

That institution was not so easily killed. 
It had at least nine lives, to which it clung 
with a tenacit.y trul.v feline. Every known 
engine of destruction, from a private suit 
in chancery to an act of the Legislature, was 
vainly bi'ought to bear upon it. Kiually it 
died, chokecl to death by its own liuaiicial 
stringency. 

A sworn statement of the i)ank"s affairs 
on June 8, 1837, shows its resources to be 
$t)l,331.71, of which $5,261.65 were in specie. 
Its paid up capital was $23,080; its deposits, 
$2,583 : its circulation, .$41,173. As the 
banking association commenced doing busi- 
ness in the little brick building on the north 
side of the ]iublic square, now included in 
John Roskopp"s meat market (in 1882 — now 
the office of the Gas Company), it probably 
occupied the same for some time before pur- 
chasing it, as the deed of lot 1, block 1, origi- 
nal survey of ^It. Clemens, purchased of 
Aaron Weeks and wife for $2,850, bears date 
^lareli 12, 1838. The business did not prove 
very profitable, and soon after the issue of 
the bills it became necessary to susi)end their 
I'edemption in specie. The longer the bank 
suspended, the longer it wanted to suspend, 
and suspension was the main feature of the 
business. In October the following board of 
directors was elected; Christian Clemens, 
William Canfield, Aaron Weeks, Isaac J. 
(irovier, Rodney O. Cooley, William Vander- 
voort, Lucius II. Pratt, Enoch Jones and E. 
Brooks. Christian Clemens was elected 
president and Charles A. Emerson continued 
as cashier. On December 6 its resources were 
$95,570.88, only $5,657 of which were specie; 
its capital jiaid in was $35,420; its de])osits 
$1,077.06 anil its circulation $56,034. 

But trouble was brewing. The evil genius 
of the bank was aroused. Hiram Barnaul, a 
bnsiiu'ss man of Deti'oif. had 2()0 bills of 
$1 each; 179 of $2 each; 154 of $3 each; 255 
of $5 eacli. and *^t\ of $10 each, on the Bank 
of Maciiuib ('onuty. With these bills iu his 
fist, tire iu his eye, and Cornelius Clark at 
his back, he stalked into the otKice between 
the houi's of ten anil eleven o'clock on the 



6oo 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



iiKiniiiii; of Dc'cciiilicr lUth and ilcinanded an 
iiiniKHlialc |iayiiicnt to hiniscli; of $3,015 in 
the legal furnMiey of the United States. 
Was the cashier taken hai-k .' Xot at all: 
such scenes were not unusual. He coolly ex- 
amined the bills, acknowledgetl their gen- 
uineness and the amount, but gave Mv. Bar- 
naul distinctl.v to understand — perhaps witli 
l)oiiderous eni[)luisis — that he couldn't and 
he wouldn't pay those notes. All this in the 
presence of Cornelius Clarlc. 

^Ir. Rarnani gathei'ed n\) his wealth, shook 
the dust of that bank off his feet and de- 
parted in high dudgeon. lie never stoi)ped 
initil Ik' finuid himself in Detroit, pom-ing 
liis tale of woe into the legal ears of Hale 
& Ci-ouse. A bill was tiled in the court of 
chancei-y, accctmpanied by the affidavit of 
CoiTielius Clark. Chai'les A. Kmerson. cash- 
ier, and Ilenr.x 11. P>i-own, of Detroit, filed 
cuiuiter affidavits, and no further testinion.v 
was taken. Chancellor Farn.sworth allowe(l 
an in.iunction, which was issued January (i. 
^^^3lS, and was served on the president and 
cashier, two days later, by Daniel Chand- 
ler, deputy shei'iff. The liank was I'cpre- 
sented by Ashei- H. Bates and Henry X. 
Walker, and Peter JForey also ajjpears 
in the case as counsel foi' complainant. 
To the ei-edit id' the bank it must be 
said that those bills were redeemed be- 
fore the in.ivmetion was served. In October 
a third lioard of directors was elected, 
consisting of Aaron Weeks. Porter Kib 
bee, William N'andervoort, Lucius I'ralt. 
John Norton. Jr., J. 11. Lathrop. C. S. 
]\Iather. Joseph Hubbard, and Charles .\. 
EiiH'rson i-etained as cashier'. 

The baidv had now been under in.jtniction 
for a ,vear, when the Legislature determined 
to know sonu^hing of its true inwardness. 
As the institution was independent of the 
l)ank commissioners, the Legislatui'c. by 
.ioint resolution, nuule Kintzing Pi-it(dictte 
aiul Alpheus Felch, then bank commissioners, 
its sijccial agents to conduct a legislative in- 
vestigation. The examination was thorough 
and continued tlii'ongh the 8th and flth of 
Fel)i'uar\-. The president was the only ])ei'- 
son i)resenl. the casliiei' having goiu' to Buf- 
falo. It is uunecessai-y to speak at length of 
this investigation, Suffice it to say that 
many things were not found that should 
luive been found, and many moi'c were found 
that should not have bi'cn found. .\n>- fui-- 
ther curiosit.v on the snb.iei't nia.v be grati- 
fied by a reference to the connuissioners' re- 
jiort. whieli. with aecoinpanyim;' exhiliifs. 



tills tweiit.v pages in the Senate Documents 
for IS'M. 

Before the cashier started for Bulfalo he 
made and left in the bank a statement of af- 
fairs, dated January o. After his return, fear- 
ing that the conunissioners' report niight 
"mislead the imlilic as to the true situation 
of the bank." he carefully prepared aud 
ti'ansniitted to (iov. JIason, aiuitlun- state- 
ment, ilaled Februarv 23, nuich better adapt- 
ed to public inspection than the first one. 
Both statements are included in the report. 
A compari.son of the two .statements is in- 
teresting. Between January 5, and Febru- 
ary 23, the paid up capital had nuirvelously 
expanded from $35,420 to .$105,420, its 
"loans and discounts" from $63,J)27.(i2 to 
$7t).(i79.10; its credits in the Buffalo agency 
from .$4,<S00.5(i to .$29.S00.5() : its specie, from 
$2,9(i7 to $12,962.17 : its total resources, from 
$107,470.33 to $145,650.06. The first state- 
ment showed a circulation of $64,325. but it 
was claimed that all but $37,560 was taken 
up and l,\'ing in the Deti'oit banks. The sec- 
ond statement showed a decrease in circula- 
tion to $31,585. All these changes are sup- 
posi'd to have taken place while the liauk 
was under iu.iinu'tion and proliil)ite(l from 
the transaction of business. 

The rei)ort from the commissioners to the 
Senate was referred to the connnitte(> on in- 
corporations. That committee finally re- 
ported a bill to repeal tlu' charter of the 
.Macomb and Saginaw Railroad Comi)any. 
The cashier came to the rescue witli another 
affidavit, his favorite weapon of ot'feiise and 
defense. After considerable diseussiim of 
the bill, all further action thei'eo)i was cut 
off' by a .ioint resolution, introduced by 
Jacob Summei-s, seiuitor fi-om MjuMiiidi. re- 
feiM-ing the connnissiouei's' re|)oi't and all 
other |>a|ii'rs on the subject to the .Vttoi'ni-y 
(ieneral I'oi- his o|)inion and appi'o]triate ac- 
tion, if he found that there had Ihth any 
violation (d' the idnu'ter. I have not been 
able to find an\' report from that olticial on 
the sub.jcct. 

The in.jiniction against the bank was dis- 
solved on .Marcdi 13, 1839, but the case was 
not finally subnntted until more than a yeai- 
later. I'hancellor Fai'nswortii. however, 
ni'vei' decided the case. 

I'p to this time in)thing had bei'U done to- 
wai'ds the construction of the raill'oad. ex- 
cept sci'ateliing ovi'r :i U'W feet of soil in 
Ashley's orcdiard. now pai't of the Latonr- 
nean propei'ty. and laying down t\vo rails. 
Christian Clemens. Kbene/.er Hall. Isaac J. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IVIACOMB COUNTY 



60 1 



(ii'dvici'. Miiil William ('aiilirld, in tli<'ir writ- 
ten statcnit'iit to till' (■(iiiiniissirMKTs who 
nuulc tlic iiiv('stit;ati()n, at'tiriii tliat the ilircc- 
toi-.s first a]>|»iinted maik- use of all le^al 
measures for the eoninieni'enient of the I'ail- 
road by fiiviiig' lawful imtice to the coiiunis- 
siouers for its ioeatinn ; Init they were de- 
feated by I heir sudden rnnoval froni nl'liee 
by the eastern stoekholders. 

As the eoi'poi'ation was liable to diss((lu- 
tion for foi'feitnre of its ehai'ter in neyfleet- 
in<i' to eonsti-uct the railroad, it was time for 
somethint;' to lie done. A petition was cir- 
eulateil and numerously signed by citizens 
of the eounty. prayinu tor the substitution 
of a turnjiiUe for the contemplated railroad. 
All ho])es of a railroad were S'om'- :"'"' the 
citizens, wisely concludint;' that "half a loaf 
is better than no loaf," re.joiced foi' a timi' 
in the prospect of a brand new turnpike. 
Alas! for the hollowuess of human liojies ! 
The turn|)ike was as visionai'v as tlu' rail- 
road. 

The ]ietition was presented in the House 
Jaunai-\' 27. 1S4(). by Jolm Stockton, then 
a member from ^Macomb, and was referred 
to the committee on banks and incorpora- 
tions. Three days later ^Ir. Stockton ott'ered 
a resolution, which was ado])ted, calling' on 
the bank for a statement of its condition and 
affairs. The bank commissioner in his re- 
port hail informed the Letiislatnre that "the 
]\Iacomb Comity Bank, it is said, has iml 
closed its doors and the amount of its cir- 
culation is very limited and triflinsr, which 
they redeem on presentation." In reply to 
]\Ir. Stockton "s resolution. ('. A. Emerson. 
still cashiei'. submitted a sworn statement 
wliich showed the circulation to be $10. l.")!!. 
Its total resoui'ces were $151,853.81, only 
.$1,221.13 of which were specie. Its paid in 
capital was $105,420. Its deposits on de- 
mand wei'c $473.1)2. to apply on debts, .$20,- 
917.54. Foi- the first tiiiu^ meiitimi is now 
made of tlie raili'oad company in connection 
with the bank alTaii-s. We have seen that 
tlie charter required a transfer of all the 
railroad stock to the bank before the issue 
of notes, as collateral security for the iv- 
demiitiiiu of such notes. I have found im 
such transfer, nor any i-ecoi'd of approval by 
the Governor — ])robably because the rail- 
roatl company had notliiuL; to ti'ansfei-. .\s 
the investifiation disclosed so many viola- 
tions of charter provisions, we may very 
properly infer that this jirovision also was 
violated or only nominally observed, for 
now. three \ears after the issue of bills, we 



tiiid the first itsem of resources comini; fi'om 
the railroad to the liauk to be the mere pit- 
tance of $487.70. 

( )n February llltli the committee on banks 
and incorjiorat ions repoi'ted a bill to sub- 
stitute a tui'iipikc I'oi' a raili'iiad. as the 
lietitiouers ilesired. After much liaril work 
on till- part of its friends the bill became a 
law on the 30th of March, 1840. It author- 
ized the corporation to construct a turnpike 
"on the State road known and ilesit;iiated 
as leailiiii;' from Mt. Clemens north lhrouf;h 
the township of ( Tmton, Macomb, and Ray." 
The assent of the county commissioners was 
to lie iilitaincd, and the road was to be com- 
pleted to their satisfaction. The corpora- 
linn could ch;irt;e no toll, and was not re- 
quired to keep the road in rejiair. A writ- 
ten assent to the act was to be filed by the 
jiresident and dii'ectors. This was doiie. and 
amon^ the directors siiiniiii;' ajipears the 
name of John J. Leonard. 

In 1841 the bank suspended business, prac- 
tically, if not entirely. In 1842 the Lejijisla- 
ture passeil two acts annulliiiii' and repeal- 
ing' the charters of numerous banks. Amonc- 
these appears the bank of Macomb Count.w 
whose charter Avas conditionally i-epealed. 
In the case of The People vs. Oakland Coun- 
ty Bank, decided in -lainiary. 1S44. the su- 
{ireme court held that the term "liauk of 
Oakland Connt\-." used in the act of 1842. 
was not a sufHeient desii;nation of a corjiora- 
tion whose name was "The President. Direc- 
tors, and Cinnpany of the Oakland ('ounty 
l'>ank." .\s the same decision applieil to the 
.Macomb County Hank, the second attempt 
to re]ieal its charter was also a failure. 

This situation i<\' affairs continued until 
Aljiheus Pelch became (iovernor. It will 
be remembered that he was one of the inves- 
tis'atins' commissioners in 1830. Probably 
convinced that the institution was insolvent, 
he instructed the Attorney (ieneral to coiii- 
iiience proceediniis in chancery to declare 
its charter forfeited. Certain ex]ii-essions in 
his message to the Legislature of 1846 were 
evidently drawn out liy a consideration of 
the condition of the ^Macoiid) County Bank. 

The Attorney CiMieral filed a bill on the 
22il of December. 184(i. Henry X. Walker 
was then Attoriu'y (Ieneral. and his official 
position required him to prosecute the liank 
lie had so often defended. The bill alleged 
the insolvency of the bank, the sus])ension 
of business, the failure to ideel dii-ectors. the 
neglect to construct cither the railroad or 
the turnpike, and a cniisequcnt rorfeitiire of 



6o2 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



its charter by non-users. It then prays for 
a dissolution of the corporation, appoint- 
ment of a receiver, and an in.iunction. The 
action is brouylit ayainst "The President, 
Directors, and Company of the Bank of Ma- 
comb County." and Aaron Weeks, nothing 
being said about the railroad company in 
the title of the cause. 

The Bank of Macomb Count.v was now 
l)rought once more face to face with its old 
acfjuaintance. Chancellor Farnsworth, but 
for a brief period, as the court of chancery 
was abolished by the Revised Statutes of 
1846. The case then went into the "Wa.vne 
County Circuit Court in Chancery." The 
next appearance of Elon Farnsworth in this 
.sketch will he in a verv ditferent position, 
and one which in view of his previous con- 
nection, is s<Mnewhat amusing-. 

The defendants at first demurred, but af- 
terward filed an answer. This was in 1847. 
ilr. Walker was no longer Attorney Gen- 
eral, and he in partnership with Samuel T. 
Douiiiass and James V. Campliell now ap- 
jieai'ed for the bank. The answer denied the 
iiisolvenc.v and adnuts the suspension of all 
business except the redemption and pay- 
ment of its notes and obligations. This the 
defendants claimed to be able, willing, and 
ready at all times to do. They claimed to 
be organized as a corporation under the 
name of "The President, Direetors and 
Company of the Bank of Macomb County." 
and not to be responsible for the acts or 
omissions of any other corporation. They 
knew nothing about the acts of non-user or 
mis-user on the part of the railroad com- 
pany, and claimed that such acts could give 
no ground for relief or discovery against 
them, and they submitted to the court their 
rights and liabilities under their charter. 
They further claimed that the forfeiture of 
the raili'oad company coulil not be tried in 
that cause. 

P^or the pui-pose of hearing, it was admit- 
ted that neither the ten miles of railroad 
nor the same length of turnpike had been 
completed by the Macomb and Saginaw 
Railroad Company. l)ut that after the pas- 
sage lit the act lit' 1S4(), the company com- 
meiicetl the construction of the turnpike and 
ex])ended thereon about the sum of ^h.KIO 
prior to the i)assage of the act of 1842 abol- 
ishing the ottice of count.v commissioners: 
and the.v nuule no further expenditures in 
the construction of said turnpike after thi^ 
passage of the act. These things were ad- 
mitted miTcly f(ir thr purpusc ol' he.-n-ing. 



or making a case, and ma.v or ma.v not have 
been facts. The banking company desired 
a decree separating its own incorporation 
from that of the railroad company, and it 
was willing to admit anything that would 
work a forfeiture of the railroad charter. 
In fact nothing would please them more 
than to be rid of the whole railroad and 
turnpike encundsrancc. Whatever work 
they did on the turnpike was in the way of 
surveys, but there is no record of any per- 
mission granted the compan.v by the county 
commissioners to perform any such work. 
The Legislature of 1836, among man.v others, 
had laid out a State roatl to he known as 
the ]\Iacondi and Saginaw Turnpike. This 
is ]irol)al)l.v the State road alhided to in the 
act of l^'4(), substituting the turni)ike for 
the railroad. 

The case was not argued and submitted 
until Decend^er 13., 1850. On ]March 4th 
the case was decided, and an order entered 
dismissing the bill and proceedings. An ap- 
peal to the su]n'eme court was taken, and 
there the case rested for some time. 

^Meanwhile the bank had been revived and 
re-organized by Henry C. Kibbee and asso- 
ciates. This occurred in 1851, and Charles 
Emerson, who had so long made statements 
and affidavits for the l)ank, gave wa.v as 
cashier to ;\Ir. Kibbee. The "whirligig of 
time" had been .iust as active in the history 
of this bank as in the historv of greater con- 
cerns, and in one of its unaccountable freaks 
it now turned up our friend Elon Farns- 
worth as i)resident of the Bank of ^Macomb 
Count.v. A ma.jority of the stock was held 
by Chicago parties. In 1853 ilr. Farns- 
worth resigned his j)osition, and W. S. Gur- 
nee, then ma.vor of Chicago, was elected 
president, and James G. Tucker, cashier. 

William Hale. Attorne.v General, in his re- 
piirt to the Legislature of 1853. speaking of 
the ease against the bank, sa.vs : "The ap- 
peal was taken with the view, chiefi.v. to 
prevent as far as practicable the ad.judica- 
tion of the court of ehancer.v from becom- 
ing a liar to further proceedings. So far 
as appears by the record sent up to the su- 
]U-eme co\irt. on the a])])eal. few (d' tin- im- 
portant <piestions arising upon the facts 
charged in the bill of comiilaint. ai-e pre- 
sented foi- ad.iudicatiiin. The review of the 
case b.y the supreme cnui'l. will not. tlicTc- 
fore, necessaril.v be fiiud, nor will it directl.v 
determine the validity of the corporate 
rights claimed by the liank." Sjieaking of 
the i-epeal of the charter, he sa.vs: "There 



PAST AXn PRESENT OF .MACOMB COrXTY 



603 



tVinii it : if it is 
1 ti) receive any 
viewed as coiiii- 

thi' bank eom- 



can W no doubt as to the right of the Legis- 
lature to interfere, so far as the raih-oad 
chaitei- is concerned. The baidv itself ehiinis 
immunities, wliich, if well founded, jilace it 
beyond lesiislativc control." (iov. ileC'lel- 
hnui, in his annual message to the same 
Legislature, says: "The charters of all the 
banks doing busine.ss in this State, exeepting 
the ^liehigan State Bank, and the Bank of 
^laeomb C'ount.v, are under the control of 
the liCgislature. In regard to these two the 
bill holder had to depentl entirely on the 
honesty, probity, and ability of the oftieers 
anil stockholders."" ("oneerning the ]Ma- 
eonib Couut.v Bank alone, he sa.ys: "The 
bank ostensibly ceased to transact business 
some .years ago, but has been recently re- 
vived. .\o tax was i)aid the State by this 
baidv until a few weeks ago, when one was 
jiaid under the law regulating the tax upon 
baidvs. If the charter is valid, a large 
amount of taxes is .vet due 
not, the State is not entitle 
tax from it, as it might be 
tenaneiug its legitimac.y." 

After its re-organization 
meneed making reports to the State Treas- 
\irer, and pa.ving sper-itie taxes. The first 
report is dated October 4. 1852. and shows 
.t2!)5,l(;().0() resources, of which ;t^:iH.47H.75 
are gold and silver. Its paid up cajjital was 
.$100,000: its circulation, .$190,168, less $2,- 
500 on hand : and its deposits $4,921.50. 
Shortl.v after this ri'|iort was rendered, the 
tax was [laid, which is alluded to by (Jo^-. 
:\lct'lelland. It amounted to $1.;19<;. 

In January. 1S5;?. the case in the Suju'eme 
Court was argued and submitted. That 
court affirmed the decree of the lower court, 
dismissing the bill and sustaining the val- 
idit.v of the charter. The Bank of ^laconib 
Count.v. having now risen superior to the 
three branches of the State government — 
legislative, executive and judicial — had no 
more worlds to conipier. It was then left 
in peace, to die a natui'al death in its own 
a|)]iointed time. 

In Decembei-. 1853. a j>ayment of $1.60:3.22 
specific taxes was madi'. On Januar.v 2. 
1854, the baidv I'eports $()44.955 i-esources. 
of which $7(i. 3:51.23 were in coin; $250,000 
]iaid u]) capital stock: $10,044 in deposits 
and $384,911 circulation. Its icport of De- 
cember 28. 1854, shows only $298,138.16 re- 
soui'ces. of which but $7,619.74 Avere gold 
and silvei'; cajiital sto(d<. $25,000; circula- 
tion. $:39.334.50; ami deposits. $2. 190. 76. 



Such sudden <dianges are somewhat bewil- 
dei'ing. 

In the s|iring of liS55 the stock changed 
hands and Ilenr.v C. Kiblx'e was made presi- 
dent. On ]\li\.v :50 the baidv jiaid three in- 
stallments of $1.07i).10 each, as specific tax- 
es, due resi)ectively A])i'il 1, 1854, October 1, 
1854 and Ai>ril 1. 1855. A corresponding 
installment due October 1, 1855. was not 
])aid when due and perhaps not at all. The 
bank's report for Dt'cember 26. 1855, shows 
$235,884.37 i-esources; $19,138.76 in coin; 
$1.50.000 capital stock: $75,268 circulation 
and $:i,605.78 in dejiosits. After this T fiixl 
no more re|)oi'ts of payments of specific 
taxes. 

During the crisis of 1.S57. this bank in 
connnon with other western banks, suspend- 
ed iiayments. Mr. Tucker retired from the 
jiosition of cashier in the same \eai-. and .\. 
L. (Juerber acted as cashier until .March. 
1858. Then the stock again changed hands. 
Menr.v C. Kibbee resigned and dis])osed of 
his shares, when his bi'other. Poi-ter Kibbee. 
was elected pi'esitlent. It nnist have been 
at this time that a gentlenum b.v the name 
of (iraves took the position of cashier. Init 
I cainiot speak with certainty, nor have I 
been able to ascei'tain his given n;nue. lie 
remained here so shoi't a time that he seems 
almost forgotten. I'nder this management 
the bank continued but a few months. Be- 
fore the close of the year it had succumbed 
to fate. Financial weakness did what no 
other power could do — rid the State of an 
unmanageable elephant on its hands. 

After mentioning several 

.M1SCELI..\NEUUS ITEMS 

I will close. During the consideration of the 
bill to incorporate the Oakland Count.v 
bank, in 1836, Senator John S. Barrv tried 
to incorporate a provision allowing the es- 
tablishment of the bank in either Oakland 
or ]\Iacondi count.v. On Februarv 23. 1838. 
a baid^ers" convention was held in Detroit 
to consider qtiestions of interest to their 
fraternit.v. Gurdon C. Leech represented 
the Bank of Utica in the convention. In 
1839 Mt. Clemens was designated as the lo- 
cation of one of the branches of the State 
Bank of Jlichigau. It was not established, 
howevei-. and the wIkiIc project was aban- 
doned in 1842. In 1840, while the bill "to 
authorize the anticipation of certain install- 
ments of the .$5,000,000 lo;in.'" was before 
the Senate. Senator .lacoli Suiiimei's endeav- 
(ired In li:ive the b.ink of .Maciiinb ("■ount\' in- 



6o4 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



cIikIihI with otlicrs in llie hill. In 1842 the 
good citizens of Mt. Clemens were sorely 
vexed with a ])laoue of Detroit eity shin- 
plasters. These were little due bills issued 
by the eity cori)oration, rangins' from 12V^ 
to 75 cents in apparent value. They came 
like the locusts of Egypt, making life a bur- 
den, until Mt. Clemens could bear it no 
longer. A petition, numerously signed, was 
forwarded to the Legislature and presented 
in the House of Representatives by D. C. 
"Walki'r. ])raying for the passage of a law to 
pi-ohibit the eii'culation of Detroit shin-plas- 
ters. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



OLD F.VMILIES AND ENTERPRISES OF MT. CLEM- 
ENS AND VICINITY. 

(Realizing the impossibility of giving a 
connected statement of the progress of Mt. 
Clemens in all its details after it became more 
than a mere hamlet, and believing that the 
most interest in the matter would center in 
the pereonal features of the history of the 
place, the writer has deemed it the best 
method to take up such residents of Mt. 
Clemens as played a prominent part in its 
development, and in connection with 
biographical notices of their lives to give as 
much information as possiljle concerning the 
business enterprises of the place. No one 
will realize more thoroughly than does the 
writer the incompleteness of this chapter. 
Many should be mentioned who were as prom- 
inent and worthy as those named here, and 
much could properly be told of the lives of 
those mentioned, which, from lack of knowl- 
edge, time and space, has perforce been omit- 
ted. The writer has endeavored to avoid 
duplicating information which he has reason 
to expect will appear in the biographical sec- 
tions of this work, with the preparation of 
which he has had no part, and to the most of 
which he has had no access. No attempt has 
been made by the writiM- to make a complete 
list of the children of the parties whose 
sketches are given below, but usually only 
those are named who have remained in and 
have played or are now playing a part in the 
history of the county.) 

Christian Clemens, the pit)neer settler of 
Mt. Clemens, was born in ^lontgomery or 
Bucks county, Pennsylvania, January ,'$()th, 
lias. In 17!)5 he came to Detroit, where he 
engaged in the manufacture of leather. The 
exact date of his coming to Mt. Clemens is 
difficult to determine, although it lias been 



given as 1798. However, we find him a voter 
at an election held at Detroit Jan. 14th. 1799. 
All through the history of the southern por- 
tion of the county there are frequent refer- 
ences to the woi-k of Judge Clemens, which 
need not be repeated here. We find him a 
member of the Grand Jury that in Septem- 
ber, 1809, indicted Gov. Hull for remitting 
a $50.00 fine imposed upon John Whipple for 
contempt of court l)ecause he called Judge 
Woodward "a damn rascal." During the 
War of 1812, Christian Clemens was com- 
pelled to live at Detroit, a large portion of 
the time on account of the Indian depreda- 
tions. He was confined in the British dun- 
geon during the time the British had control 
of Detroit after the surrender of Gen. Hull. 
We find his name among the list of subscrib- 
ers to the fund for the purchase of gunpowder 
at that time at the breaking out of the War 
in ilay, 1812. He was appointed Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the militia in command of "that 
part of the battalion which resided near the 
river Huron," and he continued until his 
extreme old age to be an active power among 
the community and in the state in all the 
movements which tended to the material 
progress of the county. He died at Mt. Clem- 
ens, August 25th, 18*44. 

Mr. Clemens was a descendant of the early 
Dutch settlers of Pennsylvania, a fact which 
was apparent in his speech ; a man of medium 
height, strong pronounced features; retaining 
his mental vigor and activity even after his 
years had made him a tottering and appar- 
ently feeble old man. He was for a long time 
Ju-stice of the Peace, Chief Justice of the 
County Court, and Probate Judge. His legal 
education was limited, but his soiind com- 
mon sense and sense of justice came to his 
rescue in his jtidicial positions. He is re- 
membered to have declared that Blackstone 
might be all right, but it wasn't much of an 
authority in his court. 

I'lwn coming to ^It. Clemens, Christian 
Clemens brought as members of his family. 
in addition to Mrs. Clemens and their chil- 
dren, two children of Mrs. Clemens by former 
marriage, viz. : James C. Allen and Mary, 
afterwards the wife of Colonel Stockton. The 
children of Judge Clemens, who lived to ma- 
turity, were Harriet, who marrieil Dr. (ieorge 
lice, ;\Iarch lltli, 1S28; Ann. who married 
William Caniield May VMh. ]8;30; Elizabeth, 
who married Sydney S. Hawkins, April 23d, 
IS'S'i, and after his death, Edward C. Gallup 
in 1838; and Louise, who man-ied Henrv D. 
Terrv in Februarv, 1845. Of Gcikm-mI Will- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF iMACOMR COUNTY 



60s 



iiuii ('Mufic'lil. iiiaiiy iiiciitions liave been made 
elsewiiere in this history. He was the father 
of Frank II. Canfield, a jjroniinent attorney 
of Deti'oit : James A. Canfield, now living in 
Mt. Clemens: of the late Judge Arthur L. 
Canfield; the late William J. Canfield and 
of the late Augustus II. Canfield. "William 
Canfield dii'd Oetober (i, 1S77, and his wife, 
August 6, 1879. Dr. Lee, the husband of the 
oldest daughter of Judge Clemens, was one 
of ]\It. Clemens' earlie.st ph.vsieians, and built 
the large re.sidence still standing at the eorner 
of ^larket and Walnut str(>ets. His oldest 
daughter, Catherine, was the wife of Joshua 
B. Dickenson, and mother of the first wife 
of George ^I. Crocker, and hence the gi-and- 
mother of ilrs. Judge S. W. Knight. The 
sons of ilrs. Dr. Lee have been active mem- 
bers of the journalistic profession in Mt. 
Clemens and elsewhere in ^Michigan; Walter 
T. Lee having been connected with the ^Mon- 
itor and other papers of ^It. Clemens and his 
son, Talmadge Lee, still being in the printing 
business of Mt. Clemens. Of Henry D. Terry, 
mention is nmde in the chapter on the Bench 
and Bar of the county. None of his children, 
Dwight Terry, Henry Terry and ^Irs. J\ilia 
Dwiiiht. are residents of this county. The 
only child of Elizabeth Clemens Gallup, 'Slnt- 
tie Gallup, married Frank E. Crittenden of 
Chesterfield township, where her two children 
are still living. ^Ir. Gallup died August 28, 
1877, aged C'J, and :\Irs. Gallup, :\Iarch 30, 
1889, aged 77 years. 

Capt. James C. Allen, a stepson of Chris- 
tian Clemens, married ]\Iarch 1, 1831, Eliza- 
beth Hayes, daughter of Joseph Hayes of 
Marcellus. His oldest child, Alary, was the 
first wife of George F. Lewis, and his only 
other child was ilatilda, the wife of Andrew 
S. Robertson. Of the descendants of Mary 
Stockton, stepdaughter of Christian Clem- 
ens, none to the knowledge of the writer are 
residents of the count.v, except Robert W. 
Stockton, a grandson. There were two daugh- 
ters and three sons: Ann, who died unmar- 
ried: Julia, the first wife of Andrew S. Rob- 
ertson, and Craton, Adolphus and David. 

Another Allen of the early days of 'Sit. 
Clemens, was Ezekiel xVllen, a cousin of 
James C, who cauK' here as early as 1817 
from Springport, Cayuga County, New York. 
He built a tannery on the bank of the river 
back of where now stands the Wilson block, 
and a little later a store on the hill on Front 
street, where for a long time he ran a shoe 
shop. He also built a store used as a dry 
goods store, which was removed when Geo. 



.Nieiiols built a brick block on the river side 
of Front street. He also at one time owned 
nuieh of the Court street block opposite the 
Court House, and there he had his home for 
some time. In his house was held some of 
the sessions of the County Court. He was 
chosen Justice of the Peace and was in 1829 
one of the prominent candidates for County 
Treasurer. December 2, 1821, he married 
Lavenia Russell, who had come from Batavia, 
New York, with the Atwood and Cady fam- 
ily. He died in 1837, survived by his widow 
(who died in 1880) and six children : Gideon, 
who died in 1849; Emily, Mrs. William Tuck- 
er, and mother of Porter Tucker of Detroit; 
Harriet E., ^Mrs. Alex Shelp of Detroit, who 
died in 1902 ; Mrs. Frances Parshall who died 
many years ago in ]Mt. Clemens; ]\Iary, Mrs. 
Martin Dietrich of Laingsburg; and Marion, 
who .still lives in Mt. Clemens. 

Rutter — Another family intimately con- 
nected with the Clemens family, is the Rut- 
ter family. Ann Rutter, sister of Christian 
Clemens, came to Jit. Clemens with her chil- 
dren in 1834, after the death of her husband, 
Thomas Rutter of ilaryland, a sea captain 
and United States Surveyor. Among these 
children were Thomas Rutter, for many years 
a resident of Mt. Clemens and later of Ro- 
meo: William L. Rutter, Harry Rutter, who 
afterwards made his home in Detroit, and 
four daughters: IMrs. Webb, who remained 
at Mt. Clemens only a short time : Jlrs. Dalby, 
.Mrs. James and Jlrs. Dickinson. Later a fifth 
daughter, Mrs. Eastman, came from their 
home in Philadelphia. William L. Rutter 
was a carpenter and joiner by trade, was one 
of the first trustees of Mt. Clemens village 
in 1851, was constable in the village for 23 
years successively. He married JIareh 13, 
1856, Miss Ennna Campbell, whose sister Ed- 
gar Weeks married. 'Sh: Rutter, his wife and 
oldest son, W. Harry, are still residents of 
Mt. Clemen.s. Keturah Rutter married Amos 
Dalby, the very competent county clerk and 
register of deecls, who held those offices in the 
30 "s. They lived on what is now Cass ave- 
luie, verv nearly on the site of the homestead 
of the late E. Wright Hall. After the death 
of Ml'. Dalby she married John James, who 
after her death married her sister, Aileline 
Rultcr. Julia Rutter married Horace H. 
Dickinson, a nephew of John S. Park, one of 
Mt. Clemens' earliest tailors. The Dickin.son 
famil.v moved afterw;irds to Detroit and later 
to Vpsilanti. Harriett M. Rutter jiiarried 
Robert M. Eastman, a native of Vei'inont, 
who came to Mt. Clemens in 1835 and was 



6o6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



for many years one of its leading and most 
active business men. lie was at one time lo- 
cated on the northwest corner of North Gratiot 
and Macomb streets, where he lived and also 
kept a store. Here his first wife, a sister of 
Frederick Hatch, died December 4, 1836. 
Later his store was located on the corner of 
Cass avenue and Gratiot where he at one 
time had Edward C. Gallup as a partner. 
After his marriage to his second wife, the.y 
built the family residence still standing ou 
tlie corner of Cass avenue and Walnut streets, 
then deemed quite out of town. The four 
children of ilr. and Mrs. Eastman, Frederick 
R., Arthur R., Julia and Mi-s. Fannie (George 
R.) Law, are still residents of Mt. Clemens. 
Mr. Eastman died while engaged in mercan- 
tile business in Mt. Clemens, August 12th. 
1849. and :\Irs. Eastman, October 26th, 1902, 
at the age of upwards of 84 years. 

Dickinson-Hatch. In 1836 to 'Sit. Clemens 
from Vermont came Frederick Hatch and his 
wife and family. His wife was a half sister 
of Joshua B. Dickinson, whose father and 
mother came to ^lichigan in 1841 and located 
in Mt. Clemens in the following year. Mr. 
Dickinson engaged in the mercantile business, 
but in a few years became interested in the 
old Romeo & ]\It. Clemens Plank Road and 
in the real estate business. By his thrift and 
good judgment he accumulated a considerable 
fortune and by his integrit.v, liberality and 
fair dealing, accjuired a large circle of warm 
friends throughout the county. In polities 
he was a stanch democrat and for many 
years was chairnuin of the county committee. 
In 1852 he was elected County Treasurer, re- 
elected in 1854 and subsequently elected Reg- 
ister of Deeds. In 1846 he married Kath- 
arine Lee, daughter of George Lee, who died 
August 8tli, 1856. About the same time, Mr. 
Dickinson lost three children, and the re- 
maining years of his life, his interest cen- 
tered around the only surviving child. Kath- 
arine L., who in September of 1870. married 
George M. Crocker. 'Sir. Diekinstm died in 
May, 1879, while liolding office of ilayor of 
the cit.v. 

Jlr. Hatch was for a long time Justice of 
Peace in Mt. Clemens and was engaged in 
various other enterprises. Of his large fam- 
il.v of daughters, one married Adolph Guer- 
ber. wlio was prominent here in connection 
with the Liverpool enterprise, and is now liv- 
ing in Brooklyn. New York; one married 
James G. Tuckei-. (-ashler of the Macomb 
Connt.y Bank, and father of our present Cir- 
cuit Judge: one married ^fr. Fraser and died 



many years ago, and two died at Mt. Clemens 
unmarried, ^lartha. in 1875. and Louisa, in 
1881. 

Another sister of Joshua Dickinson mar- 
ried Henry il. Dodge, who was for years one 
of the merchants of Mt. Clemens. The.v later 
removed to Minneapolis. Another sister was 
Mi's. P. B. Thurston, spoken of in connection 
with his life. Still another sister was ilrs. 
E. R. Blackwell, whose husband was recog- 
nized as one of the most skillful constructors 
of dams, and who wa.s largely interested in 
the work of the Clinton and Kalamazoo canal. 
Still another sister was ^Mrs. Porter Kibbee, 
who with his brother Henry Kibbee, for a 
long time was proprietor of Kibbee 's mill, 
which nuide Frederick a successful shipping 
point of the county. Jere Kibbee at one time 
who was Jit. Clemens' most prominent den- 
tist, who later removed to Port Huron, was 
another brother of the Kibbee family. 

Prescott B. Thurston was born in Barre, 
Vermont, April 7th, 1807. He came to Utica 
in a very early da.v and was among the best 
beloved of the school teachers there and kind- 
ly remembered by many of the older people 
of that vicinity for the thoroughness of his 
instructions and the excellence of his friendly 
counsel. He was elected Judge of Probate 
for the count.v in 1836. defeating Judge Chris- 
tian Clemens, who had held the office for 
eighteen years. About this time he removed 
to ;\It. Clemens and remained a citizen of the 
county's capital until his death. Februaiy 
18th, 1866. He was a Whig in politics until 
the formation of the Republican party, when 
he entered its ranks. He was defeated in 
1840, and again in 1841 at a special election, 
but only through erroneous spelling of his 
name, and in 1848 was re-elected and from 
that time until January 1st, 1861, he presided 
in the Court that cares for the widows and 
orphans of this county. In the elections of 
1848, 1852 and 1856. he was pitted against 
Lyman B. Price, Harlehigh Carter and Philo 
Tilsou. He was also for several .years Justice 
of the Peace. He married Prudence, sister of 
Josliua \i. Dickenson and lived for some time 
in the house he built on the west side of Gra- 
tiot street, now known as "The Oakland." 
He and his wife were prominent and active 
members of ]Mt. Clemens society of their day. 

Jrullett, Jolni. While not a citizen of Ma- 
comb count.v it may be of interest to know 
sometliing of the life and personalit.v of the 
surveyor whose handiwork is left to us in 
Mullett's survey of the larger part of old 
Mt. Clemens. He was born in Halifax, Wind- 



PAST A\n PKESEXT OF :\rACO:\rB COUNTY 



607 



ham County, Vcniioiit. Jiil.y 11th, 1786, aud 
came with his father's family to Genesee 
County, New York, in 1807. He was a mem- 
ber of the Buffalo Homo Guards during' the 
War of 1812 and was jiri'si'ut at the battle of 
BlaeU K»)ek. In 1818 he came to Detroit and 
for a time engaged in the tailoring business, 
but tliis trade was not suited to his aetive 
disposition, tastes, intellect and temperament. 
He had great taste for mathematical studies 
and his aeciuirements in those branches were 
eonsiileral)le. He became an excellent engi- 
neer and surveyor. In 1821 he was appoint- 
ed surveyor of Michigan l)y Gov. Cass, and 
was nnich employed in the years following 
in engineering duties and in laying out the 
.streets and avenues of Detroit. In 1822 he 
was appointed United States deputy surveyor 
and wiiile so engaged took part in a fracas 
with the Indians that gave its name to the 
stream called Battle Creek. From 18:31 to 
'34 he was largely engaged in Wisconsin and 
he laid out many villages in that state and 
this. He surveyed the road from Pontiae to 
Saginaw and located the University lands in 
1830. In 1853 he removed to ^leridian town- 
ship, Ingham Cdunty. where he died -Tanuarv 
10th, 18(i2. 

Atwood Family. Peter Atwood came from 
Genesee Count.^', New York, to Mt. Clemens 
in 1821, having in 1810 married Lucy Cady 
(nee Hutehins). who with her children of 
her first husband, accompanied him. He 
started on the farm long known as the Edger- 
l.v farm, and later as the Israel T. Parker 
farm. He died in 1826. All his children, as 
well as his stepchildren, married here and 
they and their families ai"e important factors 
in the county's history. One daiighter be- 
came ilrs. James C. Edgerly, and long lived 
on the farm just referred to. ilr. Edgerly 
was originally from ilassachusetts but came 
in 1822 from Genesee County, New York, to 
lit. Clemens, then a hamlet of eight dwell- 
ings, the court house, one general store, a 
shoemaker shop, a blacksmith shop and a 
cooper sliop. "Sir. Edgerly died there Nov. 13, 
1856. Among the childi-en of Mr. and ]Mrs. 
Edgerly wei'e Jane S.. wife of Jesse O. Feri-is 
and motiier of Mvs. Marion I Dr. Henry) Tay- 
lor, of Mt. Clemens and of James Ferris; i\Irs. 
Amanda (Edward) Fishpool and Henry Edg- 
erl.v. Another daughter married one Bing- 
ham and later JMerrill. Her three daughters 
became the wives of three of ;\It. Clemens' 
most aetive citi/.ens, namely, Thomas L. Sack- 
ett, Giles Hubbard anil Aaron Weeks. An- 
other daughter, Euphemia, married Alfred 



Ashley, sou of Thomas Ashley, who came from 
Batavia, New Yoi-k, to .Mt. Clemens in 1820. 
of whom mentions are found in the history of 
early .Mt. Clemens. Alfred Ashley for a 
time ran the Ashley Tavern which he built, 
and also ran a store. In 1S45 he moved into 
Chesterfield and later foiuided the village of 
Ashley (now New Baltimore), and for a long 
time and until his death in 1857, was its most 
prominent citizen. His grandson is still a 
resident of that village. 

One son of Peter Atwood, Sylvester F., 
was for years one of the ])rominent lake cap- 
tains whose home was always at Mt. Clemens, 
whei-e he died in 1888. 11 is son, S. Park At- 
wood, is a resident of Detroit. 

The oldest son of Peter Atwood was Hiram, 
for many years after 1822 the owner of the 
Atwood farm in section one of Clinton, the 
father of Mrs. Jonathan Widrig of Mt. Clem- 
ens, and grandfathi'r. tlii'ouizh Hiram Atwood 
of Mrs. M. iM. Smith, Mrs! F. J. Hole and 
Mr.s. A. H. Kent, all of Mt. Clemens. 

Of the stepchildren of Peter Atwood, Lucy 
married Silas Halsey, the one-time tavern 
keeper of the village. Chauncey Cady was 
an aetive pioneer after whom Cad.v Corners 
was called, and Horace H. Cady, who long 
lived in section 35 of Macomb, now owned 
by his son, John C. Cady. Chauncey Cady 
was very active in his later days in all pio- 
neer gatherings, where his unfailing fund 
of anecdotes and keen wit and humor made 
him most welcome. Louis T. Cady, the ex- 
Sheriff and present Alderman of Mt. Clem- 
ens, is his son. Horace H. Cady was long 
a prominent citizen of Macomb Township, its 
Supervisor several times. He married Susan 
Conner, of the John Conner family, and he 
and his wife each lived to be upwards of 
80 years of age. 

Saekett Family. In about 1829 four 
brothers, .sons of Lemuel Saekett of English 
descent, came from Pittsford, New York, but 
earlier from Connecticut, into Macomb Coun- 
try. These were Noahdiah, Lemuel, Ralph and 
Robert. Sometime later another brother, 
Daniel, came and settled near ^Marshall in 
this state, but never made his permanent 
home in ]\Iacondi Count.y. Robert Saekett 
was lost at the time of the burning of the 
steamer "Erie," while still unmarried. Noah- 
diah Saekett built the first grist mill at Fred- 
erick and also a saw mill. These Saekett 
mills were the ones sold to Horace Steevens. 
the founder of Frederick. Noahdiah had 
been for many years a teacher in his ea.stern 
home, and continued that work in the new 



6o8 



PAST AXD I'Rf:s?:XT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



country during the winter seasons. His son, 
George S., came at the age of 18 with his 
father from New York and was associated 
with him in most of his business enterprises. 
Shortly after the sale of the mills they moved 
from Macomb county and none of his descend- 
ants are now residents of this county. Mrs. 
Cornelius S. Perry of Lansing is a grand- 
daughter. 

Of the quaint humor and keen wit of Ralph 
Sackett, many stories have been handed 
down. He located on the farm, for many 
years now known as the Louis Fox farm on 
the south branch of the Clinton River, and 
later for a short time lived in the hotel at 
Frederick and afterwards built the house long 
occupied by the Rutter family on the corner 
of South Gratiot and Church streets in Mt. 
Clemens. Here he died in February of 1862. 
He was the father of ]\Irs. William M. Camp- 
bell and of Thos. L. Sackett, the one time 
Judge of Probate, who for many years held 
a novel and influential position in Macomb 
county political circles. He (Thomas L.) 
was a Republican, but his successful methods 
of reaching the hearts of the followers of the 
opposite political camp created so many 
"Tom Sackett Democrats" that he was al- 
ways sure of election long after the Demo- 
cratic regime had started on its almost unin- 
terrupted quarter-of-a-century control of all 
its county offices. He was married to Mary 
Bingham of the Atwood family and left two 
children, Fred L. and Jennie Lewis, neither 
of whom now live here. He died in 1875, 
while Judge of Probate, having held that of- 
fice nearly seven years, and that of Register 
of Deeds for six years. 

Another inmate of the Ralph Sackett home- 
stead was Frank Gabriel, who had been taken 
when a child of six by Ralph Sackett, and 
who from that date until his death at the 
age of about 7.3 was always connected with 
the Sackett family. No whiti'r heart than his 
ever beat under a black skin. He was faith- 
ful to his friends and true to himself and no 
Sackett was ever known to hesitate to recog- 
nize and welcome him, and they could well 
be pi'oud to claim him as a friend. 

Lenniel Sackett, Jr., was born in IMassa- 
chusefts, November 8, 1808, and died at j\It. 
Clemens, January IG, 1882. From about 1829 
to 1854 he lived upon the farm selected by 
him, the second farm up the river from that 
occupied by his brother Ralph. Before com- 
ing to Macomb county he had nuirried Mary 
Miller, th(> daughter of John Miller, who had 
come from Scotland before 1800 to Brigliton, 



New York. John ]\Iiller and his family fol- 
lowed the daughter some two or three years 
later and took up land in the southwestern 
portion of Clinton. He was the father of 
Dykes Miller (b. 1806, d. 1889). for many 
years a prominent farmer of Clinton, whose 
children, Kobert and James, are still residents 
of the county; of John ^filler, who returned 
to New York state and there died; of Will- 
iam, James, Jeft'erson and Helen, all of whom 
died unmarried; and of Elizabeth, wife of 
Harry Harrington and mother of Mrs. Will- 
iam S. Donaldson of ^It. Clemens. 

In 1854 Lemuel Saekett removed to ilt. 
Clemens and there lived until his death. He 
was deacon in the Presbyterian church for 
over twenty-live years, once Postmaster of Mt. 
Clemens and always a respected and helpful 
citizen of the community. Of his children, 
Lemuel I\L Sackett, the surveyor, ]\Irs. Fran- 
cis M. Campbell and ;\Irs. ^fartha (Theodore 
H.) Traver, all of Mt. Clemens, are still liv- 
ing. Two sous, John and Robert, sacrificed 
their lives in behalf of the country during 
the Civil War. 

Campbell. A family associated with the 
Sackett family by marriage is the Campbell 
family. The most prominent member of the 
family here was AVilliam M.. who was born 
in Livingston County, New York, Sept. 27th, 
1817, the son of John Campbell of Scotland, 
who came to the United States in 1794. Will- 
iam M. came to Mt. Clemens in 1836 and 
taught school here for a year and then re- 
turned to New York. In the fall of 1842 he 
returned to ]\Iacomb county and settled here 
permanently. He taught school and later en- 
gaged in the manufacture of pumps at Fred- 
erick, being associated with that business, as 
well as in farming, with his brother-in-law, 
Thos. L. Sackett. After the death of ^Ir. 
Sacj^ett, he carried on the management of the 
farms alone, at one time owning both the 
Welts farm at Frederick (now the Hacker 
farm) and the Conger farm at Belvidere 
(now the Cottrell farm). He was an earnest 
thinker, and omnivorous reader, an advocate 
of many advanced theories of finance, agri- 
culture and politics, too enthusiastic in his 
support of his ideas for his own financial 
welfare at times. He and his wife were ar- 
dent Abolitionists, and supporters of the 
temperance and woman suffrage movements. 

January 17th, 1844, ilr. Campbell married 
Mary E., daughter of Ralph Sackett, at Fred- 
erick. To them one son, William T., was 
born, who now lives in Texas. He married 
Mary, the oldest tlaughter of Giles and En- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ?irAro:\rR rorxTY 



609 



pliciiiia Ilulibanl. ^Ii-s. ^lary Sackott Camp- 
bell was a woman of most admirable and lov- 
able type, living a life of devotion to her 
family and her ideals, whieh were of the hiiih- 
est. She was born January 17th, 1823, and 
died at Mt. Clemens June' 12th, ISW). :Mr. 
Campbell died at Frederick Get. ISth, 1898. 
In the family of Mv. and Mrs. Campbell, as a 
daughter of the house, lived for several years 
after she became an orphan, Fannie Gilbert, 
the daughter of Thomas Gilbert, one of Jit. 
Clemens' early blacksmiths, now .Mrs. llasen 
S. Pingree of Detroit. In the declining years 
of Mr. and Jlrs. Campbell. Mrs. Pingree filled 
again most beautifully the position of daugh- 
ter of their house by her kindness and 
thoughtfulness of their comfort. 

Robert S. Campbell, a brother of "William 
]\I.. was for many years a farmer in this and 
Oakland Counties. He married Frances 'SI.. 
daughter of Lemuel and JIary (ililler) Sack- 
ett. Their onlv child, ilattie. was the wife 
of Milton H. Butler. 

Another brother, Tompkins Campbell, was 
here for a short time and returned to New 
Yoi'k State. A fourth orother. Dr. Alexander 
Campbell, a most able and skillful physician, 
was here from 1835 to 1837 engaged in the 
practice of his profession, being associated 
most of the time with Dr. Philo Tillson. The 
finding of the dead body of an Indian con- 
cealed in a barn in the village led to such 
excitement on the part of the Indians, who 
threatened dire vengeance on Dr. Campbell, 
that that worthy gentleman thought discre- 
tion the better part of valor, and left this 
part of the countr.y. 

THE GLASS WORKS. 

Hall and Grovier Families. In 1835 from 
Woodstock, New York, where they had op- 
erated a glass factory, came to ]\It. Clemens, 
Dr. Eltenezer Hall and Isaac J. Grovier, his 
son-in-law, and purchased from Christian 
Clemens the site of the pumping station of 
the Original Bath and Hotel Company, long 
known as the glass-factory property, later as 
the Salt Well property. 

The glass factory was ojx'rated for some 
eight years or thereabout, but never for a 
great length of time with financial j)rofit. 
At one time it was rented to Jeremiah Fol- 
som and operated by him. After its abandon- 
ment as a factory it was rented b.v the Jeiuiys, 
who o])ci-atcd a stave mill in the block next 
west and used to pack ice in. The marsh hay 
used til pack around the ice becoming dry 
in till' fiilliiwiuii' summer fui'iiished tinder 



that caused the destruction of the building 
in January, 1853. 

Dr. Hall was a prominent and popular 
pei-son in Mt. Clemens for years, famed 
alike for his kind-heartedness, his medical 
skill, his unfailing good humoi- and his riuaint, 
(piick wit. Of his seven children all but two 
spent their entire lives after 1835 with their 
homes at Mt. Clemens, and those two a large 
part of their lives. Jliss Zamira Hall died 
here at the home of her sister, Mrs. Forster, 
within the last ten years. iMrs. Mary Fiero, 
Jlrs. Olivia Grovier, and Mrs. Eliza (Rev. 
Thos.) Forster. were daughtei-s, iuul William 
Hall Ulied at Mt. Clemens iiinnari'ied in 
18 — ). John (who died in the south diu-ing 
the war, unmarried) and E. Wright Hall, for 
many years a pnmiinent merchant of the 
place, father of William Hall, were his sons. 
E. Wright Hall married the daughter of 
William Beer, who came from New York in 
the early 30 "s, built a saw mill in company 
with Snook near the Parrott farm east of the 
village, and later worked on the canal locks. 
Mrs. Geo. Fenton of the Fenton House is a 
granddaughter of Jlr. Beer. Rev. Thos. Fors- 
ter came from Ilarrisburg, Pennsylvania, to 
take charge of the Presbyterian church here. 
Failing health compelled him to give up ac- 
tive work in the pulpit, and he thereafter 
made his home here. Miss Mary Forster, 
Thomas For.ster of Mt. Clemens and John 
Forster of Shelby are his children. Dr. Hall 
built the house on East street, still standing, 
the eastern-most in Block 44. where he died 
July 2d, 1865, aged 82. 

Isaac J. Grovier long lived in a house 
where now stands the Avery House, having 
added largely to the James Connor house 
there, and after his death the family built 
and lived where now stands the ('apt. Dulac 
homestead. ]Mrs. Charlotte ( William 1 Diehl 
and ]\Irs. Alice (Fi'ederick) Lonsby are his 
daughters. Isaac Grovier, the youngest sou, 
is in Kansas. The other three sons, George 
and Arthur, now deceased, and Edwin II., of 
Mt. Clemens, for years continued the busi- 
ness carried on in their lifetime by Dr. Hall 
and Isaac J. (jroviei'. 

Shook and Traver Families. In 1845 from 
Ihulson on the Hudson Kivei' came ('apt. 
Jacob Shook, and his son-in-law, John I. 
Traver, with their families, and purchased 
jji'ivate claim 172, including the Fulton and 
Irwin farms in Ilai'risou. In a short time, 
Ml-. Traver sold out his interest to his father- 
in-law and moved into the village. ('apt. 
Shook continued to live on this farm until 



6co 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



his death. April 11th, 1863, at the age of 83. 
He was the father of Theron Shook, who 
owned the present Fulton farm ; of Robert 
Shook, and of two other sous who reniaiued 
in the East, and of one daughter, who mar- 
ried Henry Teats (a cousin of John I. Trav- 
er) ; one daughter, who married David 
Shook, and of two daughters who were the 
first and second wives of John I. Traver. 
Theron Shook was the father of Jacob Shook, 
of Aurora, 111., of ^Irs. Elizabeth ( Cohnnbns 
C.) Plall of Jlacoiiib township, and Gertrude 
Chase of Mt. Clemens. Robert Shook (son of 
Capt. Jacob) and his wife, Sophia, were the 
parents of Robert and Eugene Shook, still 
residents of ^It. Clemens: of Mrs. William E. 
Hall and Mrs. W. B. Hubbard, also of :\It. 
Clemens, and of Egbert Shook and Phillip 
Shook, now deceased. Henry Teats, who mar- 
ried one of the daughters of Capt. Jacob 
Shook, was one of the most prominent citizens 
of Harrison Township for many years, having 
been Supervisor of the township for three 
years and Register of Deeds of the comity for 
ioxir. Edward Teats, now of ilt. Clemens, 
Jacob Teats of Kansas, Robert Teats and 
Mrs. Henry Campau of Harrison, were among 
the children of that marriage. 

John I. Traver, twice son-in-law of Capt. 
Jacob Shook, had been, prior to his coming to 
Michigan, a merchant and officeholder in his 
New York home and private secretary to one 
of the Livingston family. After his coming 
here he was for many years Supervisor, for 
four years Register of Deeds of the county, 
and a frequent officeholder of clerical posi- 
tions. He at one time, in partnershij) with 
a man by the name of Barry, ran a imrsery 
directly opposite where now stands St. Jo- 
seph's Sanitarium on North Avenue. He 
died June 1st, 1872, aged 72 years and seven 
months. His widow, Lucinda Shook 
Traver, died Sept. 24th, 1900, aged 89 years 
and three months. ^Irs. Ada (John E. ) Van 
Hps and Mi's. Kate (Moore) Steiihens were 
ehildreu of John 1. Traver by his first wife, 
and Theodore II., Edward. Eugene, Arthur 
and Robert II. (Detroit merchant), were sons 
of the second wife, while Mrs. Mary (James 
F.) Brennan, JMrs. Allie (George) Harring- 
ton and Mrs. Adelaide (George) Harrington 
of Di'ti'oit, wei-e danghtei's of that marriage. 
Van Eps & Company. One of the business 
firms of longest standing of Mt. Clemens bore 
the foregoing title. John E. Van Eps, the 
elder brother of the firm, came to Mt. Clem- 
ens from Geneva, New York, in February. 
1844, when just past twenty-two years of age. 



In July of that year he, in company with 
(ieorge Wylde, bought the tanneiy standing 
where now Capt. Jno. Tucker has a coal yard, 
from Edward C. Gallup. In October follow- 
ing he was .joined by his brother, George B. 
\'an Eps, and the three ran a tannery, and in 
the following spring started a harness, shoe 
and boot store. The tannery continued to be 
run by the firm until the death of George 
B. Van Eps in 18S7 and the store continued 
under the management of Charles, son of 
(ieorge B., for some years longer. The Van 
Eps brothers bought out their partner, Wylde, 
in about 1848. In 1863, upon the death of 
Moore Stephens, the two Van Eps brothers, 
with Theodore Traver. lirother-in-law of 
John E.. bought the dry goods business that 
iiad been run by Stephens, and from then 
until about 1874 the two businesses were con- 
ducted by them. At about the later date 
Traver took the dry goods business and the 
Van Eps brothers turned their entire atten- 
tion to the leather business again. Associated 
with them for a time, with a branch store at 
Romeo, was Samuel Fiteh, brother-in-law of 
( ieorge B. Another brother, Abram, came on 
from the east in 1845, but died the same 
year. A half-sister, Susan, also came to this 
place for her home and was .stricken with the 
cholera in 1849 while on a visit to her sister. 
^Mrs. Loueks, at Belvidere. William Loneks. 
a harness maker, had married Eliza, the sister 
of the Van Eps brothers, and came to Mt. 
Clemens in 1846 from Ohio. He died here 
leaving his widow and two children. Fannie 
M., wife of Robert Welts, who died in Febru- 
ary of 1905, and Charlotte, wife of G. :\I. 
Chase of Ludington. Mieh. Another sister. 
^Margaret, had married RoJK'rt Watterson, a 
cai'penter and joiner, and they cmiih' to Mt. 
Clemens also and iiiatie tlu'ir home here 
thereafter. .Mrs. Allir (Hiram) Atwood, and 
ilrs. Susan (A. .Martin) Keeler and Jliss 
Adeline Watterson of this city, and Mrs. Kate 
(io^ling of Detroit were their children. 

John E. Van Eps married February 2d. 
1848, Ada. daughter of John I. Traver. and 
with his wife is still living in this city. Of 
their children, Arthur E., Kate, ^Maud, Ada 
M. (:\Ir,s. Dr. Wm. C. Tennant), and Effie 
(Mrs. Otto Bartley), ai'e residents of this 
place. The others were Frank and Allie 
(.Mrs. Henry P\'rris). Mi-. Van Eps ha>< been 
President of the viljaur and .Mm\-oi- of ttic^ 
city. 

George B. Van Eps married, tirst. Maria 
Ashley, daughter of Alfred and Euplieiiiia 
Ashley of Ashley (New Baltimore) : and, sec- 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF :\IACO:\IB COUNTY 



6ii 



oiidly, JIary. ;i (liniuhtor of Benj. Kohcrtsoii, 
ami later ilatiida Fiteh of Ailiion. New ^'l)^k. 
.Mrs. Marie (Spencer B.) Russell and Mrs. 
;\lattie ((ieo. L.) Fulton of thi.s place are 
children of the last marriage, besides whom 
are Charles II. ami Mrs. ilary Ward of Chi- 
cago. Geo. B. \'an Eps died in Ajiril. 1SS7, 
and his widow, .Matilda A., in September, 
lilOll. 

William Lewis was born in Jlassaehusetts 
in ITIli) and eame to Mt. Clemens with his 
wife in about 18:32 from Bunker Hill, lie 
was a carpenter by trade, but active in many 
other lines of work, and at one time ran a 
liveiw stable here. He was at one time asso- 
ciated with Aaron Whitney, Jr., in the proj)- 
erty on the corner of Front and Maeoiidi 
streets, where now stands the Ullrich Bank 
and where Whitney for a number of years 
ran a store. He sold this propei-ty to Jei'e 
Folsom in 1836. In IS.'^f) he purchased from 
Davis, who had a couple of years earlier 
bought from Clemens the site of the present 
Macomb county .jail. Here Lewis for many 
years lived with his family. He joined the 
"forty niners" and thereafter lived in Cali- 
fornia, where he died in 1884. He was a 
man of strong personality and many eccen- 
tricities. George Frederick Lewis, his son, 
had been a jirintei- and publisher at Port 
Huron, and soon aftt'r the year 1854. returned 
to I\It. Clemens and established the Peninsular 
Advocate. Its office was located in the "Le- 
viathan" block on Front street. Later Mr. 
Lewis removed to Saginaw and the Advocate 
ceased to exist. At Saginaw, 'Sir. Lewis was 
connected with prominent papers, and was 
for years editor of the Saginawian, and a 
recognized power in newspaper circles in the 
state. He was one of the original members 
of the Old Crowd of Mt. Clemens and a con- 
stant attendant at its meetings until his death 
:May 30th, 1889. His brother, William A. 
Lewis, is still a resident of Everett, ^lichi- 
gan. Frances, daughtei- of William Lewis, 
married Norton L. Jliller, July 4th, 1843. 
Mr. Miller was born in Berkshire County, 
^Massachusetts, Deeend)er 2d, 181o, and came 
with his family into Ray township, this coun- 
ty, in 1840. lie was a miller by trade, and 
most of his life was iictively connected with 
the mills of Macomb and Oakland counties. 
He was elected Register of Deeds of the coun- 
ty in 1856 and 1858. In December, 1861, he 
went to the Lakeville mills in Oakland county, 
owned by his brother-in-law, Neil Gray, wliich 
he ojierated for si.x years. Returning to Sh. 
Clemens in June, 1867, he was elected a mem- 



ber of the Legislature the following year and 
i-e-elected in 1870. Lewis M. Jliller. long 
pronuiKMitly coiuiected with the JiCgislature 
of Michigan as Clerk of the House and of the 
Senate, and Compiler of the Statutes of Mich- 
igan ; William N. ^liller, present Deputy 
Sliniir of the county: Fannie ^1. Russell and 
Aimer P. Miller of Mt. Clemens, and Mrs. 
Millie (Preston) Keith of Buffalo are their 
children. (Jeorge Fred Lewis marrird first 
a daughter of Capt. James C. Allen, and sec- 
(>ndl\- a sister of Andrew S. K'oliertsim. tin' 
attorney. 

lloi'ace 11. Steevens was l)orn in Sharon, 
CiiiHieetieut, August 2!lth. 17;)9. and <-anie to 
ilacomb county in 1833, and in 1836 platted 
the village of Frederick. He purchased the 
mills built by Noahdiah Sackett and in part- 
nership with his brother, Frederick L. Steev- 
ens, ran the same until they were sold to the 
Michigan State Baidv. In 1841 he removed 
to Pontiac and later to Waterford, where he 
owned and ran mills. He returnetl to Fred- 
erick in 1847. where he died in ilarch, 1849. 
He was for years postmaster of ;\It. Clemens, 
having been appointed by Van Buren. He 
served two terms as Associate Judge of the 
County Court. He was a membei- of the 
Legislature of 1845 and one of the ('ommis- 
sioners appointed to locate the state's prison 
at Jackson. He was married to Henrietta C. 
Petrie. Of his children, Henry H. Steevens 
of Mt. Clemens; Clark D. Steevens of Ma- 
comb township, and Mrs. Cora (William) 
Jenney of Frederick, are still living. Three 
other daughters were ilrs. ]\Iary (Gen. David 
H.) W^illiams of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; 
Mrs. ]\larion Edgar of Detroit, and ;\frs. An- 
nette (William J.) Canfield. Henry H. 
Steevens was born in Clairmont, New York, 
September 14th, 1826, and married to Eliza 
Miller, January 1st, 1848. She was a daugh- 
ter of [Milton Miller, brother of Norton L. 
Miller, who came from JMassaehusetts. Mr. 
Steevens served through the Mexican War, 
having abandoned his legal studies to enter 
the army. Mr. Steevens and wife are living 
with their family at Mt. Clemens. Cora, the 
daughter of Horace Steevens, married in Feb- 
ruary, 1866, William Jenney, who eame 
with his i)arents to Macomb county in 1843. 
.Ml'. Jenney .served through the war. having 
entered the service as a captain and commis- 
sioned as ma.ior in 1863, and raised to a col- 
onelcy by Gov. Croswell in 1865. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1866. elected to the State 
Senate in 1876, Secretary of State in 1878- 
1880, postnutster Mt. Clemens eight >ears. 



6l2 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ^MACOMB COUNTY 



Their son. William S. Jenney, is now one of 
the active members of the ilaeomb county 
bar. Frederick H. Steevens, brother of Hor- 
ace Steevens, a merchant in Detroit and kept 
his residence there, although larg-ely interest- 
ed in Frederick property. His son. Sears 
Steevens, was at one time a resident of Ster- 
ling township, and a grandson at one time 
a merchant in Utica. 

In 1838 on the northeast corner of Court 
and ]\Iacomb streets was started a mercantile 
business which was destined to be one of the 
most long-lived of ]\It. Clemens business en- 
terprises. It was stai'ted by John Stephens, 
who came from London, Ontario, and opened 
a general store. About the same time came 
Moore Stephens, who in about 1842 was re- 
ceived as a partner by his brother, John, in 
this business. For them in 184:2 and 1843, 
Oliver Chapaton was clerking, and in 1851 
he became a member of the firm of Stephens 
and Chapaton. which continued until 1860. 
During this time John Stephens, who had al- 
ways been actively engaged in other enter- 
prises than this store, was interested with 
Robert F. Eastman in a grain elevator and 
warehouse standing where Fleumer's grist 
mill now stands. His association with ilr. 
Eastman continued until i\Ir. Eastman's 
death. Later ^Mr. John Stephens removed 
to Detroit wln'i-c he died in 1881. Be- 
tween 1848, when John Stephens retired from 
the firm of J. and ]M. Stephens, and in 1851, 
when ^Ir. Chapaton became connected with 
the firm, George C. Fletcher was associated 
with ^loore Stephens under the firm name of 
Stephens & Fletcher. After the retirement 
of Mr. Chapaton from the firm. ^loore Steph- 
ens associated with him as partner Theodore 
H. Traver. and for three years the firm was 
Stephens & Traver. Upon the death of ^loore 
Stephens in 1863, Van Eps & Co. purchased 
the business, and from then until about 1874 
tlie title of the firm was Traver, Van Eps & 
Company. For a few years Theodore H. 
Traver ran the business alone and then sold 
to Grovier Bros., who combined the business 
with their drug store, which had been run 
by their family for a great many years. The 
retirement of Edwin II. Grovier, surviving 
partner of Grovier Bros., in 1902 marked the 
passing of this mercantile house which for 
upwards of sixty years had been one of the 
most j)r()iiiinent in Mt. Clemens. 

Of the men who had conducted it. Oliver 
Chapaton, Edwin II. Grovier and Theodore 
II. Traver are still residents of this city. 
Moore Stephens married Kate, second daugh- 



ter of John I. Traver, and for a great many 
years had his residence in a large house on 
Gratiot avenue south No. 72. His brother. 
John Stephens, built and for a long time 
lived in the house ne.xt south, now the home 
of Jlr. and ^Irs. Carney. ]\Irs. Kate S. Stew- 
art, proprietress of the Sherman House, is his 
daughter. Three brothers of John and iloore 
Stephens were also for a short time residents 
of the county; Robert at Mt. Clemens, who 
soon returned to Toronto : James, for many 
years at Utica, and Henry at Romeo, later 
of Detroit. 

Geo. C. Fletcher, son of Jesse Fletcher of 
Windsor County, Vermont, was born June 
13tli, 1817, came to Mt. Clemens in 1836 and 
spent the remainder of his life here and in 
Detroit connected with mercantile life. He 
married in 1836 Eliza <!. Hough. He was 
the father of Eiiuua Farrington and Betsey 
Canfield Burt, now living in Europe, and 
George W. Fletcher, now a resident of ;\Ie- 
nominee. ilr. Fletcher died at ilt. Clemens 
October 25th, 1897. 

Samuel S. Gale, son of William Gale, was 
l)orn in Genoa, Cayuga Coxinty, New York, 
January 4th, 1819. His father was a teacher, 
builder and farmer. In 1842 he came to 
Michigan, and for a time taught school at 
Pontiac ; was admitted as an attorney-at-law 
at that place in 1846, and the next year 
opened a law office at Farmington, where he 
married iliss ilary Collins, daughtei- of one 
of Oakland County's pioneers. In 1852 he 
was principal of one of the schools at Ann 
Arbor and three years later i-eturned to the 
dry goods business at Farmington. Upon 
the organization of the Union school at Mt. 
Clemens he was selected as its ])rincipal. In 
November, 1862, he entered into jiartnership 
with Charles Sturtevant in the hardware 
business, and in Mareh. 1864, purchased the 
interest of his partner. He continued the 
hardware business until into the 80 's in the 
stand now occupied by the Ullrich Hardware 
Company, his successors through his son. 
George C. <iale. Clarence ^M. Stephens and 
Reuben C. Ullrich. His children were 
George C. (!ale of Detroit, and Cynthia Gale 
Palmer of Chicago. Jlr. and ^Irs. Gale were 
prominent and active members of the Pres- 
bj'terian church, and took a lively interest in 
the social, educational and business prosper- 
ity and progress of the place. Mrs. Gale 
died February 22d, 1889, and :\Ir. (!ale No- 
vember Kith, 1893. 

Charles Sturtevant, above referred to, was 
also at one time partner of Ben.jamin Rob- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



613 



ertson, another of Mt. Clemens' citizens, en- 
gaged in the hardware business, ilr. Rob- 
ertson was the father of (ieorge W. Robert- 
son: of ]\Iary. second wife of Geo. B. Van 
Eps, and Frances, wife of Ur. Burt, one time 
one of ilt. Clemens' prominent practitioners, 
later of Chicago. The business conducted by 
Robertson was afterwards carried on by Geo. 
W. Robertson and his partner, William Daley, 
later by Crittenden & Posner, by Posner & 
Czizek, Czizek Brothers and at present by 
Casper Czizek. 

Among- the tailors of ilt. Clemens the mid- 
dle of the last century was William Roy, who 
married Ann Connor, daughter of John Con- 
nor, ilarch 25th, 1832. He was for many 
years keeper of the toll gate after the estab- 
lishment of the Detroit & Mt. Clemens Plank 
Road Company. Edward, R. B. and Harry 
Roy of Mt. Clemens, are his grandsons. 
James and Charles Williams were also tailors 
in Mt. Clemens, but each was at times inter- 
ested in the general mercantile business. 
James Williams married Mary, a sister of 
(ieorge C. Fletcher. They were the parents 
of Frank F. Williams, an attorney of Detroit 
and Chicago, now deceased, and of Mrs. Julia 
(James) McGarvey of England. 

Gilbert Longstaff, born in England, first 
settled in America in Canada, but in 1837 
became one of the pioneers of ]Macomb Coun- 
ty. He first bought government land in Rich- 
mond township, but soon after removed to 
Macomb Township, where he continued to 
live until his death in 1872. His three sons 
came with him from England and became 
prominent and life-long residents of the 
county, John and Richard in jMacomb Town- 
ship and William in ]\Iacomb. John Long- 
stafi:' married Sarah Van Horn, and their 
five daughters were Mrs. Helen (Henry) 
Bellman, ilrs. Rose (Van) Chapman, Mrs. 
Esther (Henry) Warren, Mrs. Julia (Thom- 
as) Warns, and IMrs. Allie (Henry) Alberts. 
Richard Longstaff, who died also in 1872 
(November), was married to Rachell Van 
Horn, and to them two children wei'e born, 
Mrs. Mary (Preston) Bentley, and Alfred 
A. Longstaff. William Longstaff, who early 
settled in Mt. Clemens, married Ann Ruth 
Van Horn, and of their three children, two, 
George H. of Jit. Clemens, and John of De- 
troit, are still living. Miss Elizabeth Long- 
staff, a daughter, died in Mt. Clemens in 
1902. William Longstaff' learned the print- 
ers' trade and was for some years one of the 
proprietors of the Macomb Conservative 
Press, the predecessor of the Mt. Clemens 



Press. He was chosen for several of the 
local offices iuid for upwards of forty years 
was one of the constables of Clinton Town- 
ship and Jit. Clemens city. He was appointed 
Under-Sheritr by Sheriff' Dekay, and upon 
his death in 1SS7 became acting Sheriff' of 
the county. His integrity, faithfulness and 
trustworthiness were such that he occupied an 
enviable position in the eonununity. He died 
here in the city, August 31st, 1891. 

Bruno Van Landeghem was born in Bel- 
gium in November, 1818, a son of Jacob 
Van Landeghem, and came to Mt. Clemens in 
1848. He operated the North Branch Flour- 
ing Mills for seven years; engaged in the 
grain and pork business at Mt. Clemens, and 
from 1859 on to the time of his death was 
interested in the stave manufacture. His 
mill and yard for years occupied most of the 
block lying between Walnut, Macomb. Cherry 
and New .streets, and during the last few 
years of its existence was located on the bank 
of the river opposite and above Terry street. 
He had a large business and was so successful 
that he accumulated no small fortune. His 
sterling worth and integrity, his wholesome 
common sense and liberality endeared him to 
all. He was the trusted coun.selor and friend 
particularly of the large number of his coun- 
trymen who, largely because of his being 
here, now form a large element in our popu- 
lation. In 1884 he built the Van Landeghem 
block on Walnut street. He died in October, 
1894, leaving one son, Frank, now of Mt. 
Clemens, and four grandchildren, children of 
Bruno Van Landeghem, Jr. (born at Jit. 
Clemens, 1854, and died 1885). His wife 
was Melanie Vanrenterghem, sister of the 
Rev. Fr. Vanrenterghem. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MT. CLEMENS, THE CITY. 

The circumstances surrounding the incor- 
poration of Mt. Clemens as a city have al- 
ready been referred to. The impetus received 
in public affairs by this incorporation and the 
erection of the new court house and county 
.jail combined with the building boom which 
occurred at about the same time, to make the 
city the scene of great activity and pros- 
perity. Since that time its progress has been 
steady and continuous without any unhealthy 
mushroom growth. In politics the city has 
usually been strongly Democratic, but a suf- 
ficiently large body of independent voters has 
always existed to secure the election of offi- 
cers of the opposite party on occasions when 



6i4 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO:\IB COUNTY 



stroug dissatisfaction arose. The ^Mayors of 
the city have been as follows: Joshua B. 
Dickinson, April, 1879; George M. Crocker, 
June. 1879-1881 ; Spencer B. Russell, 1881-3 ; 
Judson S. Farrar, 1883-5 ; John E. Van Eps, 
1885-87 ; George AV. Robertson, 1887-8 ; Will- 
iam J. Daley, 1888-9; Tliomas M. Crocker, 
1889-1891: Andrew B. Chapin, 1891-2: Will- 
iam C. Tennant. 1892-1; Andrew T. Donald- 
son. 1894-98 : William D. Wilson, 1898-9 : Reu- 
ben C. Ullrich, 1899-1901 ; William F. Berry, 
1901-2: Martin Crocker, 1902-03; Albei-t A. 
Parisot, 1903-1)4; John II. Westendorf. 1904 
10 19—. 

The Clerks of the city have been as fol- 
lows: Henry W. Babcock. 1879; James G. 
Tucker, 1880: Augustus C. Dahm, 1881; W. 
Harrv Rutter, 1882-86; Charles A. Fitch, 
1887-91 : W. Harrv Rutter. 1892 : Arthur E. 
Van Eps, 1893-4; Spencer J. Dalby, 1895-7; 
Henry C. Benton, 1898-1902: William P. 
Kracht. 1903. to present (I'.iOoi. 

The Treasurers of the cily have been as 
follows: George H. Peltou, 1879-80: Jacob 
W. Shook, 1881-2; Bruno A'an Landeghem, 
Jr., 1883-4: Alexander Jacol)i, 1885-90; An- 
thonv Czizek. 1891-4; John H. Westendorf, 
189.5-7; Paul Lefevre, 1898-9; Alphonse D. 
Lefevre, 1900-01: Edward Paya, 1902-03: 
■William H. .Miller, 1904-05. 

The most of the offices of the City Officials 
are to be found in the basement of the Court 
House, arrangement having been made for 
a long lease thereof for that purpose at the 
time the city provided for the building. Af- 
ter considerable and lengthy agitation for 
them a system of water-works was provided 
for in 1888 and installed in that year. It 
has been ver}' much extended and improved 
from time to time until at the present time 
its estimated cost has been about .$105,000. 
The bonded indebtedness of the city on ac- 
count of its water works is at present $20,- 
000 only. The pumping station and wells of 
the sy.stems. including the very tasty little 
park about them, cover about four acres of 
ground on the bank of the Clinton, just be- 
low the crossing of the Gratiot Turnpike. 
Until 1901 the source of the water supply 
was the Clinton River, but that year saw the 
diaging of the first of the twentj'-two wells 
from which at present the supply is drawn. 
These wells were put down at a total cost 
of little over $7,000, and have avoided the 
necessity for the great expense of going to 
the lalce for a water supply. The pumping 
station is i'(|uipi)ed with two 80-horse power 
tubular boilers, two 1,000,000 gallons non- 



condensing Blake pumps, and one 3,000,000 
gallons \Voi-thington triple-expansion en- 
gine, thus having a capacity of five million 
gallons per day. The amount pumped at 
present will average about one million gallons 
per day, needed to supply the twelve hundred 
and fifty water-takers. The receipts for the 
last fiscal year from water-takers were about 
$14,500, a sum large enough to provide for 
all expenses and leave a comfortable sum to 
assist in making extensions and improve- 
ments. Capt. Thos. J. lloyt was Superin- 
tendent of the water works plant from its 
installation to September, 1889, since which 
time Herman H. Orbits has filled the posi- 
tion with general satisfaction on the part of 
the city officials and the public generally. 
The present members of the Board of Public 
Works, under whose general supervision the 
water works are managed, are William C. 
High, Spencer J. Dalby, John Kuhn, Arthur 
E. Van Eps and Jas. F. Byrns. 

On the 24th of ?ilay, 1905, the electors of 
the city at a special election then held de- 
termined to bond the city for the sum of 
$120,000 for the purpose of making many 
much-needed improvements about the city 
and the refunding of a portion of its existing 
indebtedness, which was drawing a high rate 
of interest, approximately $85,000 for the 
former purpo.se and $35,000 for the latter. 
These bonds have since been issued and ne- 
gotiated. This move leaves the city with a 
bonded indebtedness of about $171,000, and 
will provide for the most of the pressing 
municipal improvements that will call for 
larger amounts than can be provided for 
from the ordinary income of the city. 

The total receipts of the various city funds, 
including special assessments, during the 
fiscal year ending in October. 1904. was 
nearly $90,000; the assessed valuation of the 
property in the several wards for the same 
vear bcui--; 1st ward, $1 .!)()(;. 300 ; 2nd ward, 
$2,3(56.1. 50: and 3rd ward, $1,420,100. The 
annual appi'ojiriation bill passed liy the Coun- 
cil in Jlay, 1905, provided for the expendi- 
tures of $53,437.75 in the maintenance of 
the municipal affairs and the public improve- 
ments contemplated aside from the special 
as,sessinents that might be imposed for such 
improvements. 

Although street lighting and the furnish- 
ing of commercial electric light, is in Mt. 
Clemens a business transacted by a private 
eorijoration, the nature of the business and 
the success of the plant has been such as to 
make this a matter of public interest. The 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



615 



first electric liiiiitiiii;- in Jit. Clemens was in 
the Fountain Bath House, and furnished by 
a small electric light plant installed there by 
R. 0. Meldrum & Sons in 1S88. December 
16th, 1889, an ordinance authorizintr the es- 
tal)lishment of electric works in the city with 
permission to use the streets for its poles 
and wires was adopted by the City Council. 
This authority and permission was granted 
to "Wilbur F. Davidson of Port Huron, Alex- 
ander Jacobi and William S. Donaldson of 
Mt. Clemens. These three, under the name 
of A. Jacobi & Company, built the plant on 
the east bank of the river just south of Crock- 
er avenue and sold the same to the ilt. Clem- 
ens Electric CompaJiy, a corporation organ- 
ized in the following year with W. S. 
Donaldson as its President and Alexander 
Jacobi, Secretary and Treasurer, who have 
ever since continued as such officers. The 
capacity of the plant on the start, consisted 
of one 500 (16-candle power) light incandes- 
cent machine of the single phase alternating 
current type, and one direct current series 
arc light machine of the capacity of 30 lights 
(6.8 amperes). Current was first turned on 
to the arc lights ilarch 30, 1890. the switch 
being turned by ilrs. Cecelia (George M.) 
Crocker. The incandescent light circuit was 
ojiened one week later, the switch being 
turned by Alexander Jacobi, Secretary and 
Trea-surer. Upon the starting of the plant, 
the incandescent lighting was furnished at 
a flat rate, ranging from one to two dollars 
per month for each Ki-candle i)ower light. For 
commercial are lights, the rate ranged from 
.$6.50 to $10.00 per month per light. The 
first contract made with the city for street 
lighting made the same year as the plant was 
installed, was for nine lights at the rate of 
ninety dollars per light per year to burn on 
what is known as the all night moonlight 
schedule. 

The company very soon proved that the 
time was ripe for a successful electric light 
p'ant in ilt. Clemens, and the growth of its 
business has been continuous and so large 
that enlargement of the plant and installation 
of larger and more approved macliiuery has 
been constantly called for. In 1904 the jilaiit 
was entirely rebuilt, the present l)uilding con- 
sistinu' of cement and faced cobblestone, 
stands upon the site of the original plant, 
and is one of the most handsome and luiique 
structui'es in the city. The seventy-five foot 
chimney built of cement and cobblestone is 
said to be the only one of its kind known in 
the country, and attracts the attention of 



buildei's and architects from all unit the 
country ui)on their visits hei-e, not only by its 
novelty, but by the perfecti(jn of the work- 
manshi]) upon it. The reconstructed building 
cost ai)proximately $14,000. The present 
rates for conuiiercial arc lighting is from $5 
to $6.50 per motitii jjcr light. The present 
contract with the city for street lights (6.8 
amjjeres) is for 108 lights ruiniing on the 
all-dark-hour.s-every-night-in-the-year sched- 
ule for which the company receives $58.12 per 
light [>ci- year. Incandescent lighting is 
furnished on the meter system, the rate being 
twenty cents per K. W. with a sliding scale 
of discounts foi- promjit i)ayment which nets 
the company an average about eleven cents 
]M'v K. W. 

The present capacity of the i)lant is rep- 
resented by 250 K. W. incandescent lighting 
and 200 6.8 amperes series direct arc lights. 
The voltage of the incandescent liLditing nui- 
chinery is 2,280 volts primary and 110 volts 
secondary. Aside from the electric light 
which the company furnishes to its 600 con- 
sumei's, it is furnishing electric current for 
ten or twelve 110 volt s. ph. motors with a 
capacity of from one-half to five-horse 
power, rates for which motor service average 
about five cents per K. W. The motive power 
for the plant (which runs contiiniously) is 
steam : the engine capacity consisting of two 
high speed Ball engines of 250 and 125-horse 
power respectively, and one Lansing high 
speed engine of 225-horse power, and the boil- 
er capacity of three 125-horse powei-, tubular 
horizontal lioilers. The fuel used is the Hock- 
ing nut coal, approxinuitely 3,000 tons being 
used each j'eai", the cost of which averages 
the company about $2.75 per ton. The busi- 
ness of the com]iany is so thoroughly syste- 
matized that its work outside of its office is 
conducted by nine employes. 

Aside from this ])ublic lighting plant, pri- 
vate electric lighting plants have been in- 
stalled in the Park and Colonial Hotels and 
St. Joseph Sanitarium, and also in the fac- 
tory of the Mt. Clemens Sugar Company. 

The banks of the jiresent "Sit. Clemens are 
thrci' in number, all en.joying substantial pros- 
perity and the utmost confidence of their 
patrons. The Mt. Clemens Savings Bank, the 
oldest of the three, was incorporated in 1877 
with a capital stock of $50,000.00. It has 
been [jiH'ceded in the banking business in Jit. 
Clemens by the jirivate bank of John W. 
Porter & Company, the com])any being (icorge 
A. Skinnei-. Daniel ('. Tilden & Co. (one 
Morton of Detroit), had oi'^anizc^l and car- 



6i6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



ried ou a private liank iii Mt. Clemens some 
two or three years prioi- to the coming of the 
Porter firm. Init the enterprise had proven 
a financial failure. Porter & Co. had, how- 
ever, by better business methods, succeeded 
in building up a substantial banking business, 
which, upon tiie orgaiiiziition of the ^It. Clem- 
ens Savings Bank in 1S77. supported as it was 
by nearly all of the tlien suljstantial business 
men of the place, was very largely increased 
so that in a short time the success of the new 
institution became a.ssured and pronounced. 
The President of this bank ever since its 
organization has been Oliver Chapatou. John 
W" Porter was its cashier from its organiza- 
tion until January 1st, 1882, since which 
time George A. Skinner has occupied that po- 
.sition. The statement of the business of this 
bank, furnished npon the last call of the state 
officials, showed the total resources of $1,098,- 
959.78 : surplus and TUidivided earnings, of 
$97,403.59: comniei'cial deposits. $138,728.82; 
savings deposits of $811,411.04. A statement 
of September 1st. 1905, would show an in- 
crease of about $70,000.00 in resources, $22,- 
000.00 additional commercial deposits and 
$53,000.00 additional savings deposits. 

The ]Mt. Clemens Savings Bank enjoyed 
exclusive possession of the banking field of 
i\It. Clemens nntil June 1st, 1882, at which 
time the banking house of Ullrich & Crocker 
commenced business. This house was car- 
ried on as a private banking house until the 
organization of the Ullrich Savings Bank, 
June 1st. 1893. with a capital stock of $100,- 
000.00. Paul Ullrich was President of the 
new bank until his death, December 15th, 
1897, after which the present incumbent, 
Ernst J. Okie, was selected for that position. 
Paul J. Ullrich has been cashier of the bank 
since its organization. The official statement 
of the bank nuule in ]\Iay, 1905, shows total 
resources of $729,487.64 with a surplus and 
undivided earnings of $76,344.20: commer- 
cial deposits. $106.020.83 : savings deposits of 
$447,122.61. A statement of September 1st 
woidd show a proportional increase in the 
resources and deposits corre.spondiug to the 
increa.se noted in the Mt. Clemens Saviug-s 
Bank. 

In 1901) Wir tliiiil bank, the Citizens' Sav- 
ings Bank of Mt. Clemens, was organized 
with a capital stock of $50,000.00. The posi- 
tions of President and Cashier of this bank 
have been filled since its organization by An- 
drew T. Donaldson and ^lilo W. Davis re- 
spectively. In .May last the total resources 
of this bank were $366,851.67; the surplus 



and undivided earnings. $13,859.22 ; commer- 
cial deposits of $73.148.95 ; savings deposits, 
$229,789.50. 

^It. Clemens as a city has no sclioois, but 
the city is included in Union School District 
No. 1 of Clinton and Harrison, which was 
organized Februarj' 20th, 1857. The District 
includes small portions of the townships of 
Clinton and Harrison in addition to all of the 
city. For a histoi-y of the schools taught in 
and about Mt. Clenu'us prior to the organiza- 
tion of this union district, refei-ence must be 
had to the careful compilation made by AVes- 
ley Sears in 1882, and published in the former 
history of JIacomb County. The first annual 
meeting of the newly organized district was 
held March 9th, 1857, at which time $11,- 
000.00 was voted for a school building. 
Previous to the completion of the three-story 
building thus erected school was taught in 
the old academy and in the schoolhouse of 
District No. 7, which was situated on South 
Walnut street near the corner of ^laple ave- 
nue. In 1861 the third story of the new 
building was burned by fire, which started 
by the tower being struck by lightning. In 
1875 an additional building was constructed 
upon the same lot with the high school build- 
ing. Demands for increased school room have 
been met by the construction of the Grant 
street and Court street schools and the Dick- 
inson school on the east side, and by the 
construction of the present large and well- 
equipped high school building. The Dickin- 
son school was opened in April, 1896, and the 
new high school building in April of 1902, 
the latter at a cost of about $40,000. The 
superintendents of schools in this district have 
been as follows : Samuel S. Gale. 1857-59 ; 
0. A. Ilotchkiss. 1859-60; William Campbell, 
1860-61; Silas Wood, 1861-63; Andrew Mont- 
gomery. 1863-5; Silas Wood, 1865-9; F. A. 
Herring. 1869-71; Daniel B. Brings. 1871-2; 
John E. Bissell, 1872-4; Samuel S\ Babcock, 
1874-76: Weslev Sears, 1876-85; Allen S. 
Whitney, 1885-92; Jed. Lee, 1892-4; Sauuiel 
C. Price. 1894-Jan., 1901; J. B. Estabrook, 
Jan., 1901-04; H. G. Lull. 1904-05; John 
Everett, 1905. 

The i)resi'nt Board of Trustees of the dis- 
trict is made up of George A. Skinner, Spen- 
cer B. Kussell, Keuben V". Ullrich, Louis T. 
Cady and Paul J. Ullrich. During the last 
fiscal year of the district, there was paid out 
of the teachers' fund $17,800.00; from the 
library fund $2,227.00; interest on bonded in- 
debtedness. $480.00 and from the incidental 
fund, $6,712.00; total expenditure in the dis- 



PAST .AM) PKESEXT OF MACOMB COrXTV 



617 



trict for school purposes of $27,219.00. The 
present bonded indebtedness of the district 
is about $24,000.00. Out of a total census 
of 2.260, 1,868 pupils were enrolled during 
the year, an excellent record in view of the 
mainti'iianei' of additional denominational 
schools in the district. 

The nucleus of a library was started iu 
1865 or 1866 by Prof. Wood. Its growth 
was gradual but slow until its removal from 
the schoolhonse building to a more central 
location in the basement of the courthouse in 
about 1890. The interest of the public in 
the library soon thereafter increased, and 
through the assistance of appropriations 
made by the city, the library rapidlj' in- 
creased in size and usefulness. It was moved 
to the Chamber of Commerce building where 
it was maintained uutil its removal to the 
liandsiime and commodious (juarters in the 
buil<liiig directly opposite the high school 
building erected duriug the current year 
with funds generously provided by the Hon. 
Andrew Carnegie. The site for the library 
was purchased by the city at a cost of $5,- 
5U0.00 and the building and its equipment 
cost about .$19,000.00. The library now num- 
bers about seven thousand volumes and is 
under the direction of ^Margaret C. Upleger, 
Librarian, with Grace L. Farrar as assistant. 

The schools of Mt. Clemens have for a long 
time been on the University list, and have a 
standing and reputation throughout the state 
of which their supporters may well be proud. 

In 1892 a corporation was organize'd for 
the purpose of forming a body whose chief 
cause for being should be the fm'therance of 
the material progress of the city, and which 
it was hoped would furnish a center from 
which movements would spread for the bet- 
terment of the nuinicipal and industrial 
welfare of the city. It undertook and cai'- 
ried out the erection of a building known as 
the Chamber of Commerce on the corner of 
Walnut and New streets, at a cost of ap- 
proximately $18,000. While the Chamber of 
Connnerce has not been aggressive in the 
work expected of it, it has nevei'theless fur- 
nished a rally-point for nuiny quiet move- 
ments that have matei-ially benefited the city, 
and its building has been the scene of many 
meetings, public and private, that have often 
checked moves that tended to the injury of 
the city's interests and as well many others 
that have nMlounded to the public weal. The 
building is occupied with stores on its first 
rtoor and by the ]\It. Clemens Club and its 
tenants on the second and third. This last 



named organization was perfected in Janu- 
ary, 1893, and is the most prominent of the 
city's social organizations. Its membership 
includes at present ninety-eight resident 
members and about eight non-resident. The 
present officers of the Chamber of Commerce 
are Wm. J. Daley, President: Arthur E. Van 
Eps, Secretary, and (!ei>. A. Skinner, Treas- 
urer. 

A more unique social organization and one 
of I\It. Clemens' most cherished institutions is 
"The Old Crowd." that every year on the 
third Thiu'sday of August holds its reunion, 
and lu'ings back to the old home many of the 
former boys of the place, who without it 
would likely rarely revisit the scenes of their 
boyhood days. The success of these reunions 
have lead to its being copied in some respects 
by other social organizations, which, how- 
ever, lack the feature that lends the historic 
interest to "The Old Ci-owd.'' Its inception 
was in the desire to call back to ^It. Clemens 
the boys who before the war and earlier had 
called Mt. Clemens their home, but who had 
wandei'ed away and located elsewhere, and to 
gather together with them the companions of 
their youth, for a good social reunion. As 
was natural their thoughts turned to the lake, 
the scene of so many of the happy times they 
had had together. Without any formal or- 
ganization Ed Weeks, Jim Eldredge, Hank 
Conner, Geo. Robertson and a few other con- 
genial spirits issued the call in the summer 
of 1880. and Jeff West, Fred Lewis, Ed 
Shook and many another old Mt. Clemensite 
heard and answered. At the reunion were 
Tom, Dick, Harry, Wally, Jake, Bob, but no 
IMisters. And every year since then have met 
such as coiild of the Old Crowd, taking with 
them each year a few newer members whom 
time aiul life in Mt. Clemens had qualified 
for membership. Xow one must be at least 
forty years of age, have lived in Mt. Clemens 
at least twenty-five years ago, or else, be the 
son of .such a resident, before he is eligible 
to election to the chosen band. James B. 
Eldredge was the first chairman and Edgar 
AVeeks the first secretary of the organization, 
which was not foi-mally perfected until 1883. 
It is doubtfid if just such another successful 
organization can be found iu the country. It 
has stood the loss of many if not most of its 
original active members but the waiting list 
of ajjplicants exceeds each year the number 
of vacancies, for its nuMubership is limited. 
The officers elected at the August, 1905, 
meeting are as follows: President, Jim 
Tucker; Vice-President, Mart Crocker; Sec- 



6i8 



PAST AND PRESENT OF IMACOMB COUNTY 



ivtar.v, Timi Slioeinaker; Treasurer, Sam 
Donaldson; Executive Committee, Alex Ja- 
eubi, -lohn Westendorf, Rube Ullrich, Bill 
ilcSweeny, and John Tucker; Chaplain, Ed 
Shook; Fish Locator, Paul J. Ullrich; Ser- 
geant-at-arms, Sam Trew ; Drum Boss, Geo. 
Fletcher. This year aud in 1900, the twenty- 
fifth and twentieth anniversaries respectively 
of the organization, the wives aud lady 
friends of the members accompanied them. 

Two calamities have fallen \ipon the com- 
munity of ilt. Clemens, which will merit 
more than a passing notice. April 27th, 1881, 
four of ]\rt. Clemens' most respected citizens, 
George H. Snook, the son of James Snook, 
long time i)ostmaster of the place. Dr. W. D. 
Decker, Charles AVood and ^lorey Axtell, bor- 
rowing a small boat from "William Tucker, 
ventui'ed out into the lake and crossed it to 
Strawberry Island. On their return they 
were caught in a sudden squall and probably 
capsized by running ice. It was not until 
three days later that any of the bodies were 
I'ceovered, and not luitil over a month later 
that the la.st of the bodies were recovered. 
The respect and atfection with whicli the vic- 
tims to this disaster and their families were 
held by the entire community was such that a 
deep gloom was cast over the entire city which 
time alone lightened. 

May 25th, 1S!)(), at about eight o'clock in 
the evening, a terrific cyclone struck across 
the eastern part of the city and unroofed 
many houses, completely destroyed some, 
ti])ped over others and caused those peculiar 
and unexplicable works of ruin which those 
storms always bring. The house of ilrs. 
Dominicus Pohl was reduced to a mass of 
s])liuters aud she and her three children were 
liuried in the ruins. Henry was quite seri- 
ously injured, William suffered from a broken 
leg and ]\Irs. Pohl herself received such se- 
vere injuries that she shoi'tly died from the 
effects of them. Airs. Escheuburg, although 
escai)ing from direct injui'ies of the storui. 
was so affected that she died from heart fail- 
ure the following day. The storm entered the 
county in the town.ship of Sterling and did a 
gi'cat deal of damage there, destroying the 
town hall and doing great injury to the houses 
of "Wurzell and Clemens, besides innnense 
danuiges to the timber, crops antl minor 
buildiims. East from the city the terrific 
stoi-m took its destructive course, moving 
down the banks of the river. In the settle- 
ment about the house of Capt. Louis Charbe- 
iieau, five houses and four barns were prac- 
ticallv ruinrd .incl nt llii' Dnlac shipvMi'(l a 



peculiar freak of picking up a steam pump 
weighing nearly four hundred pounds and de- 
jjositing the same in the river took place, with- 
out any serious effects occurring to the build- 
ings and trees in the immediate neighborhood. 
The house, barns and orchard of John Irwin 
and of Joseph Xoeker on the north side of the 
river were practically destroyed aiul nearly 
every farmer from that i)oint to the mouth 
of the river suffered severe losses. It was 
estinuited that fully .$100,000.00 damage was 
worked by the destructive storm in the coun- 
ty. A subscription was immediately started 
and very liberal contributions were made by 
the more fortiuiate members of the commu- 
nity and about $."),()( )(),()() was used to relieve 
the immediate suffei'ing and losses of the vic- 
tims of the storm. 

The press is represented in Alt. Clemens at 
present by the Alt. Clemens Alouitor, pub- 
lished by J. E. Xellis & Son, the Alt. Clemens 
Press, published by Samuel C. Price, and the 
Daily Leader, also published by Air. Prici^ in 
the same office with the Press. 

The Alt. Clemens Press had its oi'igin in the 
old Alacomb Conservative Press which was 
established in 1863 by a stock company. The 
material was mostly purchased second hand 
and was i)robal)ly the remnants of the plant 
of the Peninsular Advocate established in the 
year 1854 by George F. Lewis. The Press has 
always been a Democratic paper and was con- 
ducted for some time by James B. Eldredge 
and AVilliam Longstaff. About 1868 it passed 
into the hands of John Trevidick, who, prior 
to that time, had been the practical head of 
the office work. He adopted the name at 
present carried by the paper. On Alay 1st, 
1878, Spencer B. Russell became the editor 
aud proprietor of the i)aper and by him and 
his brother, H. E. Russell, the paper was is- 
sued until 1888. For a year thereafter the 
jiaper was run by AV. J. Alorris. Fred Buzzell 
also was editor of the paper for one year 
prior to its purchase by J. Ashley Keith in 
1890. Fi-om Air. Keith the jilnnt and paper 
was i)m'chased Nov. 1st, 1900, by the Press 
Pulilishing Co., and the plant was then taken 
in charge and since handled liy Samuel C. 
Price, the ])resent editor and pro|)i'ietor. 

Alarch Kith, 1899, AA'. J. Alorris and Henry 
E. Hussell made the first exjieriment of a 
daily papei- in Alt. Clemens by beginning the 
issuing of the Penny Leadei-. Jiuie 1st Air. 
Russell severed his connection with the enter- 
prise and the paper was continued by Air. 
Alorris alone until Alai-ch 1st, 1902, when it 
was sold 1o Sannii'l C. Pricr and has since 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rAro:\rB rOT'XTY 



619 



been issued by him and has proved a great 
success. The name was changed to the Daily 
Leader bv .Mr. Morris before he sold to Mr. 
Price. 

The -Mt. Clemens Monitdr was the successor 
of the Republican Standard, to which name 
\Viliiam J. (yuntield chantred the ilacomb 
(jazette when he purchased it. In 18tib .Mr. 
Canfield sold the Standard to Edgar Weeks 
and Walter T. Lee, who enlarged it and 
started it out as the ilt. Clemens Jlonitor. 
under which name it has ever since continued 
its successful career. Mr. Weeks retired from 
his connection with the paper in lf<61 and Mr. 
Lee continued the issuance uutil he sold to U. 
il. Cooper. After passing through the hands 
of several, who remained connected with the 
paper only a short time, the Monitor in 
^larch. 1S79. was purcluised by John E. Xellis 
& Son. who have ever since had charge of the 
l)aper. Under their management the paper 
has been a progressive and consistent Repub- 
lican sheet and an important factor in the 
Republican politics in the county. Since the 
death of John E. Xellis, in 1904' the ^Monitor 
lias been managed by Frank E. Xellis. 

Among the earlier papers published at Mt. 
Clemens was the Statesman started in 1840 
by a ^Ir. Avery. After a short time he was 
succeeded by 'Slv. Brown referred to in the 
early history of the village and later by John 
X. Ingersoll. The Statesman was a lively and 
progressive paper and intensely Whig in its 
partisanship. The next paper of that political 
l)ersuasion was the I\Iacomb County Herald, 
started in 1848 or 1849 by Fred F. Lewis, and 
edited by Richard Butler. In about 1850 it 
was purchased by Fred B. Lee, son of Dr. 
Lee, and published by him for about one year 
when it was sold to Thomas M. Perry iinder 
whose administration the paper ceased upon 
the complete destruction of its office by fire. 

Tlie ^lacomb (iazette. started by Allen P. 
Bentley in about 1849 or 1850, was Democratic 
in politics and so continued until its passing 
in 18r)f). Abner C. Smith, one of the earlier 
attorneys, was for some time in charge of the 
otTice of the C!azette. The outfit of the 
(Iazette was i)urchased by ;\Ir. Canfield at the 
time he (>stab]is]icd the He]>ublican Standard. 

In about 1840 Thomas M. Perry came to 
irt. Clemens with printing material and com- 
menced, in the old frame building known as 
the Lewis building on the site of the present 
county .jail, the ])ublication of the ]Mt. Clem- 
ens Pati-iot. ^Ir. Perry was a man of more 
than Di'dinary ability, and j)ossessed of a re- 
marlcablc nmouid of pugnacity and tenacity. 



A practii-al printer, he was also an able editor. 
The I'atriot was afterwards moved to an of- 
fice on Pearl street, now Xorth Gratiot ave- 
nue, whei'c it was burned. In about 1854 
I'^reil F. Lewis ])rought with him from Port 
Huron the e(|uiimient of a ncwsi)aper office 
and from the Ijcviathan block issued the 
Peninsular Advocate, which ceaseil to appear 
upon the removal of Mr. Lewis to Saginaw. 
The Advocate was practically the predecessor 
of the Conservative Press, now the Mt. Clem- 
ens Press. In 1872 Louis ^1. ^liller estab- 
lished a paper called the Reporter, which, 
iiowever, was short lived. A short time prior 
to October, 1880, Walter T. Lee established 
the -Mt. Clemens True Record, which contin- 
ued under the management of W^illiam N. Mil- 
ler & Company for a nmuber of .years. 
Among the later newspaper ventures which 
failed to attain old age was the ;\lt. (Siemens 
Advei-tiser. which was run by Henry E. Rus- 
sell and A. A. Devantier, John .Aliller and 
others for some time. In connection w'ith the 
Advertiser, the Daily Advertiser was estab- 
lished, which was later continued for a short 
time under the name of the Daily Xews. 

Mt. Clemens has churches repi'escuting the 
Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist Epis- 
copal, German Evangelical, German Luther- 
an, Protestant Episcopal and Presbyterian 
denominations. The Catholic church being 
the earliest established in the county, was 
represented as early as 1799 by a mission es- 
tablished by the Rev. (iabriel Richard on 
L"Anse Creuse Bay. Some time later a 
chapel was built on the Clinton River about 
three miles east of Mt. Clemens, where serv- 
ices were held regulai-ly by the Rev. Fr. De- 
.lean. Sub.sequently Christian Clemens 
granted a lot to every religious denomination 
for the jMirpose of erecting a church in the 
village and thither the little chui'ch from the 
Clinton River was moved. Rev. Fr. Kenny, 
the first resident priest in ilt. Clemens, came 
in 1843. He has been followed by Abbe 
Maret, Frs. Gilroy, Kendekins, Van Renther- 
ghem. .Alaes. Ryckert, Van Iloomissen. and 
Father Ki'nnedy. The Society is the owner 
of a handsome bi'ick church, a fine rectory, a 
Sistci-s" home and a large substantial l)rick 
school building, where a most successful and 
well attended school is conducted. 

The Methodist Episcopal church was organ- 
ized about 1820. although the formal organ- 
ization of the Society was not jierfected until 
October. 1836. The church building was 
erected in 1841, which gave way about 1882 
to the present church situated on the corner 



620 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACO:\IB COUNTY 



of Cass and South Walnut streets. The So- 
ciety is a large and flourishinsr one and is now 
under the supervision of the Rev. J. I. Nicker- 
son. 

May -1th. 1835, the First Presbyterian 
church was formally organized under the 
charge of the Rev. "SI. Eastman. Services were 
held in the old log courthouse or other church 
buildings until about 18-11 when the building 
was erected. In lS-l-1 a division took place 
and the minority of the Society formed a 
Congregational church and erected and occu- 
pied the church Ijuilding later occupied for 
many years by the Presbj'terians on the cor- 
ner of "Walnut and New streets. Upon the 
purchase of this site by the Chamber of Com- 
merce in 1892. this building was sold and 
removed to Pine street where it is now used 
as a warehouse by S. J. Dalby. Under Rev. 
Thomas Foster, who acted as pastor from 
about 18-15 to 1849, the Congregationalists 
and Presbji;erians again united in worship 
in the church on the corner of Walnut and 
New streets. ]\Ir. F'oster was succeeded by 
the Rev. George Newcomb. and he by the 
Rev. Henry N. Bissell who remained in 
charge of the church for twenty-four years. 
In 1892 the society erected the present hand- 
some brick structure on the corner of New 
and Cherry streets. The society is now un- 
der the pastorate of Rev. John Kennedy. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church was first 
established in ;\It. Clemens in 1849, services 
being held in the courthouse until the erection 
of the present church on the corner of South 
Gratiot avenue and Church street, which was 
dedicated in 1870. Since its erection the fol- 
lowing reverend gentlemen have officiated as 
rectors of the parish : Woodward, Martin, 
Skinner. Pierson. Rafter. Dubois, Webb and 
Lewis. 

The Baptist church was oi'ganized October 
17th, 1834, with an enrollment of thirteen 
members. The first regularly ordained pastor 
was the Rev. John Booth. Like the most of 
the other religious organizations, its early 
meetings were held in the courthouse. In 
1843, however, the present church structure 
was erected. The church is at pi-esent under 
the care of the Rev. John C. MacDonald. 

The German Evangelical Society held its 
meetings in the courthouse or in the homes of 
the members of the Society from 1847 to 1862, 
at which latter time they purchased the frame 
building standing on the cornor of New and 
Pine streets, which was erected in 1835 for 
school purposes, and which had been, just 
prior to their purchase, used as training bar- 



racks. The building was refitted and made 
suitable for church services and a school 
room, and used by the Society until December, 
1880. In the meantime, in 1870. a parsonage 
was erected upon the adjoining lot. In 1880 
a substantial brick structure was erected at 
a cost of about $9,000.00, which has since been 
nearly doubled in seating capacity. The So- 
ciety for a great many years had the benefit 
of the i)astorateship of the Rev. Herman Gun- 
dert. whose hold upon the affections of his 
parishiiiners and as well the community at 
large is remarkable. The Society is now un- 
der the charge of the Rev. Frederick A. 
Roese. 

The German Lutheran Church was estab- 
lished iu 1885. and has erected a substantial 
church edifice, rectory and schoolhouse on 
Dickinson avenue in the city. The first church 
building was dedicated September (jth. 1885, 
and the present church was dedicated Novem- 
ber 4. 1900. The Society incorporated May 
17. 1900. Rev. Theodore H. Engelder is at 
present pastor of the church, having been 
such since November 9, 1900. 

The most important enterprises of Mt. 
Clemens are associated with its mineral water. 
The original well was put down iu 1865 for 
the purpose of obtaining brine for the manu- 
facture of salt. At this time a corporation 
with a capital stock of $100,000.00 was organ- 
ized and the manufacture of salt carried on 
for about five years, though at a disadvantage, 
owing to the large proportion of foreign 
minerals existing in the water, and as well 
the successful competition in salt manufac- 
ture by the salt blocks of the Saginaw district 
where much cheaper fuel could be obtained. 
The discovery of the medicinal properties of 
the water in about 1870 soon led to the 
abandonment of the salt industry and the 
use of the water for bathing purposes. Dorr 
Kellogg, still a resideut of the city, then the 
nmnager of a flour mill on the corner of 
Market and Front streets on the river bank, 
connueiu-ed the use of this water for the bene- 
fit of its medicinal qualities in October, 1870, 
and fi'Diu the benefits derived by him and 
Mr. Troml)ley, the idea soon became prevalent 
that the water possessed much greater value 
for its curative qualities than for salt manu- 
facture. Soon after a small bath house was 
erected fi-om moneys obtained by contribution 
from various citizens and under the manage- 
ment of Dr. Henry Taylor and Son. the first 
bath house was opened on the corner of Water 
and Jones streets. From this modest start 
has grown up the immense bathing interests 



i'AST AND i'KESEXT OF .MACU.Mli CUUXTY 



621 



of ^It. Cli'mcns wliii-li call to it our tens of 
thousands of visitoi's annually, who find un- 
failinsi' relief in its eui-ative waters. The de- 
tails of the growth of the various hotels and 
bath houses in the city are set forth in bio- 
graphical sketches of the work, and need not 
be here repeated. It is impossible to estimate 
the benefit which ilt. Clemens has derived 
from these baths and the hotels and boarding 
houses. spriug:s and other enterprises which 
have grown up in connection with the bathing 
industry. The nine bath hoiises of the city 
have been established in the following order: 
Original, Medea, Fountain, Park, Clementine, 
Colonial. St. Joseph, Plaza and Olympia. To 
recount the history of the various hotels, 
large and small, which since the construction 
of the Avery House, the first of our non- 
commercial hotels, to the handsome, five story 
brick new ]\Iedea Hotel finished this past 
year, would be impossible. To attempt dis- 
crimination and to tell of some of them would 
be ungracious and unfair. Sufficient it to 
say that no western resort can boast of better 
hotel accommodations nor of greater eager- 
ness to provide for the comfoi't and conveni- 
ence of its visitors than does Mt. Clemens, and 
to no one of them does the visitor return more 
frequently, nor receive greater benefit. Those 
who have watched the growth of the loathing 
industry in ^It. Clemens the closest have the 
greatest confidence in its future, and look for- 
ward to the day when we shall have thou- 
sands of visitors where today we have 
hundreds. Ma.v their hopes be truthful 
prophecies ! 



CHAPTER X. 



TOW.NSIIII' OF CLINTON'. 

'I'lic liistory III' lliis township is so inti- 
malely connected with the histoi'y of ~Mt. 
Clemens and witli the taking ii]) of the pri- 
vate claims that a large ])ortion of its early 
history has already been related in the chap- 
ters touching those subjects and in the chap- 
ter of the Moravian settlement. A little yet, 
however, remains to be told of some of the 
earlier settlers, and much might be written 
of the villages which in a little later day 
were started in the township. 

North of .Mt. Clemens in 1821, Alfred Ash- 
ley began a clearing on the North Branch, 
and, together with Horace Cady. who came 
from Genesee county and took up lands in 
Macomb ad.ioining. built a dam and erected 
a saw mill, which .Mr. ('ady ran during the 
winter of 1S"J1-"J. This mill was located on 



the site of the jiresent Dcnewith mill and 
has been called Ashley's .Mills and Haskin's 
.Mills. This is located really on the .Macomb 
side of th<' town line. Tn \><'2'2. a sufficient 
addition was Iniilt tn acciiminiKlatc a run of 
st(Uie for a i;rist iriill. 

In .June. is:n. Peter Alwnod came to Mt. 
Clemens from (Jenesee county, N. V.. and be- 
gan a clearing on the farm on the northeast 
corner of the township, later known as the 
Kdgei'ly fai'm and still later as the Israel 
T. Parker farm, lie built a log house which 
stood until liS:53. In the Fall, liis family 
came on from Canada, coming up the Lake 
Shoi-e from Detroit and finding the home by 
a blazed Uno through the foi'est. ]\Ir. At- 
wood and his family have ])layeil no small 
l)ai-t in the history of this locality. A more 
detailed mention of his family will be found 
in another chapter. His wife was the widow 
of Joseph Cad.v, a native of Windham, Ct.. 
who died in Cincinnati in 18l)7. With Mr. 
and -Mrs. Atwood came three of the children 
of Joseph Cady. vi/,.. Chauncey G. Cady, 
Horace H. Cady and J.iucy, who afterwai-ds 
married Silas Halsey. Peter Atwood died 
in 1826 and the farm was later sold to James 
C. Edgerly who made his home there \uitil 
his death, November 13th, ISofi. Another 
beginning on the turnpike was made by Hez- 
ekiah Canfield on the projierty next north 
of the ])resent city limits. 

To the southwest of 'Sit. Clemens, the eai-li- 
est settlements, outside of Frederick ai'e be- 
lieved to be those of the Saekett and Jliller 
families on the south In-anch and Red Run. 
Lemuel Saekett and John Miller, his father- 
in-law came from ]\Ionroe county. N. Y., in 
1828 and selected spots upon the opposite 
banks of the South Branch. The following 
year, ilr. Saekett moved his family up the 
river on a sailboat (the HarrieCi, towed by 
one horse, ("apt. Atwood. connnander. After 
stojiping five days at the Ashley Tavern, 
they occupied a log house at Frederick until 
their own was ready in December. Their 
nearest neighbors on the same side of the 
river were at I'tica and Fi'edei'i<'k. -lohn Mil- 
ler was born \n Scotlanil and came and select- 
ed his home in Clinton at the sanu> time that 
Ijcmuel Sack-ett did. but did not move here 
with his family until a year nr twn lati-r. 
Dykes .Miller, tor a long time i>romiiient in 
that section, was one of his sons and nuiny 
of his descendants are still residents i>\' the 
county. 

.\s has bei'u noted before, a Mr. Tremble 
built a mill at Fi-ederick before the War of 



622 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUiNTY 



1812, and Job C. Smith built imothi'i- our in 
1826. The wati-r from the mill race whieli 
he had dug, undei-mined the mill and tijipcil 
it over into the race. Later Lautius llaskin 
came to this country in 1829, bought the 
wheel and crank and ])ut them into liis own 
mill. 

Of the Sackett family, four brothers came 
into the county from New York state, al- 
though originally from Connecticut, ami 
each took up a large tract of land in the 
southeastern part of Clinton and there made 
their permanent homes. Of these Xoahdiah 
erected the first grist mill at Frederick and 
also operated in connection with it, a saw 
mill, which was built near the site of the 
Tremble mill. He had been a teacher iu liis 
eastern home and contiinu>d that work to 
some extent here. His son, George S. Sack- 
ett, was active in his a.ssistanee. The de- 
scendants of Xoahdiah Sackett and Daniel 
Saekett seemed to have all drifted awa.v 
from the county. The families of Lenuiel 
and Ralph Sackett, however, remained and 
have taken an active part in the affairs of 
the county. .More extended notice of them 
will be found elsewhere. 

In 1835, Horace Steevens purchased the 
holdings of Xoahdiah Sackett in the mill 
property and the dam across the river at- 
tached to i1. .Ml'. Steevens came to this coun- 
try from t'lainiiont (now Red-Hook-on-thc- 
Iludson), Columbia County. X. Y., where the 
family had for a long time been living on 
the far famed Livingston nuuior. Frederick 
S. Steevens, a brother, luul come to Detroit 
in about 1824 and became fiiuincially inter- 
ested in the Sackett mill ])roperty and lands 
thereabout. The Steevens brothers deve!o|)- 
ed the mill and made it a market not only for 
the wheat gi-own in the vicinity, but for 
wheat brought even from Canada. Tliey 
held the mill \uitil about 1839. when through 
the fact that Kre.lerick ij. Steevens was con- 
nected Willi till' Jliehigaii State Hank and 
had secured loans upon the mill property 
from the Baid\, the mill property passed 
into the hands of tlie State in con- 
nection with the other assets of the Bank. 
Luring tiie Steevens iiolding of the pi'o|ierty. 
however, Alexander H. McKinstrey. later 
Pension Agent at Detmit and General in the 
United States AriTiy. had been one nf the 
.ioint-owners. 

The State held the i)ropei-ty dui'ing the 
time when active work was being ilone ujion 
the biulding of the canal, and at one tinu' an- 
tieipate<l nuiking a pi'ofitable jjroperty out 



of the same to be operateil in connection 
witli the caiud. When it became apparent 
that the canal was to be a failure and con- 
stant exiiense of repairs, and the officials 
satisfied that the mill property itself was 
to be non-productive to the state, efforts 
were made to ilispose of the projierty. For 
two years after the state took the title, the 
property produced no revenue, but was op- 
erated by .Mr. David French of Detroit. The 
Auditor General of the State on January 
1:7th, 1842, reported that improvements were 
under way at the time the property was 
turned over by the state bank and it was 
found that in all i)robabilit.\' unless the im- 
provements were completed, tlii' mills would 
go to ruin and an arrangement was made 
with French, who had been superintending 
the improvements up to that time to com- 
plete the same under the arrangement that 
lie, French, should have the use of the mills 
a sufficient time to reimburse himself. Sub- 
se(piently the waters ate aroiuid the end of 
the dam at the time of a freshet and Mr. 
French was emi)loyed by the Board of Com- 
missioners on Internal Improvements to con- 
struct a new dam across the river, sufficient- 
l\- large to answer the purposes of the caiuil 
and mill both. Since the state took title to 
tile land, the grist mill had been operated 
about (Uie-half of the time, and was in good 
repjiii'. The saw mill, however, was out of 
repair and iiad been so for the entire period. 
Till' .VuHitoi- (ieperal also reported that he 
has leaseil the mill lor !fi.2()().()() p.er annum 
"to an individual who lost his life on i)oard 
the Erie while <ui his way to take possession 
of the premises. In this contract, he was to 
repair both mills and deduct the cost of the 
rent * * * 1 liMve no doubt that it is for 
the interest of the state to rent it until a more 
favorable time shall arrive for sale. Thci-e 
were about five hundred acres of land Ix'sides 
which might be rented sei)arately. about sixty 
acres of which are under improvement,"" .\ 
synopsis of a report from Mr. French. Avhich 
appears with tiie Auditor Genei-aPs re])ort, 
shows that tile total cost of rei)airs up to 
June Isl. 1842, aiiKuinted to .$3,198.20, 
and that iiis charges for services were 
+.')12.4ti. That the receipts of the mill had 
amounted to $2,274.28. .\eeording to a re- 
port made in 1844 by tlu' Trustees of the 
assets of the Hank, ('. G. Hammond. .1. J. 
.Vdams, and K. P. Eldredge (slate officials 
who occupied the |iositions of Trustees ex 
ofificio), it appears that uiion the final settle- 
ment with Mr. French, there was still due 



PAST AND I'RKSFA'T OF .MACOMU CorXTV 



623 



liiiji oil aet;<juiil oi' his cxin'iuliturcs uiul serv- 
ices nearly a thousand chillars over the re- 
ceipts, and that wlieii the Trustees took pos- 
session of the property in 1S-1"J, it was neces- 
sary to repair the new dam at an expense of 
over ^oOO.Od. That the fresliet of 184:i ai^ain 
carried away 35.000 yards of earth around 
the head •iates of the mill, and the mill hein^ 
valueless until this breach was repaired, up- 
wards of .^1, 100. 00 additional exjiense was 
incui-red. Accordiiiiiiy, tiie Trustees at once 
took steps lookint;- to the disjiosal of the prop- 
erty since it "lia.l already cost the state 
more than it was wurtli. and so Ioiil; as it 
remained its property, eonsuiiied more than 
its income.'" The property was leased to 
Kibbee (Porter) and Saek'ett (Thomas L.) 
for three years commencing- Ai)ril l.'jtli, 1S4"J. 
At the sale of state hinds at Marshall in 
July. l^-i'S. the property was ofl'ered for 
sale, but no bids obtained for it. .\ii ap- 
praisal had been made of the property at the 
sum of -to. 000. 00. includiui;' the adjoining' 
lands above referred to. .\ftei' tlie .Inly 
sale, "the trustees beint;' of the opinioii that 
the true interests of the state required a sale 
previous to another sprini;- freshet."" made a 
second appraisal, includini;' it in 128 acres of 
land south of the eanal and 71 acres north 
of the iiiillbraiich. and offered tlie propei-ty. 
iiudiidiiiir this unimproved hind, I'm- 
:f'.").(IO().('0. I'lider this second aiipraisal, tin.' 
property was disposed of to Samuel Lewis. 
who, however, before receiviii.i>' the deed, dis- 
posed of his rights to Porter and Henry ('. 
Kibbee, subject to the payment of the (dainix 
for repairs, and subject to the terms of the 
Kibbee and Sackett lease and the liabilit.v 
of the state to keej) up the repairs durintr 
that lease, and subject also to the (dnims cd:' 
one Daniel Thurston for damau'es on accinint 
of the construction of tlie new dam. This 
land was offered at the time of the sale of 
school lands at Mt. Clemens in October, 184:!, 
and notice of it given in the Detroit Free 
Press and IMt. Clemens Patriot. 

The trustees were evidently subjected to 
some criticism over the sale since tlii'y were 
explicit in theii' report to [loint out that 
amjile o|)portunity was given evi'ryone to 
])ur(diase, and that no liighei' bids eoidd be 
olitaiiied; that the jiroperty luul been and 
would continue to be a burden to th(> state. 
They further reportetl that they considereil 
the state fortunate in effecting a sale, and 
that in their opinion, the prtiperty brought 
all that it was worth to any man, they bidng 
■■confirmed in that oiiinion by the fact that 



with the exception (d' .Mr. Kibbee, not (uie 
individual id' .Macomb county, where the 
jn-operty was known and apiireciated. 
deemed it an object to be at the sale. All 
the business men (d' capital and enterprise 
of Mt. Clemens in the vicinity of the prop- 
erty knew of the sale, but none was jn-esent ; 
and even .Mr. Kibbee, the lessee, who had 
every facility to know the true value of the 
jiroperty would not bid a greater price than 
the ])urcliaser jiaid. " 

The firm of I\ibbei\ Ki'lly & Co, ran the 
mill frimi 1S4:i until they sold to Thompson, 
Hart it ( '". The former lirui, iiunle up of 
Porter and Henry Kibbee and Isaac Kelly, 
father of Henry Kc lly of ]Mt. Clemens, built 
a new grist iidll, and the Kibbees after they 
had inircdiased the interest of Kelly, built a 
second saw mill. During the time the mills 
were operated by the Kibbees, they were 
most successful, and '■Kibbees" ilills" was 
the market for immense crops of wheat then 
raised on tlu' plains of the western part of 
the county, and Frederick was the busiest 
market and shiiiping point in the county. 

Horace Steeveiis and his family had moved 
after the sale of their interests in the mill to 
I'ontiac, but I'etiirned to Frederick in 1847, 
where he died in 1840. 

In .luiie. 18:i7, Frederi(d< II. and Horace 
Steevens had platted the Village of Freder- 
ick, including all the lands iiudnded in the 
big oxbow bend formeil by the river and 
the south branch, and miudi of the land ly- 
ing on the Komeo I'l.ink and River Roads. 
A bridge appears just above the mill race, 
a little further uji the rivi'r than the present 
Hacker bridge. Three other bridges ajipear 
to have been ])laiined across the river. The 
site of the mill is indicatetl directly opposite 
the road which now runs north from the 
Ikuiic of llajor Jenney. whicdi road on the 
map was continued southerly towards De- 
troit, probably about along the line of the 
ohl ^Moravian Road. In the southern jiart of 
the plat apjiears, about where is now the 
road that crosses Harrington's Creek, some- 
times spoken of as the (ilen Road, a highway 
marked '•road to Lake St. Clair." The Little 
l\oad running north was marked "road to 
St. Clair. " The Shelby Road (Cass avenue) 
also appears as does a road close to the river 
bank. whi(di is marked as road to Mt. Clem- 
ens. The site of tlu' saw mill on the north 
bank i>\' the mill race is markeil directly op- 
])osite till' flouring null. .Vnother mill site 
and yard are markeil just at tlu' siiarp turn 
ill the south branch neai' tlii' high bank on 



624 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOilB COUNTY 



the KivL'i- road. Another suggestion of the 
dreams of the proprietors is contained in the 
lines marked "railroad from Frederick to 
Lake St. Clair foui' miles"' and "projiosed 
railroad to intersect the Utica & Detroit 
Railroad.'' During the excitement over the 
proposed canal, a large hotel was built as a 
private enterprise by Engineer Hurd on a lot 
close to where the canal was expected to 
ero.ss the south brancli to the main river, and 
many lots were auctioned off in Detroit to 
land speculators. This hotel was rented 
later for school and a store was also run in 
a portion of it, at one time. 

Tlie firm of Thompson. Hart & Co., was 
made up of men from Butfalo and Black 
Rock, N. Y. They operated tlu^ mills luitil 
they were burned in 1852. ^Ir. Thompson 
was the man on the ground in charge of the 
property. The mill at the time was idle, hut 
a large stock of Hour was still stored in it. 
The origin of the fire remained a m.ystery. 
From Henry H. Steeveus. the writer has 
obtained the following as his memor.v of 
the buildings in Frederick in 18-47. The 
grist mill, two saw mills, pump factory, a 
chair factory, a large store house (old mill 
building), a cooper shop where nine coopers 
were employed, a grocery lu^ar the mill, two 
blacksmith shops. Judge Steevens' large 
house built in 1837 (now the home of ]Ma.ior 
Jenney), the hotel which, however, was not 
used as a hotel until after the new dam was 
built when it was occupied by Ralph Sack- 
elt, tile dwellings of the families of Whis- 
low. Hancock and Brandy (father of the 
late Alvin Brandy of ilt. Clemens), and sev- 
eral more cottages which were located near 
the Harrington house, now the home of Isaac 
Williams. The new saw mill ran for several 
years after the burning of the grist mill, but 
the glory of Frederick had dej)arted. 

Another lost village of Clinton is Mnrcei- 
Ins, ]>latted by (ireen Freeman in 1838 along 
eacii side of Hie (Jratiot Turnpike on the 
south biink of the Clinton. Ha,yes street 
along the river east of Gratiot divided the 
"Mill Pi'operty'' into two sections and the 
otliri' lil'ly-six lots were platted along Canal, 
(iicen. Cliurch and (Iratiot sti'eets. The site 
was i)art of the farm loeated b.v Joseph 
Hayes, who eimie there in 1819, and re- 
mained until his dralh in .Vuizust, 1845. His 
sdii, John, also lived and (lie(l there. One 
daughter. Elizabeth, iiiari'ied March 1st, 
1831. ('apt. James C. .Mien, ste|)son of Chris- 
tian ('lemens, anil was the mothei- of ^larv, 
the first wife of Fred Lewis (son of William 



Lewis, and later prominent in uews])aper 
circles of the Saginaw Valley), and of Ma- 
tilda, wife of Andrew S. Robertson, whilom 
one of Mt. Clemens' most i)rominent attor- 
neys. Another daughter, Abagail, in 1827, 
married Richard Butler, one of ;\It. Clemens' 
earliets lawyers and was the mother of Mil- 
ton K. Butler. 

The Village of Marcellus never attained 
nuich metroi)olitan airs, although it once 
boasted of a .saw mill, a store and black- 
smith shop and asjiired to be a station on 
the Frederick and Lake St. Clair Railroad. 

Cad.v is the postoffice of a settlement that 
grew up around the crossing of the Detroit 
& Utica Plank Road b.v the River Road from 
ilt. Clemens thronijh Frederick to the smith- 
west part of the county. It was so named be- 
cause the residence of Chauncey G. Cadj' 
was near by. It has for years had a store 
and tavern, and for sometime a milk station, 
which has afforded an additional di-awing 
card for the surroundini;- farmers. 

The City of Warsaw ])lattetl liy Leander 
Tronitile about the depot griumds of the new 
Grand Trunk Railroad in August of 1862 
soon became, as it properly should, a jiart of 
]\It. Clemens. 

Among the early settlers of the township 
who bought government lands, besides those 
alread.v referred to, were Jesse Ferris in sec- 
tion 1 in 1830; the Fox and Williams fami- 
lies in sections 8 and 9 ; George and Allen ]Mc- 
Coniber, who bought in section 28 in 1835, 
and in section 29 in 1831 respectivel.v ; Bar- 
nard Sweeney in secti<Hi 31 in 1835; Evert 
J. Walderon in section 32 in 1834; and Vin- 
son Seel.ve (father of Mrs. Frank Rutter of 
i\It. Clemens), in section 34: in 18:?5. 

The schools of Clinton Township are now 
well provided, for in seven districts aside 
from .Mt. Clemens District, with i)i-oi)ert.v es- 
timated worth $7,15(100. .$2,458.00 was ex- 
pended for educational purposes in 1904. 
The Directors in the various districts in 
1905 are Robert Fox, Arthur Fox, Julius 
Kandt. Charles Faulman, Fred Hummel, 
Charles Lodewick and Eugene ^louilleseaux. 

Supervisors of Clinton Township have 
been. Job C. Smith. 1827; James Connor, 
1828; Harvey Cook, 1S2!I; John Stockton. 
1830-32; Christian Clemens, 1833-34; Rodney 
O. Coolev. 1835; Richard Butler, 183(i ; Rod- 
ney 0. Cooley, 1837; Richard Butler, 1838; 
Preseott B. Thurston, 1839; Chauncey G. 
Cadv, 1840; Isaac J. (irovier. 1841; Richard 
Butier, 1842; Porter Kibbee, 1843-44; David 
Shook, 1845-8: Andrew S. Robertson. 1849; 



PAST AND TKESEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



625 



Chiirles H. Carey. 1S50: Cliauiu'cy (i. Cady, 
IS.")! : "Westley Iliuniaii. 18.")2-;5; Lt'iuucl Sack- 
ctt, 1854-0: Andrew S. liohertson, 185(i; 
John I. Traver, 1857-8; Thomas L. SaeUett, 
185!)-til : Joshua B. Dickenson, 1862 ; Au^rust 
Czizek. 1863-1:: Thos. L. Saekett, 1865-7: 
Jolm I. Traver, 18()8 : Thomas L. Saekett, 
1869: (ieorge AV. Kobertson. 1870-74: .Jud- 
son S. Farrar, 1875-78: Alfred W. Litth'. 
1S7!I; William A. Rowley, 1880-8L>; .lohn 
I'riehs. 1883-90; Wm. Kowiey, 1891-4: Henry 
Cadow, 1895-8 ; Otto Duekwitz, 1899-1905. 

The Clerks of the townsliip luive been 
Thos. Ashkn- and Alfred Ashley, 18li7; Rob- 
ert P. Eldredge, 1828 ; Riehard Butler, 1829- 
31 ; Rodney O. Cooley, 1832-34 ; Elisha L. At- 
kins. 1835: Preseott B. Thurston, 1836-38; 
Henry D. Terry, 1839: Tra Stout, 1840-41; 
Ciles Hubbard. 1842; Ira Stout, 1843-45; An- 
drew S. Roliertsdii, 1846; Sam B. Axtell. 
1847 ; Jesse Kibbee, 1848 ; Edward Fishpool, 
1849-50: George Scott (father of Capt. Syd 
Scott), 1851-56; Charles B. Lee, 1857; Theo. 
O. Leonard, 1858: (ieorge Scott, 1859-60: 
Abi'am Wise. 1861; (ieorge Seott, 1862-65; 
Charles Wood, 1866; F. H. Bentley, 1867; 
(ieorge Pelton, 1868-70; John Trevidick, 
1871; Henry W. Babcock, 1872-78; Joseph 
Immeus, 1879 ; Leslie H. Duncan, 1880 ; John 
T. Weiss, 1881-84; Robert E. Miller, 1885-86; 
•lohii Charbeneau, 1887: Alfred W. Litth'. 
1888-92; John H. Rector, 1893-4; Peter S. 
(Ireiner. 1895-97; Louis Priehs, 1898-1900; 
Robert Fox, 1901-1903; J. J. (,)iiiiin, llt04; 
Burt H. Coulon, 1905. 

The Treasurers of the townslii|) have been 
William H. Warner, 1839; Chai'les A. Emer- 
son, 1840-41; Eleazer L. (ioodman, 1842; 
Sylvanus Leonard, 1843-5; William Roy, 
1846: (ieorge Dixon, 1847; Hiram Bentley, 
1848-49 : Harvey Kibbee, 1850-51 : Denis Mc- 
Caffrey, 18.52-3; James Fent(ui, 1854; John 
Bari'y. 1855: Varnum Lufkin, 1856-7: .Afyrou 
White, 1858-9; August Czizek, 1860-62:' Ru- 
dolph Steiger, 1863-4; John C. Reimold, 
1865-67;. Ca.sper Peters, 1868-69; Edward 
Tremble. 1870-1 ; Traugott Lungershausen, 
1872-73: Victor A. Moross, 1874-76; William 
E. Hall, 1877: (ieo. A. Pelton, 1878; John V. 
Wiegand, 1879-80; John Priehs, 1881-2: Rob- 
ert Jean, 1833-4; John Zoeling, 1885-6; Sam- 
uel Waldron, 1887-88: (ieo. M. Greiner. 1889- 
90: John Platz, 1891-2; Fred Weier, 1893-4: 
Fred J. Ahrens. 1895-6 : Fred Weier, 1897-8 ; 
—1901-2: Wm. Xicke, 1899-00; Louis Priehs, 
1903-4 : Chas. Schroeder, Jr.. 1905. 



POPULATION. 

1837 1193 

1840 1115 

1845 1754 

18.30 2130 

1854 2490 

1860 2893 

1864 2667 

1870 3588 

1S74 4265 

.Mt. Clemens taken out in 1879. 

1880 2000 

1884 1910 

1890 1819 

1894 1874 

1900 1825 

1904 1827 

ASSESSED VALIWTION. 

1842 $ 53,263.20 

1846 92,371.00 

1851 113,586.00 

1856 588,240.00 

1861 513,815.00 

1866 582.090.00 

1871 672,8.50.00 

1876 740,000.00 

1881 894,000.00 

1886 820,O()0.O() 

1891 830,000.00 

1896 905,000.00 

1901 1,065,000,00 



CHAPTER XI. 



TOWNSHIP OF IIAUUISOX. 

Much of the early settlement of this town- 
ship already appears on the chapter on the 
early French settlers, and man.v of its in- 
habitants are also referred to in comiection 
with the histor.v of ]\rt. Clemens, and yet 
much remains that could be told of this local- 
it.v and its stiu'dy pioneers. 

The earliest English settler of whom we 
have much knowledge was William Tucker, 
who settled on what was afterwards private 
claim 147, in the spring of 1784. having been 
in 1780 given a deed of the (>ntire tract sur- 
rounding that spot b\- the chiefs of the Chip- 
jiewas as a reward f(U' his kindness and 
friendship, which he had shown the Indians. 
William Tucker was born in New Jersey, but 
tradition has it recorded, that his father's 
family were living near Stover's Town in 
Virginia at the time the Chippewas made 
one of their periodical raids upon the settle- 
ments of that state. Wlu'u he was eleven 



626 



PAST AND PKESEXT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



years old. he aud his father aud brother 
Joseph were attacked by the Indians while 
on the road, the father killed and two sous 
made captive and broujilit to the Indian 
camp on the shores of Lake Erie. "William 
appeai-s to have been bought by an 
Indian by the name of We-kau-nis, to 
Avhom lie fortunately ran for protection 
when the Indians began his death song. 
We-kan-uis brought the boy with his other 
prisoners to Detroit and kept him captive 
for seven years, when he gave him his lib- 
erty. While the Tucker brothers were kept 
prisoners, they made frequent trips on the 
lakes to Cleveland and to ^laekinaw, and 
the winters were spent in hunting and trap- 
ping, the fiU" trade then being the chief 
source of revenue with which the Indians 
could purchase fire water. It was on one 
of these trips that the elder brother was lost 
in the northern part of Lake Huron. 

During the Pontiac War. William Tucker 
was in the employ of the English command- 
ant, ^[ajor Gladwin, a circumstance most 
foi'tunate for the British forces then be- 
seiged at that point. Tucker was treated by 
the Indians of the tribe of which he had long 
been a captive like a brother, and this gave 
him opportunity for frequent visits to the 
family of which he had been a member dur- 
ing his captivity. This family were camped 
just a short distance below the fort on this 
side of the river at the time of the conspiracy 
of Pontiac. when the fall of Detroit was so 
shrewdly planned by that crafty Indian chief. 
On one of these visits, he announced his in- 
tention to take a hunting trip and tried to 
persuade one of his Indian brothers to ac- 
company him, aud also s]i()ke of his intention 
of crossing the river to the general camp of 
Indians there, for the piu-pose of buying 
some moccasins from an Indian s(iuaw fa- 
mous for her skill in the manufacture. 
After leaving the camp to return to the fort, 
he was followed by his Indian sister, who 
earnestly besought him to abandon the in- 
tended visit across the river and to take 
some moccasins which she had made and at 
once start upon his liiniting trip. Earnest 
solicitation on his ]iart, tinally ])rociu'ed from 
her a disclosure of the intention of Pontiac 
to obtain entrance into the fort at Detroit 
under the plea of holding a council, and once 
inside to massacre the entire garrison, and 
thus break the power of the British in and 
about Detroit. The information which Mr. 
Tucker was thereby able to give to ^lajor 
(iladwin. enabled the connnandant to take 



steps of precaution and to defeat the nefari- 
ous designs of Pontiac. 

For some time after this war, Tucker was 
employed by ileldrum. the Scottish fur mer- 
chant at Detroit as a trader with the In- 
dians. In the summer of 1773, he returned 
on a visit to his old home, and on August 
8tli of that year married at Stover's Town, 
Catherine Hezel. After his marriage, he re- 
turned to Detroit and lived there \nitil the 
close of the Kevolutiouary War. It is stated 
that lie declined to take an active part as a 
comliatant against the Americans in that 
war. but he was in the employ of the Eng- 
lish as an Indian interpreter. In the records 
of the British post at Detroit, there are many 
references to the service of ilr. Tucker as 
the interpreter for the Ottawas and Chip- 
pewas. He could speak many Indian dia- 
lects and became a man of much iuflueuce 
among the natives. He was ever watchful 
of any attempt to defraud the Indians by 
deceit and always faithful in his own deal- 
ings with them. On the 22d of September, 
1780. the Chippewa chiefs rewarded him for 
his kindness ami faithfulness to the Indian 
interests, by giving him a deed in the name 
of their tribe of a large tract of land lying 
between Lake §t. Clair, the Huron river and 
the River aux Vase. The deed was written 
on a parchment and drawn up by T. Williams 
at Detroit and signed by ten of the Indian 
chiefs at Detroit. As it may well be taken 
to illustrate the ludian deeds of which there 
are many and has been preserved as a relic 
ill the Tucker family, we here set it out in 
full, except the totems by which the Indians 
signed : 

"Know all men by these Presents, that 
we. the Chiefs and principal leaders of the 
Ochijjwe Nations of Indians at Detroit, for 
ourselves and by and with the advice and 
consent of the whole of our said Nation, in 
consideration of the good will, love, aud af- 
fection which we and the whole of said Na- 
tion have and bear unto William Tucker of 
Detroit, nii<l also for Divers other good 
causes and considerations unto us the said 
chiefs and rest of our Nation hereunto mov- 
ing, have given, granted, aliened, enfeoffed 
and confirmetl and by these preesiits do give, 
grant, alien. (>nf(»otl' and c<uifiriii unto the 
said William Tucker all that tract of land 
tying between the River Huron and a little 

river in the Bay. being acres or ar- 

pents in front and two hundred in depth ; 

bounded on the by said small river, 

and on the bv said River Huron, the 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



627 



wliole coiitaiiiing acres or arpeuts, 

more or less, with all and singular the appur- 
tenances, etc., unto the said Tract of Land 
appertaining or in ;iny wise ])elouging and 
the reversion and reversions, remainder and 
remainders, rents and services of the saiil 
Premises, also all the estate, right, title, in- 
terest, property, claim (H- demand whatever 
of us the said chief or of anyone whatever 
of the said Nation of and in and to the said 
Messuage and Premises and of. in ami to 
every part and parcel thereof, with the aj)- 
purteuanees. To have and to hold the said 
^Messuage, tenements, lands, hereditaments 
and premises hereby given and granted or 
mentioned or intended to be given and 
granted \uito the said William Tucker, his 
heirs and assigns to the only proper use and 
behoof of him. the said William Tucker, his 
heirs and assigns forever, and the said chiefs 
for themselves and in behalf of the whole of 
their Nation, their heirs, executors and ad- 
ministrators do covenant promise and grant 
to and with the said William Tucker, his 
heirs and assigns by these Presents that he 
the said William Tuckei'. shall and lawfully 
may from henceforth and forever after 
peaceably and quietly have, hold, occupy, 
possess and enjoys the said messuage or Tene- 
ments, Lauds, Hereditaments and Premises 
hereby given and granted or mentioned or 
intended to be given and granted, with their 
and every of their Apjiurtenanees free, clear 
and discharge well and sufficiently saved, 
kept harndess and indenniilied of, from and 
against all foi-mer and other rights, grants, 
bargains, sales, jointures, feoffments. Dow- 
ers, estates, entails, rents and rent charges, 
arrearage of rents, statutes, .judgments, 
recognizances, statutes merchant, and of the 
staple extents, and of. from and against all 
former and other sales, troubles, and incum- 
brances whatever had, done or suffered, or 
to be had, done or suffered by them the said 
chiefs, or by anyone whatever of the said 
Nation, their heirs, executors or administra- 
tors, or any other person or persons lawfully 
claiming or to claim by. from or under them 
or any or either of them. And by these 
Presents do make this our Act and Deed ir- 
revocably under any pretence whatever, and 
have put the said William Tucker in full 
possession and seizin by delivering him a 
]iiece of said tract of Lands on the premises. 
In witness whereof, we the said chiefs, for 
ourselves, and on behalf of our whole Na- 
tion of Ochipwes. have unto these presents 
set the marks of our different Tribes at De- 



troit tile twenty sceund day of September, 
in the twentieth year of the reign of our 
Sovereign Lord, tieorge the third l>y the 
Grace of (iod, of Great Britain. France and 
Ireland King, etc., etc., etc.. and of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eiirhty — 
17S1). 

(Signed) Chemokiman, Coiichithouui, Ani- 
mithens, Koneekoac, ilaskeash, Assebat, 
Minas, Wetmassow, Paothineous and Naun- 
gee. (With totems attached.) 

I, the subscriber, do hereby certify tliat 
the above mentioned lands were a voluntary 
gift, and that the Chiefs made the marks of 
the ditferent tribes in my presence at Detroit 
the twenty-second day of Sei)tember, 1780. 
T. Williams. .I'ustice of the Peace." 

This deed was not approved or atithorized 
by the English aiitiiorities nor recognized by 
the American autlKU'ities as of any validity, 
and the rights of the Tucker family to the 
lauds which they secured in Plarrison and 
Chesterfield, were based upon their long oc- 
cupation and imi)rovement of the same. 

At the close of the War. :\Ir. Tucker .set- 
tled upon the north bank of the Huron river 
on this land deeded to him by the Indians 
and built a large double house of hewn logs, 
one and one-half stories high, and at once 
commenced the clearing up and cultivation 
of the farm. He made a specialty of raising 
tobacco, as he had beeu conversant with its 
culture in Virginia. On his return from 
Virginia after his marriage he had In-ought 
a family of slaves, consisting of father and 
mother and several children, whom he kept 
with him for some time upon his Harrison 
farm. In the course of time these negroes 
made their escape, fording the Clinton river 
about where Breitmeyer"s flower gardens are 
now located and went to Canada by way of 
Detroit. In 1807, a suit-at-law took place 
in the Court sitting in Detroit which in view 
of the provision of the ordinance establish- 
ing the Northwest Territory forbidding slav- 
ery, is novel aud interesting. Catharine 
Tucker, widow of William, was required on 
habeas corpus to answer for the detention 
of Elizabeth and Scipio Denison before 
Judge Woodward in Detroit. She testified 
on the ground that they were held as slaves 
at the time of the surrender of the military 
post at Detroit in 17fl(i. aud that under the 
terms of Jay's treaty, this property was as- 
sured to her in s])ite of the provisions of the 
ordinance of 1787. The ease was decided 
Dec. 23d, 1807, by Judge Woodward up- 
holding the contention of Mrs. Tucker. A 



628 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ^iIACOMB COUNTY 



few days after, application was made by 
some Canadian slave owners for the arrest 
and delivery of some of their slaves who had 
escai)ed, and it was held that no obligation 
rested upon the public authorities to aid in 
the recapture of fugitives from a foreign 
jurisdiction. The import of this latter de- 
cision was luidoubtedly conveyed by some 
of their friends to Mrs. Tucker's slaves and 
r<'sulted in their crossing the river into Can- 
ada, where, it being a poor rule that does 
not work lioth ways, they were assured of 
retaining their liberty. Somewhat later, 
these slaves came back into America and re- 
mained with some of Detroit's prominent 
families for years and one of them at least 
accumulated considerable property. 

William Tucker died March 7th. 1805. in 
his Harrison home. His widow Cathariiu-' 
lived to a great age and died in 1848. A fam- 
ily of six boys and one daughter were reared 
by Jlr. and ^Irs. Tucker. The daughter 
married Robert Little, one of the early pio- 
neers of the county. The sons were named 
William, who received private claim 14(). 
Henry, John, who received i)rivate claim 144. 
Edwai-d, who received private claim 145, anil 
Jacob and Charles who received private 
claim 147 sub.iect to the use of the same by 
their mother for her lifetime. These claims 
were granted in exact accordance with the 
will of William Tucker, and upon the rights 
established by the long occupation and im- 
pi-ovement of them by him. Charles Tucker, 
the youngest, obtained the homestead where 
his father had started, and it is among the 
very earliest recollections of the writer of 
seeing him there, an aged and decrepit man 
of 80 years. He was the father of eight chil- 
dren, of whom Calhoun Tucker of ilt. Clem- 
ens, whose biography will be found else- 
where in this work, is the sole .survivor. The 
old homestead was occujjied for years by 
three of the children who never married, 
Prank, Delia and Helen, and was recently 
sold to John Irwin and Amond Touscany by 
the Administrator of Frank K. Tucker's Es- 
tate 

•John Tucker, the son of William, who was 
liorn November l'2th. 1784. was undoubtedly 
the first male white child born in the county, 
whose parents were both English. He was 
the father of Edward J. Tucker, who for a 
long time ran a lime kiln in iMt. Clemens: of 
David Tucker, who lived in Harrison, south 
of the river; of Henry Tucker, the father 
of Capts. John and Albert Tucker; of Mrs. 
Culver and ]\[rs. Weiss and of John Tucker, 



the father of Mrs. Henry Little of Mt. Clem- 
ens. Another son of John Tucker, w'as Will- 
iam, the father of ]\Iori-is Tucker, who still 
occupies a jiortion of the land granted to 
John Tucker, lying between the two Jobse 
farms on the north bank of the river. 

The first school organized in the county 
was that organized in Harrison in 1794 un- 
der the charge of Joseph Rowe in a room in 
William Tucker's residence. The teacher's 
wages were .$10.00 per month with board, 
washing and mending included. ]\Ir. Rowe 
remained in this vicinity about ten years 
and aside from his duties as pedagogue he 
was sometimes called upon to conduct 
funeral services, as ministers of the gospel 
were then distant and ditificult to obtain. 
After the war of 1812 when the white inhabit- 
ants could again return to their settlements 
with safet.v, a school house was built near 
the residence of the late Lafayette Tucker 
(son of Charles Tucker). This is believed 
to have been the first school house erected 
in the county and was fii-st occupied by Ben- 
.iamin P. Dodgi'. Kichai'd Butler, the old 
time ^It. Clciiicns lawyer, taught school there 
as early as 1824 and Dr. Henry Taylor, one 
of I\It. Clemens' earliest physicians in 1827, 
also wielded the birch there during his first 
years in the county. The school drew pupils 
from a long distance, Heni-y Harrington com- 
ing from as far as Frederick. Another of 
the earliest schools of the county was taught 
at the house of William Tucker by Robert 
Tate, a Scotchman. It would be interesting 
to trace the growth of Harrison schools from 
that time on, but we nuist be content with 
showing that in 1904, 126 out of the 205 
children of school age were enrolled in the 
schools held in the three districts of the town- 
ship. That the teacher's wages for that year 
for the nine months taught in each of the dis- 
tricts, aggregated $855. The estinuited value 
of the school ]m)perty as returned is .$3,100. 
That $1.2()7 was expended by the town in 
educational matters tluring that year. 

Although at present without any church 
building within its limits, Harrison can claim 
the first church edifice (except the Moravian 
chapel) erected in the county, a log chapel 
having been built on the livcr. dii-ectl.v oppo- 
site the \Villi;uii Tucker projiei'ty as early as 
180ti. This liuilding for a long time was the 
i-i'uter of a Catholic organization in the coun- 
ty at a time when a large ])i'oportion of the 
population were devout and faithful follow- 
ers of the Catholic church, as have been their 
descendants in the nuiin evei- since. In Har- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



629 



I'isoii, too, was probably ])ri'aclu'cl the first 
seniums given by I'roti'staiit inissioiiaries 
aside from the Moravians. A .Methodist 
clergyman by the name of Case oeeasioually 
came from Detroit and held services at the 
house of William Tucker. A Methodist class 
was organized in Harrison in 1824. 

Hy the act. (iri:aiii/.ing tln' townsliip ol' Har- 
rison, the tirst meeting was apiininled to be 
held on the last Monday of ilay. ISi'T. at the 
house of Ciiarlcs Peltiei-, Jr. At that meet- 
ing, William .Meldrum was chosen modei'ator 
and Henry Taylor clerk. The election then 
lield resulted in a tie vote on the office of 
supervisor, and a special election was held 
.Tune 9, following, which resulted in the se- 
lection of Henry Taylor. At the regular elec- 
tion. James Meldrum was chosen clerk, Jacob 
Tucker, collector. Chai'les Tucker, B. Thomas, 
and F. Labadie eonunissioners of highway, 
Charles Peltier, Sr., overseer of the poor and 
John B. Chapman, constable. Since that time 
the following officers have been elected : 

Supervisoi'.s — Henry Taylor, 1827-28: Jacob 
Tucker, 1829-87: David Lyon, 18:}8: George 
Kellogg. 1889: Heman Beal, 18-t(); Henry J. 
Tucker, 1841: Henry Teats, 1842-44: William 
J. Tucker, 1845-47; Antoine Chortier, 1848; 
Alonzo A. Goodman, 1849: Ro])ert Teats, 
1850-54: William J. Tucker. 1855-60: Alonzo 
A. Goodman, 1861-(i2: Edward Teats, 1863; 
William J. Tucker, 1864-(i7: Edward Teats, 
1868-72: Frederick C. Forton. 1878-74; John 
Feller, 1875-76; Edward Teats. 1877-82; 
Henry Campeau, 1888-87; Chas. iMooney, 
1888-92; Jno. Irwin, 1893-02; Joseph Hatzen- 
buhler, 1908; Jorn Irwin, 1904-5. 

Clerks— James .Mcklrum, 1827-82; Valor- 
ous Mavnard, 1834; Robert ileldrum, 1835- 
87; A. C. Hatch, 1889; A. W. Flagg, 1840; 
Henry Teats, 1841; Henry J. Tucker, 1842; 
Robert Teats, 1844-45; Alonzo A. (joodman. 
1847; Robert Teats, 1848: Jacob Tucker, 
1850; David Tucker, 1851-52; Henry Van 
Allen, 1854-55 ; Rudolph Stieger, 1857 ; Robert 
Teats. 1858-59; Edward Teats, 1860-61; 
Simon Rackham, 1863-66: Desitce Choi'tier, 
1867-(i9: John Feller. 1871; Henry Fries, 
1873; liemucl M. Sackctt, 1875; Henry Cam- 
I)au, 187(); Stephen Lawton, 1878-79: Francis 
Chorlici-, 1SS1-S3; Chas. A. Winkler, 1884; 
Frank X. Chortier, 1885; Fred \V. Reimold, 
1886; Jacob Ilatzenbuhler, 1887: Thomas 
Shoemaker, 1888: Jose])h A. Tni-cotte. 1889- 
96: Arthur Teats, 1897-1900; Henry Reimokl, 
PMll ; .\rtluii' Teats, 1902-05. 



TIIK CITY OK HKI,Vinp:KK. 

In 1885 David Congei' and James \j. Con- 
ger, of Clevehuul. Ohio, visited this county 
and ])urchased the tracts of land included in 
the private claims granted to Alexis Peltier, 
Joseph Robert.jean and Ignace Moi-oss. at the 
mouth of the rivei-. on the noi'th bank, and 
platted there a village which lliey fondly 
lidpcd would gi'ow to be one (if the main ports 
(if the gi'eat lakes. In tlidse eai'l\' days, the 
north channel of the St. Clair River was the 
most available one for boats of heavy draft 
and the month of the Clinton River was not 
far off the main course of all the lake vessels. 
Col. James li. Conger, whose intlnenee was 
most active in the enterprise, was a man of 
Hue appeai'ance, engaging maimers, full of 
enthusiasm and sanguine beyond the bounds 
of reason. He was, in his day in the county, 
one of the most prominent and influential 
men. He shares, with the Honorable Edgar 
Weeks, the honoi' of being the sole re])resenta- 
tives of ;\Iacond) county in the National House 
of Repi-esentatives, having been elected to the 
office of Congressman in 1850. Cnder the 
instructions of the Congers. Abel Dickerson 
of Ohio surveyed and platted a cit.v of mag- 
niticent i)ro])ortions njion what to most of us 
has been known only as marshy land at the 
mouth of the I'iver on the noi'th bank. Later 
a supplemental and more accurate plat of the 
city was made by Edward R. Blackwell, liis 
survey being made in December, 1836. A thou- 
sand and nine lots were platted, extending 
out nearly, if not quite, to the site of the 
Mount Clemens Hunting and Fishing Clul), 
formerly the lighthouse. Broad streets and 
avenues were laid out, with sqmires for parks, 
in which the.v expected the crowded popula- 
tion of future years would be able to find 
breathing spaces. Washington Sipiare at the 
intersection of Superior street and Conger 
avenue was 300 x 23ti feet and Belvidere Cen- 
ter, a couple of lilocks to the north, was of sim- 
ilar size. A proposed eaual was platted, 
which contemplated the cutting otf of the ox- 
how liend next aliove the site of the Belvidere 
tavern, which stood on almost the identical 
spot where William Cottrell's summer resi- 
dence now stands. This tavern was the en- 
hirged dwelling of Ignace ^loross referred to 
in .iiiothei- chaiiter. Directl.v across Peck street 
IVoni this tavei'ii w;is ei'ect(>d a large ware- 
house, which was still staiidim:' within the 
memoi'.v of the writer. Several other jiarties 
wei'c induced to .join in the venture and the 
I'.eh'idere ('(iiripaiiy was organized. The stock- 



630 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOJIB COUNTY 



holders of this coiiij)auy were Joseph L. Cou- 
ger (who had purchased the interest of David 
Conger). Thomas L. Peek, Richard Hussey, 
James II. Talhuan, Thomas Balten, Elizalieth 
.Smith and Nelson Oviatt. A sale of one hun- 
dred village lots took i)laee October 3. 1836. 
the advertisement for which was scattered at 
large in Cleveland and otlier Ohio cities. This 
advertisement so well sets forth the hopes and 
anticipations of the projectors of our lake 
city that we may lie pardonr-d for settiiiL; it 
forth in full. 

BELVIDERE CITY LOTS AT .\UCTIOX. 

On the 3d of October. 1836. will lie sold, at 
auction, to the highest bidder, without re- 
serve, about 100 village lots, situated in said 
village, comprising many of the best water 
and business lots in the place. Also that new. 
lai'ge. convenient tavern-liouse and stand, sit- 
uated in said village, and known as the '"Bel- 
videre Hotel,"' now occupied by A. Wilcox. 

Tei"ms of Sale. — Twenty per cent down, and 
the remainder in four equal payments of 20 
per cent each, payable in three, six. nine and 
twelve months from the sale, with interest ; to 
be secured l)y good and api)i'oved endorsed 
notes, payable at bank. The purchaser to be 
entitled to a discount of ten per cent on the 
amoinit of said notes by paying all the money 
down at the time of sale. 

The sale will take place at the "Belvidere 
Hotel.'" connnencing at 10 o "clock A. ]\I. on 
said da.v. and continue from day to day. if 
necessary, until the sah' shall liave lieen com- 
pleted. 

The title is indisjiutable. And warranty 
deeds will be given so .soon as the terms of sale 
shall have been comj)lied with. 

Belvidere is situated <d)0ut twent.v-tive miles 
above Detroit, at the mouth of the Clinton 
River at its entrance into Lake St. Clair, in 
.Macomb county, Michigan: being directly on 
the great and only route of water communica- 
tion with tlu^ I'ppei" Lakes, and whole western 
country. The location is, beyond all ques- 
tion, one III the most healthy in .Michigan: and 
the suri'dunding cinniti'y is well timbei'ed with 
the finest oak. niajile. l)lack walnut, white 
wood, and other trees to l)e found in America. 
In fertilit.v. richness and depth, the soil is 
nut surpas.sed bv any nther in the western 
states. .Mong the margins of Ijake St. Clair 
and the various rivei's. this count ty has been 
settled and well improved for from thii'ty to 
sixt.v years, and exhibits some of the tiiiest 
farms in the world. .\ih1 within the last two 
or three vears a tlimd u\' emigr;itits from New 



York and the Eastern states, possessing both 
enterprise and wealth, have purchased and 
settled upon nearly all the lands in this sec- 
tion of country. 

A railntad company, with banking priv- 
ileges, has lieen recentl.v chartered by the leg- 
islature of ilichigan, to consti-uct a railroad 
from Saginaw to Clinton River; and another 
railroad is in contemplation to connect Pon- 
tiae, Utica, and other villages west with Bel- 
videre. 

Clinton River, at the mouth of which this 
place is located, is one of the finest rivers that 
empt.v into the westei-n lakes, being wider and 
deeper than the Cuyahoga River, at Cleve- 
land, Ohio : and its waters being beautifully 
clear, pure and limpid — in this respect like 
the waters of Lakes St. Clair. Huron, etc. 
This river is navigable to a considerable dis- 
tance into the intei-ior f(n- vessels of any size, 
after passing the bar at the mouth, which has 
now about six and a half feet of water. At 
the last session of Congress, an appi'opriation 
of !ji.'),000 was made to remove the bar at the 
mouth of this i-iver: and no doubt is enter- 
tained of olrtaining, at the next session of that 
body, such further sums as may be necessary 
to build a pier, erect a lighthouse, and make 
such other improvements as will render this 
harboi- efpial to anv on the western lakes. 
JAMES L. CONGER, 
Agent, and one of the Proprietors. 

P. S. — Mechanics and others wishing to 
settle in Belvidere will at all times be accom- 
modated with lots, fui'nished with employ- 
ment, and assisted to build, if desired, upon 
the most favorable terms, by appl.ving to the 
subscriber at Cleveland, O., or at Belvidere. 

ja:\ies l. coNr4ER. 

After the sale took place the i)urchasers 
drew nund)ers to assign theii- lioldings, and 
some twenty or thii'ty families were induced 
to cast their future with the fortunes of Bel- 
videre. Thomas II. Peck opened a .general 
store with a lai'ge stock of goods, and a saw- 
mill and a grist mill run by wind power were 
constructed, tlie former remaining in opera- 
tion for several .vears. At the sale the tavern- 
house, or Belvidere Hotel, was sold to Conger 
for .$3,510. with the understanding that the 
hotel should be completed by the Belvidere 
Company, in the style and manner explained 
by the auetioneei' at the sale. 

In the years from lS3(i to 183S the waters 
of our (ii'eat Lakes indulged in one of their 
periodical higli-water movements, with the re- 
sult that most of the farming lands in and 
about Belvidere and all of the town site Iving 



I'AST AND 1M;KS1-:.\"T of .MACOMB OOTXTY 



631 



east of tilt' road ami also tlic point running 
down tlic river to the present eluh liouse, were 
completely umler water, whieh eame into the 
cellars and in some houses even covered the 
gi-ound tloor, with the result that Belvidere 
lost its inhabitants as well as all its dreams of 
future iii-eatness. The Conger family, who 
for a number of years lived in the hotel, and 
had at one time a most delight I'ul home <in 
this desirable spot — a home that was the fa- 
vorite resort for the best society of the county, 
wei'e among the last to abandon the place. 
Mrs. Conger died at Belvidere. and for a time 
was interred in the tomb which stood among 
the gi'oup of willows still to be seen back 
from th(> I'ivei'. 

LIVERPOOI>. 

Audtlier of the mehmcholy failures with 
whieh Harrison was associated was the city 
of Liverjiool. which was platted Feb. 21st, 
185t). by Edgar H. Shook, with forty-nine lots, 
mostl.v of irregular shape, out from the mid'^t 
of which ran a dock many hundred feet into 
the lake. This was located on private claim 
164 and oeeujiied the site of the present 
Smith Club House and of Vivian Croft, the 
cottage and summer home of Dr. A. N. Shot- 
well. The city was but a part of the enter- 
prise whieh looked forward to making a lake 
port on ].i'Anse Creuse Ba.v. and connecting 
the same with IMount Clemens by a plank 
road. The road was con.structed, aud a'- 
though since abandoned as a plank road, sti'l 
bears the name of the Shook Road. A large 
hotel was constructed: and for some timi^ a 
boat ran regular trips between Liverpool and 
Detroit. The spiles that carried "the old i-ed 
bridge," on which the Shook Road crossed 
the river into Mount Clemens at a point on 
the farm now owned by George M. Crocker, 
ai'e still visible. Associated with this enter- 
pi'ise are the names of Arnold and Adolpli 
(iuei'ber. who for several yeai-s were promi- 
nent members of the younger social circles of 
Blount Clemens. Adolph Guerber married the 
youngest daughter of Judge Fi-edei-ick Hatch, 
the grandfather of our present Circuit Judge 
Tucker, and retui-ned to his former home in 
New Vni-k. whei-i- III' resided until his death 
a few years since. Arnolil (IniTber still li\-es 
near New York Cit.v. 

.\ similar and iiKirc successful enterprise 
of more modern dale was the l)uikling of 
Lakeside, with its electric line connecting with 
ifount Clemens. liike theii- ])i'edecessors, the 
founders of this enter])rise. lai-gely Pittsburg 
ca|>italists. antici|)ated making a lake porl fur 
Mount Clemens on L'Anse Creuse Ba\'. The 



present eonuuodious clubhouse and hotel now 
run by Bingham was built and an electric 
road was constructed to it fi'oni .Mount Clem- 
ens, which later i)a.ssed into the control and 
became a part of the Deti'oit & IMount Clem- 
ens Lake Shore Line. Although the dreams of 
its originators of a harbor and port have not 
been I'ealiy.ed. yet Lakeside is fai' fi'om being 
the failure that Liverpool proved. 

TIIK LOSS ()!•' THE STE.VMEK EUH-: 

is another interesting incident coiniectetl with 
ILirri.son. The winter of 1842-:3 was known 
in ]\racomb count.v, and in fact is still remem- 
bered, as "the hard winter." hi that year the 
wintei- began the middle of November aud 
lasted with unexampled severity until late in 
the spring. About Decemlier 1st occurred the 
wrecking of the "Erie," called the "Jjittle 
Erie" to distinguish it from a larger boat 
of the same name, in which three men lost 
their lives. The "Erie" was a i)assenger and 
freight steamer and ran in the river and lake 
trade. 

Coming up the lake, she was caught in a 
snow storm, and as the lake was filled with 
tioatiug ice, she sprung a leak and was headed 
for the Point Huron, so as to beach hei'e on the 
bar in shallow water. The boat sank before 
reaching shallow water, .just on the outside 
of the bar. Attempts were made at once to 
get her afHoat b.y sinking scows, fastening 
them to her with heavy timbers, and then 
pumping them out. They had succeeded in 
getting the "Erie" afloat when a furious 
storm came up, the sea began to rise and 
broke the fastenings, allowing the Erie to sink 
again, while the gathering darkness and storm 
forced the workmen to seek safety. The 
lake was full of floating ice aud several men 
succeeded in crossing from cake to cake, final- 
ly reaching safety on Point Huron. Three 
men. Edward La Forge, IMoses John (or 
Kobcrt.iohii I and Chiirles Gritfai'd. who took 
a diffei'ent direction, found their course 
blocked b.v ojieii water and took refuge on a 
.small scow, which, caught in the ice, drifted 
out into the lake. After the storm had. raged 
for two da.vs search was made and the scow 
was found near Stony Point, but the men 
had perished from hunger and cold. 

There were no more attemitts made lo I'aise 
the Ei'ie and her limbers still lie 011 the bottom 
near Point Huron, well known lo the fisher- 
man as "the wreck" and a ramous resort for 
bass fishing. 

Hi'low are given tables of tlir popuhilion 
and assessed valuation ol' llir lowiiship in 
various vears. 



632 



PAST AND PRESENT OF xMACOMB COUNTY 



1837 502 

1840 395 

1845 528 

1850 483 

1854 499 

1860 546 

1864 502 

1870 605 

1874 625 

1880 744 

1884 708 

1890 695 

1894 666 

1900 721 

1904 648 

1842 $ 23,928 

1846 22.399 

1851 22.389 

1856 118,686 

1861 93,032 

1866 89,290 

1871 106,855 

1876 98,000 

1881 288,000 

1886 270.000 

1891 290.000 

1896 300,000 

1901 475,000 



CHAPTER. XII. 



ERIN. 

A good deal of the very earliest history of 
Erin is already ^iveii in the chapter on the 
private elainis, since the tirst settlers were the 
occupants of those claims alonu' the lake shore. 
Until a system of di'ainase had been begun, a 
large portion of the lands in Erin were so 
swampy and flat that they offered few attrac- 
tions to those seeking homes. As a resnlt, 
many of the early settlers passed right 
through what is now the garden sjiot of the 
county, and selected as home sand ridges 
further north, with a soil comparatively poor 
and light. No section of the county has bene- 
fited more than has Erin by the sy.stematic 
develo]jment of the public drains, and that 
township now presents a picture of rich, fer- 
tile lands sub.ject to the most painstaking and 
productive agriculture. The Gratiot Road, 
which for years has been the main thorough- 
fare for all the eastern part of the eounty, in 
taking its products by team into Deti'oit, has, 
together with the historic Lake Shore Road, 
given to the township its main historic spots. 
It would l)e interesting to note ami trace the 
rise and tail of the various taverns which have 



afforded stopping places for wayfarers and 
the centers for tlisti'ii)ution of news for the 
residents along these two old roads, but time 
and space forbid, even though the knowledge 
of all these interesting spots had not been in 
many eases carried to the graves of the older 
inhabitants. Outside of the settlers ou the 
private claims, a list of those who purchased 
land in P^rin from the government prior to 
1840 is here given. It i)erhaps att'ords a less 
accurate list of the settlers of the township 
than is the case of the more northern town- 
ships, for the reason that its proximity to 
Detroit and wealth of the soil made this ter- 
ritory more inviting to the land speculator, 
while its lack of drainage made it less invit- 
ing to the emigrant who was looking foi' a 
home which he ciiuld shortly make |ii-o- 
ductive. 

We however give a list of the earliest buyers 
from the government of lands in the township 
outside of the private claims. 

In section 2 Simeon Cadit purchased in De- 
cember 11, 1827; and in November of 1835 Lot 
Clark ami Steven Warren of New York state 
and John B. Rivard of this county also took 
up land. Portions of section 3 were sold as 
follows: To James Spakeshaft of Wayne 
county. August 27th. 1833; to James M. 
Reevt's of Orange eounty. New York. July 
9th, 1834; Sylvester F." Atwood of .Mount 
Clemens, September 4th. 1835: to James C. 
Allen, also of ilount Clemens. November 21st, 
1835 : and to Clark and Warren, of New York 
state, November 20th of the same year. 

In section 5 lands were taken up in 1S35 
by Henry S. Wyekott'. John S. Schemerhorn, 
Laurent "Charles, William P. Ilallet, all of 
New York City. In 1835 three parties from 
Chenango county. New York, took up lands 
in section 6, viz: Adna Phillips, Steven Phil- 
lil)s and Hartford Phillips. Besides these in 
the same year Patrick IMullin of AVayne 
eounty. Patrick Hughes of ^Monroe county, 
Xiw York, and William Brown. Jr.. of Oak- 
lantl count.v. of this st;ite. took up lands in 
the same section, and early in the following 
year ^lason Palmer and Dennis Callagher, 
l)oth of Wayne county, made purchases from 
the govcrinnent. 

Section 7 was lai'gely ae<|uired in is:!.") and 
1836 by Wayne eounty men, aini>ne wlioin 
were Thomas Eagan. Patrick .Mullin. Joiui 
Terney, John M. Lamb, Mason Paliiii'i-. (ieoi'ge 
R. ]\IcKenzie, Thomas Mei'rigan and David 
Keinied.v. 

In section 8 as early as September 4tli, 1S31, 
lands were taken up by Hial Campbell and 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO-MB COLXTV 



633 



James Cainplx'll iit' Monroe county. New York. 
It was not until tlux'e years later tliat Beverly 
M. Brown of this county took up the next 
piece, to l)e followed the next yt'ar by Allen W. 
Ilurlbut of this couut.v, Henry S. Wyckotf 
of New York City, Maladii O. Beirne and 
John ;\k']Mahou of Wayne county. The fol- 
lowinp: year. ISlUi, two Macomb county men, 
Everet J. Walderon and Patrick Cahel, and 
two Wayne county men, Thomas Sullivan and 
John Usher, houiiht othei- lands in this same 
section. 

Lands in section !• were secured by John 
Ha.ves of Wayne county -June 2d, 1831; Ed- 
unuid B. Rose of Monroe county. New York, 
June titli, 1831: Joseph W. Tori-ey of Detroit, 
:March '-'(Jth. 1832; Jonathan Fi'i'i-is of West 
Chester count.v. New York, -June 11th, 1832; 
James Hale of Monroe county, ^Michigan, De- 
cember l.st, 1832 ; and John S. Schemerhorn of 
New York City, June 17th, 1835. 

Section 10 seems to have been larfijely 
bought by speculators, as among- the buyers 
ajipear the names of Wyckotf, Schemerhorn 
and Clark c^ Warren of New York, and James 
C. Allen of Mount Clemens. In addition to 
these, liowever, Francis Julian Fortou and 
Charles J. Forton of this count.y and Francis 
Dwight of Wa.vne county took up lands. 

In section 11 ap|)ear the names of Francis 
Julian Forton, Jr., John B. Hivard, Josepli 
Campau and Simeon Cadet. ()ne could almost 
feel sure, from the nationality of these names, 
that the lauds were located in close proximity 
to the French private claims. 

Section l-i brings us to familiar names. 
Christian Clemens, of ilt. Clemens, being the 
earliest land buyer in the town, October 7, 
1818, and John B. Verniea, dit Latlouceur, 
whom we met among the owners of private 
claims, having purchased in April, 1825. Sec- 
tion 15 went to Antoine Verniea dit Ladou- 
eeur, Francis Peacock, of ^lonroe County, 
New York, G. 'SI. W^illiams. of Wayne Coun- 
ty, and Ileni-y Dwight. of Ontai'io County, 
New York. 

Section 17, which is now so thickl.v crowded 
with people in the neighborhood of I'tica 
Junction, seems to have been taken up largely 
by land speculators, although the eai'iiest land 
bu.ver in the section bears a name familiar to 
the old residents of that localit.v. Henry 
Savage, of ^lonroe County, Xew York, 
bought .\pril 11. 1S31. to be followed during 
that year by John lla.ves. of Wayne County; 
Robert Warn, ol' Tioga Count.v, New York, 
and Thomas Knapp, of Deti-oit, In 1833 tlie 
only land in this section taken up was Ijought 



by William Chevalier DeWitt, of Madison 
County, .\ew York. In 1834 Fanny Justus 
anil John Welch, of Wayne Comity, and in 
1835. John S. Schemerhorn, of Xew ^'ork 
City, purchased other lands in this section. 

In section 18 again api)ear the names of 
Fanny Justus, Henry S. Wyckotf and John S. 
Sclicmerhoi-n. togethei' with John King, John 
and Williaiu Callaghau, Elias .M. Beach and 
Uichard Welch, all of whom purchased be- 
tween December 1, 1834, and May 2, 183(J. 

Section lit was secured by Eneas Bottomley. 
William Ilauiill, of Macomb County, Wyckotf 
and Schemerhorn, of Xew York City, and 
Benjamin Horner. Jonathan Beecrotf. James 
Spakeshaft and John Ready, all of Wayne 
County. 

During 1831-2-3 and 1834 lands in section 

20 were taken by Sherlock S. (iregory, of 
Hensselaer County. New York ; Thomas 
P. Curtiss and Elias Stone, of Macomb Coun- 
ty ; Jonathan Ferris, of West Chester Coun- 
t.v, New York; Ilarve.v Parker, of Wa.yne 
County; William C. DeWitt. of Madison 
Count.v, New York, and Moses Conn, of Steu- 
ben Count.v, New York, who also at the same 
time took up lands in section 21. In section 

21 appears also the name of Lansing B. ^liz- 
niM-, then given as from Ontario County, New 
Yoi'k. ^Ir. Mizner afterwards lived in De- 
troit foi- a great many years, and was very 
largeh' interested in real estate in both War- 
I'cn and Erin. ]\Ir. Mizner also secured lands 
in sections 27 and 28 of this township. Among 
the other earl.v land bu.vers in this section 
were W^illiam Curry, of this count.y: Jona- 
than Teagan. Samuel Kingston and Benja- 
min G. Barker, of Wa.vne Count.v; Beverly 
Robinson, of New York Cit.v, and Henry 
Dwiglit, of Ontario ('ount.y. New York. 

In section 28. aside from IMizner and Ilen- 
rv Dwight (who took up three pieces), Pat- 
rick Heal.v, of Ontario Count.y, New York; 
Nicholas ^lason, of this county, and Benjamin 
G. Barker, of ^Va.vne Count.v, were among the 
earl.v bu.vei-s from the Govei'iiment. Dwight 
again ajijx'ars among the bu.vei-s in section 29, 
along with Elias Stone. Thomas Keil.v and 
Patrick Sullivan, of this count.v: (Jeorge Bo- 
lain, Edmund Kirk and James Moyniham, of 
Wa.vne Count.v, and George Karu. of Erie 
Count.v. Pennsvlvania. 

In section 30 we find the names of William 
Stevens, of ;\Iacomb County (October, 1830) ; 
Pclir Van Every and Solomon Porter, of 
\Va.\iie Count.v: Elias Stone, of Livinirston 
Count.v, Xew York, and Harve.v P. Dannals, 



634 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ilACO^IB COUNTY 



of Monroe County, New York, and Richard 
Haight, of Detroit. 

The southeast corner of the county, section 
31 of this town, was secured by Asquire ~\Y. 
Aldrich. on October 28. 1830. of Wayne 
County, and later on, ^lay 29, 1833, of ^Ma- 
comb County : William L., Caleb and Alanson 
Curtiss, of Oakland County; George W. Tor- 
re.v and "William Storgie. of Detroit: John 
Dannals. of Jlonroe County. New York: Ami-a 
]\Iorton. of Geauga, Ohio. Land in section 32 
was also taken up by Aldrich, and Keil.y, Ja- 
cob Strieker, of Wayne County, and George 
Bayne. of Orleans County, New York. Sec- 
tions east of 32 to the lake were taken up bv 
the private claims. 

As we have seen. Erin Township was first 
organized under the name of ( trange. which 
was changed in 1843 to Erin. This change of 
name, it is said, was due to the fact that short- 
ly prior thereto, a large ntimber of the de- 
scendants of the sons of Erin had settled in 
the township, and finding the name distasteful 
desired a change to one which would remind 
them of their native isle. 

A list of the chief officers of the town.ship is 
here given: 

Supervisors — John B. Cottrell, 1837: Coun- 
ty Conunissioners. 1838-42: Israel Curtiss, 
1843: Soloiium Porter, 1844; Israel Curtiss, 
1845-51; AVilliam Stevens, 1852; Peter Me- 
Govern, 1853-54; Ileniy L. Reeves, 1855-58; 
Jacob Hetchler, 1859-fil: James "Whiting, 
1862-64: Jacob Hetchler, 1865: Austin Wales, 
18H(;: James Whiting. 1867-72: Robert A. 
Barton. 1873-75: John Dedenbach. 1876-80: 
Robert A. Barton. 1881-84: John Dedenbach. 
1885: Robert A. Barton, 1886-87; Leonard 
Schneider, 1888-92 : Charles Rein, appointed 
December 28. 1892: Nicholas Ameis, 1893-95: 
Leonard Schneider. 1896-1904: John C. 
Baumuai-tner. 1905. 

Clerks— Ilenrv Bloss, 1883-86; Nicholas 
Amei.s. 1887-90; Henry Bloss, 1891-95; Her- 
man Huinmerich, 1896 : August W. Nummer. 
ls!)7; William Frazho. 1898-1905. 

Treasurers — Charles Preehauf. 1883; 
Charles Kein. Sr.. 1SS4-85: Leonard Schneid- 
er. 1886-87: Chai-les Freehauf. 1888: Henry 
Verniea. 1889-90; Eugene Yoiland, 1891-92; 
Charles Freehauf, 1893 ; Henry Verniea. 1894- 
1895; Charles Steffens, 1896-97; Louis Striek- 
er. 1898-99: John Bloss. 1900-01; William 
Zienert. 1902-03; Henry Patow. 1904-05. 

The schools of Krin ai'c cared for in eight 
districts with the school property returned as 
of the estiiiialed value of $12,200. In 1895 



the returns show that 484 out of a possible 905 
pupils were enrolled. In this connection it 
must be taken into eon.sideration that a large 
proi)ortion of the population of Erin is made 
up of adherents of the Roman Catholic and 
German churches, who maintain denomina- 
tional schools, where many of the children re- 
ceive general as well as religious education. 

The total amount expended for school pur- 
poses in the town, according to the returns 
of 1904, is $4,069.91. From nine to ten 
months school is held in each of the school 
districts aniniall.v. 

The village of Frazer was founded in 1857 
by Alex Fi'azer. It is situated in the north- 
west corner of the town on the Grand Trunk 
Railway, where the same is intersected by the 
Detroit and Utica Plank Road. The first 
store was built bv Fred Eberlein, a Bavarian. 
who settled there in 1856. A stave mill, long 
known as the Stetfen's mill, was also started 
by ^Ir. Ebei'lein. and has at all times been the 
largest employer of labor in the village. The 
village has three churches, a public school, a 
cigar factory, several stores, etc., and boasts 
of a population of about three hundred. The 
village was incorporated March 5, 1895, and 
includes a [Mu-tion of the township of Clinton. 
The first election was set for the first Jlonday 
of the foUowing April, at the office of Charles 
Stefi:'ens, and ]Mr. Stefi:'ens, Leonard Schneider, 
Fred (irover and Charles Klein constituted a 
board of registration and election. The re- 
sult of this election was that Charles Stetfens 
was chosen President and George W. Stefi'ens 
clerk, and they have been repeatedly re- 
elected to these offices up to the present 
time. The treasurers of the village have 
been Charles Klein. 1895-6: Henry C. Detzer, 
1897-8; Charles Klein. 1899: John Fi'ibel- 
korn. 1900: Fred C. Eberlein. Jr.. 1901-2; 
Fred Pruehs. 1903-04: and Fred Seott. 1905. 
Along the Gratiot Road, the postoffii'e of 
Hoseville has been maintained for many years, 
sometimes being located at the ten-mile house, 
long occupied bv (iaukler, Ameis and Hum- 
nierich, and sometimes further uji the iciad, 
as at ]i resent at Fi-azhos". Of late a new post- 
office has been located at Hummerichs". called 
Halfway. 

The junction ol' the Detroit <.V Erin I'laiik 
Road and the Detroit and Utica Plank Woad 
in section 17. of the township, has madi> Ihat 
]ioint a business center, where a tavern and 
L'eneral store have been maintained for years. 
Further reference to the i>l;nik roads and the 
electric lines thniu'.:li the tii\viislii|) will lie 
found elsewhere. 



PAST AM) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



635 



As with other townships, we hero aive ;i 

table of the i>oi)uiation and assessed valua- 
tions : 

I'upulatiou. 

1837 (Orange) L'HT 

1840 (Orange) i:i:i 

18-13 7:^1 

18.')0 !I74 

1854 l.:247 

18tiO 1.975 

18G4 2,208 

1870 2.466 

1874 2.443 

1880 2.692 

1884 2.390 

1890 2,449 

1894 2.4(»4 

1900 2.440 

1904 2.29!l 

Assessed Valuation. 

1842 $ 31.987.24 

1846 24.867.00 

1831 40.664.0(1 

1856 230.817.00 

1861 249.476.00 

1866 317.897.00 

1871 354.370.00 

1876 380.000.00 

1881 1.121.(100.00 

1886 l.n5,(t(M).(l(i 

1891 l.lOO.OOd.OO 

1896 1,190,000.00 

1901 1.370.000.00 



CTTAPTER NUT. 



TOW.XSHIP (IF 'VV.VKREN. 



Like Erin, our most southwestern township 
has been largely benefited b.y the system of 
public drains, which have relieved the coun- 
try of the water which in earl.v days turned no 
small portion of the township into a marsh. In- 
deed, so impassable was the cranberry marsh, 
wliich included the southwest portion of the 
township that in early da.ys it formed a serious 
ob.stacle to those who sought to go from De- 
troit to Pontiac, compelling them to come l\v 
the way of .Mt. Clemens, at times. The de- 
siraliility of draining this marsh was so ap- 
parent that at an early date it was seriously 
suggested that an ar-titicial stream be dug 
from this locality to emj)t.v into tlie Detroit 
Kiver at Detroit, it being suggested that the 
water jxiwcr thus gained would be sufficient 
to .justify the r\|ielisr. The township since 
developed, has ]ii-oven to be one of the most 
fertile and thickly populated sections of the 



cotuit.v. Kui'ther infoi-ni;ition concei'uing its 
churches, ami the plank roads and other 
niiaiis of ti'ansportation passing tlirough it 
will lie found elsewhere. 

The same comments relative to the early 
land liu.vers made in r(>ferenee to Erin are 
applicable here. .\s will be noticed a large 
nnmlicr of the bu.vers hailed fi-om "Wayne 
Count.v, uuiny of whom never settled or made 
homes in the township. 

Section 1 was taken uj) by Samuel Buell, of 
Erie County, New York, in 1833; Herman N. 
Strong, Gersham M. Williams, Josiah Snow 
and George AV. IT. Fisk. Ben.iamin (!. Barker, 
Edwin Jerome and Robei't li. Howell. John 
W. Strong. Jr., John Burtis iiiul Andrew 
^lack, of Wayne County, in 1836. 

Section 2 was obtained by Charles S. Ad- 
ams and John S. Ashley, of Wayne Count.v, in 
1836 : Dan Van Antwerj-). of Oakland County, 
in 1833 ; Eoring Bryant, of Oakland County, 
in 1835 ; Samuel Buell. of Erie County. New 
York, in 1835 : Samuel Gihbs. of ^lacomb 
Count.v, in 1835; (lersham .M. Williams, of 
Wa.vne Count.v, in 1835; Ben.jamin (i. Barker, 
of Wayne County, 1835 ; Edwin Jerome and 
Robert" R. Howell", of Wa.vne Comity, in 1836; 
Sarah Van Antwei'p, of Macomb, in 1836. 

Section 3 was ])urcliased l\v Moses 'SI. Will- 
son, of (Oakland County, in 1833; Louis Beau- 
fait. of Wayne County, in 1833 ; Vital Bean- 
fait. of Wayne County, in 1833; Charles D. 
Haddeu and Daniel Lindsle.v, of Green Coun- 
t.y, IMichigan. in 1833; John L. Rickert. Henry 
Mann, of Oakland County. Michigan, the 
former bu.ving in 1833. and the lattiM- in 1834. 

Section 4 was granted to Richardson Gi'a.v, 
of Oakland Count.v, in 1833; Ai'chibald Lam- 
phere, of Ontario Count.v, New York, in 1833; 
Varnum Lamphere, of Ontario County, New 
York, in 1833; David Ripley, of Chautauqua 
Count.v, New York, in 1833; Aaron S. Vedder. 
of Wayne Coimt.v, in 1833; ^lar.v Spinnings, 
of Wayne Count.v, in 1834; David II. Row- 
land, of Wayne Count.v, in 1836. 

Section 3 was bought b.v Peter (iillet, of 
Monroe Count.v, New ^'oik, in 1832; Alonzo 
Haight. of Steuben Coiuit.v. New York', in 
1S33; X'arnum Lamphi>re. of Ontai-io Ciiunt.\-. 
New York, in 1832; Thomas Bruce. Oakland 
County, in 1833; James N. Bruce. Silas Will- 
son, of Oakland Count.v, in 1833; John Ward, 
of New "^'ork Cit.v. in 1834; James W. Bruce, 
of Macomb ('(i\nit.\-. in 1835. 

Section I) was secured bv Perrv Smith, of 
Lnman Smith, of Wa.vne Count.v. New Y(U-k. 
in 1S32; Isaac W. Barton, of (Oakland County, 
in 1,^33; John II. Barton, of Oakland Count.v, 



636 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



1833; Anna Evans. Ohediah Murray, of Oak- 
land Comity. Mieliigan: CHdeon Kude, Ueauga 
County, Oliio, in 1835; Phineas Walker and 
John II. Barton, of ^Macomb County, in 1836. 
Section 7 was acquired by Hiram Walker, 
of ^Macomb, in 183r) ; Alva Ewers, Andrew P. 
;\IcRe.vnolds and Cullen Brown, of Wayne 
County, in 1835; Neheiniah Ingersoll, of 
Waj'ne County, in 1836. 

Section 8 was settled by Alva Ewers and 
Edwin Stevens, Nehemiah Ingersoll, of 
Wayne County, the first two coming in 1835 
and the latter in 1836 ; Thomas Rogan. of 
Geauga Count.v, 1835 ; David Cluise, of Oak- 
land County, in 1835 ; Jonathan Chase, of 
Oakland Count.v, in 1835. 

Section 9 was purchased by Ira Burton, 
Asoph Phillips, John Phillips, from Oakland 
County, in 1833; Eurotas P. Hastings. Detroit 
City. .Mieliigan, in 1833; Charles Torrey. of 
Oakland (.'ounty. in 1834: Mercy Lida Denni- 
son, of Oakland County, in 1834; Alinon Cot- 
ton, of Livingston Count.v, New York, in 
1835; Jonathan Chase, of Oakland Count.v. in 
1836. 

Section lU was procured by Ran.som Smith, 
of Living.ston County, New York, in 1833; 
Jenizen F. (Hazier, of Oakland County, in 
1834; Joseph L. Davidson, Enoch S. David- 
son, of Ontario County, New York, in 1835; 
William Bailey, of Niagara Count.v, New 
York, in 1835 ; John Winder, of Wayne Coun- 
ty, in 1835 ; (iiirdon C. Leech, of ^lacomb 
County, in 1835. 

Section 11 was settled bv Jeremiah God- 
fre.v, John Winder, Eiirotas Hastings, Fertul- 
lus D. Butler. Bcu.ianiin (i. Barker, of Wayne 
County, in 1835. 

The earliest laiul buyers in section 12. in 
order of their i)\u-('hase. were As([uii-e W. 
Aldricli, of iMacomI) Count.v; John ^IcCarthy 
and James Mc(iuire. of .Monroe Count.v. New 
York; James Xowian. of Wayne County; 
John McGooran. Eurotas P. Hastings. Charles 
A. Hassett. of Wa.vne Count.v, William 
Smith Ingham, Cayuga Count.v, New York; 
Burnet .Aliller. of Wayne County; Silas Titus, 
of Wa.vne Coiiiily; I'.m-net .Millei'. of Wa.vne 
Count.v. 

Section 13 was sokl lo Elias Clark, of Bris- 
tol County, Mass., in 1835; Robert D. Smith, 
of Wayne County, in 1835; William S. :\[iles. 
of Wa.vne Count.v, in 1835; Sylvanus P. Jer- 
nuiin, of tiie cit.v of Albany. New York, in 
1836; As(piire W. Aklrich. of .Macomb Coun- 
t.v, in 183(); James 1). Winans and Levi Cook. 
of Wavne Count V. in 1836. 



Section 14 was .secured bv Edwin Jerome, 
(ieorge C. (lodfrey, Reuben ]\Ioore and Wil- 
liam N. Carpenter, William Dorsey, of Wayne 
County, in 1835 ; James D. Winans, of Wayne 
County, in 1836. 

Section 15 was taken up by Henry Doty, of 
Wa.vne Count.v. ^Michigan, in 1836; Asa Stod- 
dai'd. of Sullivan Count.v. New Hampshire, 
1834 ; Harris Sopher, of Tioga County. Penn- 
.sylvania. in 1835 ; Wilson Barber, of Erie 
County, New York, in 1835 ; Oilman Alexan- 
der, of Oakland Count.v, Michigan, in 1835; 
Philander Hunter, of Wa.vne County, in 
1835: Alice Doty, of Wayne County, in 1835. 

Section 17 was sold to Charles Barrows, of 
ilacomb Count.v, in 1834; Cornelius Hollen- 
beek, of Ontario County, New York, in 1835; 
Joseph II. Quick, of Oakland County, in 1835; 
Andrew D. V. Quick, of Oakland County, in 
1835 ; Henry T. Sherwood, of Huron Counly, 
Ohio, in 1835; Shuliael Conant, of Wayne 
Count.v, in 1835. 

Sections 18 and lit were secured bv Shubael 
Conant, of Wa.vne Count.v, in 1835. 

Section 20 was bought by Charles B. 
Hatch, of Oakland County, in 1834; Antoine 
Rivard, Hubert Chieoine and Shubael Conant, 
of Wa.vne Count.v. in 1835. 

Section 21 was taken up by Moni(pie 
Knaggs, of Wayne County, in 1833; Lambert 
Laderoute, of Wayne Count.v, 1834 ; Hiram M. 
Rose, Joel French, Gabriel Yates, John S. 
Parker, of Oakland County, in 1835; Evangile 
Ladei'oute, Jacciues Laferte, Peter Laderoute, 
of Wayne County, in 1835 ; Charles Langevin, 
{'harles Groesbeck, of ilaeomb Count.v, in 
1835. 

Section 22 was granted to Robert Ramsay. 
Lyman E. Rose, Harris Cora.y, John S. Par- 
ker, Abrani Ilai'i-ington, of Oakland Count}'', 
in 1835; William Howland, of ilacomb, in 
1835; James G. Crane, assignee, of Thomas 
Little, of AVayne County, in 1835; Andrew ^[. 
Waltrous, of Oakland Count.v. in 1836. 

Section 23 was procured by Timothv Rinn, 
Cornelius Lyons, John W. Strong, Jr., Robert 
R. Howell, .Michael Crowley, William Ma- 
I'ony and Edward Stackjiole, of Wayne Coun- 
ty, in 1835; (ieorge W, Hill, of Essex Count.v, 
Massachusetts, in 183(); Ruel Ambrose, of 
Wa.vne County, in 1S36. 

Section 24 was i)urchased by IK'ury S. 
Wyckot'f. of the cit.v of New Yoi'k. in 1835; 
John S. Scliemerhorn. of the cit.v of New 
Viiik, in 1835; Joseph Bird and Ruel Am- 
lirose. David G. Hainiiei-. of Wayne Count.v, 
JTi 1835; Sylvanus P. Jeriiiain. of the cit.v of 
New York,' in 1836. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP aiACOMB COUNTY 



637 



Seetion 25 was acciniivd by Goorjre Bolaiu 
Lent, of .Macomb County, in IS'Vl; Willct C. 
Day, of Onoida County. New York, in 1S:U; 
lleniy S. Wyt-kotf. of the city of New York, 
in 1835. 

Section 26 was secured by Ezra l\oi)d, of 
\Vayne County, in 1835 ; Cornelius Tilsen, ^li- 
chael K.van, Dan Sullivan. John Mattiiias 
Kirk, (iershani Mott AYilliauis. .James Treasy 
and William I'unanins, of ^Vayne County, in 
1835; Michael llines, of Ontario County, New 
York, iu 1835. 

Section 27 was taken up by Alexander 
Campbell, of ^Macomb County, in 1833 ; Owens 
Sullivan, of Wayne County, iu 1834; Hii'am 
M. Rose, Lyman E. Ro.se, of Oakland Couuty, 
in 1835; Michael Ryan, of Wayne Couuty, in 
1835 ; AVilliam Nolan, of ^lacomb County, in 
1835; Thonuis Shelliv. of Wayne Couuty, in 
1835. 

_ Section 28 was bought by Nehemudi luger- 
soll, of Wayne County, in 1835 ; Louis Groes- 
beek, of ilacomb, in 1830 ; William Groesbeek 
and Francois C. Desgrandchamps, of ilaeomb 
Couuty, in 1832; Pierre Desgraudchamps, of 
Macomb Couuty, in 1832; Pierre Joseph Mov- 
geot, of ^Macomb County, iu 1833; Joseph Di- 
rou and Felise Anette, of Wayue County, in 
1833 ; Alexander Campbell, of ]\Iaeomb Couu- 
ty, in 1833; Louis Groesbeek, of Macomlj 
County, in 1833. 

Sections 29, 30. 31 aud 32 were all pur- 
chased from the Government by Shuljael Co- 
uaut, of Wayne County, July 6, 1835. 'Slv. 
Couant was one of the most noted of the old 
merchants of Detroit, and l)eing extensively 
interested in real estate of ]\Iacomb County, 
is entitled to a passing notice in its history. 
He was born in Mansfield. Windham County, 
Conn., August 1, 1783. He tirst visited De- 
troit in 1807, and returned with a stock of 
goods, Jul.v, 1809, and opened a store in the 
two-story wooden building on the south side 
of Jefferson avenue, between Bates and Ran- 
dolph .streets. In 1816 he entered into part- 
nership with Stephen ]\laek, aud the firm of 
^lack & Couant did a large business as fur 
traders and general merchants in their store 
on the south side of Jefferson avenue, between 
Woodward and (iriswold, but latei', owing to 
the speculations in lands which were indulged 
in by Mack, the firm met witii liiianeial disas- 
ter. Conant, however, continued in business 
and gradually accumulated until at his death. 
Jul.v 18, 1867, he was counted wealthy. Dur- 
ing his long life in Detroit he was given 
many public honors, was alwa.vs cherished as 



a goiul comi)anion, successful business man 
and pati-iotic citizen. 

The earliest land buyers in section 33, in 
the order of tlieii- |iui-ciuise. were Charles 
(iroesbeck and William Groesbeek. of ^Vayne 
County: Fabian Kivard :uid Charles Rivard, 
of Wayne Comity; Charles Groesbeek, of Ma- 
comb Count.v, and Charles Rivard, of W^ayne 
County; Thomas Tieriu'y, of Detroit; Justus 
lugersoll and /ebuloii Kisby. of Wayue 
County. 

Section 3-1: was secured by ^Michael Phelaud, 
Patrick Butler, of W'ayne County, in 1833; 
Charles Groesbeek, of JMacomb County, in 
1833; James Onuirra, John Nolan, of Detroit, 
iu 1833 ; Cornelius Mara, of Wayne County, 
i!i 1834; Garret Reeves, of ^lacomb County, 
in 1834: Victorie Kivard, of Wayne Couuty, 
iu 1835: ^Michael Dalton. of Wayne County, 
in 1835: John Nolan, of Macomb, in 1834; 
Ben.jamiu F. II. Witherell and Cullen Brown 
and K. Stewart, of Wayue County, in 1835. 

Section 35 was taken up by Christopher 
Keiser, of Wayue County, in 1833; ^Martin 
Bano. of Detroit City, in 1833: Henry Gies, 
of Wayne County, in 1834; John Groll, of 
■Wayne County, in 1834; George Jacob 
Staweh, of Macomb Comity, in 1835; Lesnel- 
ette H. Moore, of city of New York, in 1835; 
John Cook, of Wayue County, in 1835; Ben- 
.iamiii F. AVitherell, Cullen Brown and Robert 
Stewart. <if AVayne County, in 1835. 

Section 36 was patented to Israel Curtis, 
of Oakland County, in 1830; Joseph AY. Tor- 
rev, of Detroit City, in 1832: Robert Linn, 
Macomb County, in 1832; Dandeline Himmel. 
of ^racouib County, in 1832; John Couto, of 
Detroit, iu 1833: Frederick (iuth, of Wayne 
County, iu 1833: .Mary Gercian, of Wayne 
County, in 1833: John Eggert. John Troui- 
mans, Frederick Winter, all of Wayne Coun- 
tv, in 1833: John (ii'oll. of Wavne Count.v. in 
1834. 

Of late .vears many of 1lie inrnniiug inhabi- 
tants have been of the Belgian nationalit.y. 
who have helped develop the truck gardening 
industry iu the township. 

The i)ress is represented iu llie township by 
the Warren Watchman, which for years has 
been pulilished by Homer Harwood, at the 
village of W;ii'ren. This village has a popula- 
tion of about four huiulred. aud was incorpo- 
i-ated iu 1893. lis I'resideuts havi> been John 
C. Flynn. l8!)3-4; Frank .\. Keddick, 1895; 
James M. Stanlev, lSi)(i; Kobert McClure, 
1897: Frank A. Heddick, 1898: Charles Ger- 
loch. 1899-1900-01; Frank .\. Reddiek, 1902- 

i:i(i5. 



638 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



The Clerks for the same time have been 
Charles S. Beebe, 1893; Archie C. Lvons, 
1894-5: Frank C. Wells. 1896: Archie C. 
Lyons. 1897: .Alartin Denee. 1898-1902; 
Charles F. Peck, 1903-5. 

The Treasurers of the village since its or- 
ganization have been Robert Tharrett, 1893- 
1894: James :\r. Stanley. 1895; Herbert E. 
Rivanl. 1890-7; Wright Tharrett. 1898-9; 
Clinton Osborne. 1900: Wi-ight Tharrett, 
1901-2; Peter Kennelly, 1903-4; George B. 
Walker, 1905. Among the prominent resi- 
dents of the village of the past and present, 
have been John Ames, ]Milo Ames, Oliver 
Barton. J. L. Beebe and sons, C. Davy, AVil- 
liam Cole, D. L. Case. C. Groesbeck, Louis 
Groesbeck. Silas E. Ilalse.v, John Hartman, 
Rev. Arnold Harwood, George Eckstein, Nich- 
olas Berger, W. Helzenger, Edward Tharrett, 
Alonzo Tharrett. (i. B. Walker and many 
others. 

In the village besides three cluuvhes, a feed 
and saw mill, several stores, blacksmith shop, 
etc.. arc located, the Bank of Warren, Burr 
& Newberry, proprietors; the Warren Can- 
ning Co., the Warren Creamery Company and 
the Warren Roller IMills. The village is .situ- 
ated upon the Ba.v Cit.v branch of the ]\Iichi- 
gan Central Railroad. 

The educational interests of Warren are 
taken care of in seven school districts, having 
school property returned as worth $8,725. 
Three thousand six hundred and forty-eight 
dollars and forty-three cents was returned in 
1904 as expended in the township for educa- 
tional purposes. Three hundred and forty- 
one out of a possible 7<3t> j)upils were enrolled 
in the schools. Here, as in Erin, it must be 
remembered that denominational schools ac- 
commodate many of the children in their lay 
as well as religious education. 

About the Catholic Church, established by 
Bisb(ip Lefevre in 1854, in section 22, of the 
township, has grown up a settlement, which 
in connnon with the railroad station a half 
mile west on the Bay City Railroad, is com- 
monl.v referred to as Center Line. Here a 
postoffice has been maintained for years. 

A list of the chief township officers and a 
table of the i)opnliition and assessed valuation 
of the township, arc given for reference. 
Population. 

1837 249 

1840 337 

1845 421 

1850 700 

1854 997 

1860 1,335 



1864 1,468 

1870 1,938 

1874 2.214 

1880 2,401 

1884 2,384 

1890 2.423 

1894 2,592 

1900 2.567 

1904 2,498 

Assessed Valuation. 

1842 $ 42,812.20 

1846 29,259.00 

1851 35,032.00 

1856 252,144.00 

1861 182.584.00 

1866 239,910.00 

1871 313,700.00 

1876 340.000.00 

1881 1.014,000.00 

1886 970.000.00 

1891 985.000.00 

1896 1.080.000.00 

1901 1.196.000.00 

Supervisors — Samuel (4ibbs. 1837-38 ; John 

11. Barton, 1839: Heniy W. Larraway, 1840- 
1841; George Bolam. 1842-45; Alonzo Haight, 
1846: George Bolam, 1847-48; John L. Beebe, 
1849-53; George W. Corey, 1853-56; George 
Bolam, 1857-59; Louis Groesbeck, 1860-62; 
Joseph T. DeConick. 1863-64: Louis (iroes- 
beek, 1865-66: Charles S. Groesbeck, 1867-70; 
Louis Groesbeck, 1871-78; Paul Lefevre, 
1879-86: Jacob Hartsig. 1887-97: Julius Le- 
fevre, 1898-1902; Jacob Ilartsig. 1903-05; 
Ferdinand Grobbel, 1905. 

Clerks — Alonzo Haight, 1837 ; Daniel A. 
Denison, 1838-39 ; George W. Corey, 1840-41 ; 
Tjoring Ilawley. 1842-48 ; George W. Corey, 
1849-51: William C. Groesbeck, 1852-53; 
Louis Groesbeck, 1854-56: Charles S. Groes- 
beck. 1857-60: Francis E. Groesbeck, 1861-64; 
N. H. Brown, 1865-66; William J. Enright, 
1867; John Kaltz. 1868; John AV. Kingscott, 
1869: Royal A. Jenny. 1870: John Kaltz, 
1871-72; George W. Adair. 1873; Paul Le- 
fevre, 1874-77 ; Henrv W. :\Iiller. 1878-83 ; Ja- 
cob Hartsig, 1884-86; John Kaltz. 1887-99; 
Frank J. Wiegand. 1899 : John Buechel, 1900- 
1903 ; Otto Jacob, 1904 ; John Buechel. 1905. 

Ti'casurcrs — Louis L. Beaufait, 1837-40; 
Luring Ilawle.v. 1840-41; Avery Denni.son, 
1842; Cornelius Fehan, 1843-45; Avery Den- 
nison. 1846 ; Samuel Jone.s, 1852 ; Loring 
Hawlev, 1853: Joseph Tobin, 1854; Prosper 
LeDuc", 1855: Fred H. Walker. 1856; William 
K. llartsio-. 1857-58; Arnold Harwood. 1859; 
John W. Kiug.scott, 1860-61; John Wardhoff, 
1862-66; Peter Rotarius, 1867; George H. 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACOMB COUNTY 



639 



Briiilu'i-s. LSiJcS; Louis Ihtrlsiy, ISliD-Tl; Mar- 
till J. Hoffman. 1872-74; Viiieeiit Tremble. 
1875-77: ^Fathias noffinaii. 1878-7'J ; Louis 
llartsig-. 188(1; Peter .Miller. 1881-82; ^[athias 
llotriiiaii. 1883-84: Joseph Kiiike. 1885-81); 
Julius Lefevre. 1887-88; Joseph Kinke, 188!)- 
1890; Ferdinand Grobbel. 18<»l-92; Julius Le- 
fevre, 1893-94; Francis J. Miller, 1895-9(5; 
George Burr. 1897-98; Edward H. Peek, 1899- 
190(1; Jaenb llartsig. 19(11-02; Peter Seliau- 
iier. 1903-04; Miehael Smith. 1905. 

Among the names of tliose who have helped 
make the history of Warren Townsliip should 
be named especially George Bolam, the old- 
time supervisor and "King of Warren"; 
various members of the Groesbeck family, who 
for years were powerful in Warren politics, 
of whom two members, Charles S. and Louis, 
became prominent citizens of ]\It. Clemens ; 
the Lefevre brothers, who a little later occu- 
pied very similar positions in the Democratic 
party of AVarren ; Arnold Harwood, who came 
originally from Vermont, and had lived in 
Kichmoiid Townsliip and ^It. Clemens before 
he settietl in Warren, who has lived in War- 
ren for the past half century and upwards, 
and shares with Almon D. Jenii)' the honor 
of being the oldest living residents of War- 
ren, and many others, some of whom will be 
mentioned in the biographical section of this 
worls. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



UTICA. 

Tradition has it that upon the return of the 
Harrington family to Frederick, after the 
close of the War of 1812, they found scpiatted 
upon their lands some former residents of 
Canada who, however, apparently had no in- 
tentions of wrongfully appropriating others' 
property, aud promptly vacated, and moved 
further on up the i-iver and located in the 
neighl)oi'liood of L'tiea. Among this little col- 
ony was Thomas Sciuires, who is generally re- 
put(Hl to have been the first white inhabitant 
who died in Utica. llis father, Nathaniel 
Squii-es, with his mother, Jemima, and his 
brother, Hiram, located near the present site 
of Utica in May, 1817. Among these inhabi- 
tants who were compelled to leave the Har- 
7'ington farm was the Tloxie, who afterwards 
settled near Romeo, who is sometimes reputed 
to be the earliest settler there. Vague stories 
concerning the antecedents of Hoxie and his 
reputed connection with the lake pirate, 
"Black Snake," were current as furnishing a 



reason why hr and a few companions sought 
rrl'iigc in ihc wiUls nortli of Detroit. He was 
foi-nicrly ;i luinl)('riiiaii on the St. Lawrence 
Hivi'i-. Tlir ehlcr S(iuire, in ijartnership with 
Josepii Cook, located tJ4(l acres tm section 28, 
in Slielby, and there resided until his death 
in 1832. Jociamy Squire, a half-sister of 
Thomas and Ilii'am, was the lirst white child 
lioni in I'tica. in July, 1817. She was after- 
w.irds a Mrs. .Muii-, of Almont. About this 
same time, if not with the Scpiires, came a man 
by the name of .MacDougal, who visited the 
few log cabins already erected and gave a 
dance, the music of which he furnished with 
his tiddle. He seems to have tiddled his way 
into the hearts of the inhabitants, who, relying 
on his promises to return the next year with 
more settlers and to found a viUage, called the 
little community " .MacDougalville. " Mac- 
Dougal's promises proving false, the indig- 
nant people graduall.v drojiped the name and 
the author is a.ssured by Mrs. Elizabeth K. 
Selleek that when she came to Utica, in 1831. 
the name commonly used was "Hog Hollow." 
However, when the tii'.st plat of the place was 
made by Joseph Stead, in November, 1829, he 
called the place "Ilai'Iow, " after an English 
town. This plat included what is now the 
heart of the village, but was later modified so 
that neither its streets nor lots correspond in 
name or dimensions with the present town. 
There were 44 lots i)latted, facing Franklin, 
AVashington, Hamilton, Monroe and Adams 
streets. A later plat of the village made by 
Josepli Stead covered a much larger portion 
of the present village. The first tavern in 
the town was kept by Benjamin Kittridge. 

In 1S31, when Luther K. JMadison came to 
Utica, a one-story hotel was on the northwest 
corner of the main streets and was kept by 
John Allen. At this time, (iurden C. Leech 
built the first two stories of the old Exchange 
Hotel for Madison. Madison had come from 
Rochester, New York, to Detroit, and fearing 
the cholera there, as it was then prevalent, had 
come on to Utica. Leech used some mill tim- 
ber which had already been cut, and cutting 
the rest of the lumber from trees standing on 
hi.s own lands, had the house inclosed so that 
the family moved in inside of six weeks. Mr. 
Aladison kept the hotel for about three years 
and then retui'iied to Detroit, for about the 
same period during which he kept the Bur- 
lingame House. After his return to Utica he 
lived on farms in the immediate neighborhood 
until about 1850, when he purchased the Jen- 
ney house in Utica, which lie ran for a while, 
and after its sale removed to Grand Rapids. 



640 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 



Among the families that oeeupied the dozen 
houses of the village ujion the coming of the 
]\Iadisons, were Ilarlehigh Carter, Payne K. 
Leech, Giirden C. Leech, John Allen. Samuel 
Adair and his sons George and W. P., Dr. 
Lyman T. Jeuney. Dr. Henry R. Shetterly, 
while in the immediate vicinity were Joseph 
Iloxie, Asa Iluntly, Elias Scott, Ralph 

AVright, John Stead, • Holmes. ■ — 

Covel and George and Steven Alerrill. From 
other sources we learn that at this time be- 
sides the above named, there were located in 
and about Utica. John James, William A. Da- 
vis, William Smith, Ethan and Luman 
Squires. Lyman AVentworth. B. L. Watkins, 
Peter .Aloe. Jedediah and Amasa Alessenger, 
Joseph Lester and Anthony King. 

The first school was taught in a shauty 
which stood very near the site of the present 
school house, and was first used during the 
winter of 1818-19. The seats ware basswood 
logs split in the middle and supported by pegs. 
They had no backs, nor desks, and black 
boards were hung upon the wall at conven- 
ient heights for the use of the pupils. There 
were fourteen or fifteen pupils in schools 
kept for about two months. In 1821 a new 
school house was built, standing on Cass 
street, and one of the best remembered teach- 
ers in it was Prescott B. Thurston, afterwards 
Judge of Probate of the county. Another log 
school house was also erected at an early date 
near the site of the present railroad depot. 

The first wedding occurred in 1819, when 
Eleazer Scott. Justice of the Peace, married a 
sister of one of the settlers. Irene Sweet, to 
one Johnson, who came from above Rochester. 

As in Jit. Clemens, almost the first improve- 
ment made, outside of a dwelling, was a dis- 
tillery, one having been built previous to 
1828 by William A. Davis. A second one was 
erected in 1881 by Payne K. Leech. In about 
18-13-4 a third one was erected by James 
Stephens, and the following year a fourth by 
Charles Chapel mi Die canal. 

In 1828-9 Adam Price built the fir.st saw 
mill and grist mill. Two .years earlier, a saw 
mill had been erected by Jacob Price on the 
site of the present Utica mills. The town was 
called Harlow until 1833, when in obedience 
to the wishes of many from New York state 
who had settled here, it was determined at an 
election held at the house of Elias Scott, to 
adopt as the name of the village, the name of 
New York's i)rominent city, Utica. The name 
was suggested by Gurden C. Leech. Tt is 
whisjx'red that in the celebration which fol- 
lowed the new chi'istening of the place, the 



products of the distillery were freelj- sam- 
pled. 

Under an act approveil March 9. 1838. a 
pcn-tion of the townships of Shelby and Jeffer- 
son (now Sterling) was incorporated as the 
village of Utica. and the first village election 
ordered to be held at the school house on the 
first Monday of JIay. 1838. Organization as 
a village was affected under this act. but was 
soon allowed to lapse in the confusion and dis- 
couragement that followed the financial panics 
and industrial disasters of the next few years. 

In 1838-39. what was eonnnonly spoken of 
as the Strap Railroad, was built. The rails of 
the road were made of poles strapped on to 
logs and the propelling power was horse. The 
road was to run to Detroit and have its ter- 
minus on the Campus Martins, but never 
reached that point. Within five miles of the 
place it turned off and ran to Conner's Creek. 
Gurden C. Leech and a num by the name of 
Clark and one by the name of ]\Ioore were 
most prominent and active in building it. Its 
terminus at I^tica was near the present rail- 
road crossing, and in connection with it was 
erected a large three-story hotel on the west 
side of the river, known as the Railroad Ho- 
tel. One of the carpenters who worked . on 
this hotel was one Sheldon, who aftei'wards 
took part in the Patriot War. The road was 
only operated a short time, and proved to be 
but another one of the fiascos which character- 
ized the period. 

During this period Utica was the center of 
great activity, and by reason of the building 
of the canal and the operation of the Utica 
Bank, shared to gi'eafer extent than any other 
spot in the county, both in the wild hopes and 
dreams with which those enterprises were 
started and in the disa.sters and depressions 
which followed the collapse of the schemes. 

In 1846 D. M. Price and Charles W. Chapel 
Iniih the canal mills, now known as the canal 
railroad mills, utilizing as a mill race the 
canal which has ever since been ke])t in repair 
for the sake of its water power between Roch- 
ester and Utica. 

The first church built in Utica was the M. 
E. Church, on the east side <if the canal, a lit- 
tle south of the school house. From there it 
was moved to its i)resent site. The Congrega- 
tionalist Church was built in 18.')() aiul the 
Catholic about 1870. The German Lutheran 
Church was dedicated August 20. 1882. 

Aside from the Utica Sentinel, which was 
starte(l in 187(1 and has continued a siu'cess- 
I'ul p\iblication ever since, the ])ress has been 
represented in Utica only by the Enterprise, 



PAST AND I'liKSKNT OK .MA(_'().MH COUNTY 



641 



which ran for n shnrt tiinc in the wihl-cat 
pei-iod. and the I'tica Citizen, started in ISS'J, 
and whieh died at an early age. According to 
one authority, the Enterprise was publislied 
by Henry Fish and K. AV. Jenney. with C. B. 
II. Fessenden as editor, althongh it is also 
claimed that it was started by (iurden C. 
Lerch and pnblished by Lnther K. Madison. 
William 11. ilarvin, in ISTti, eame from To- 
ledo and located at Utiea and there started 
the Utica Sentinel. He, with the help of his 
family, have edited and printed the paper 
ever since. It has slowly won its way and is 
now \\idely read not only in the eonnty but 
by former residents of the county. The paper 
has been independent in politics, progressive 
in its business, and is successful in every way. 

In October, 1835. a Presbyterian Church 
was organized at Utica, the last records of 
which that can be found are dated Septem- 
ber. 1845. This was started during the wild- 
cat times, when West Utica pai'ticularly was 
booming. That part of the village was staked 
otf into village lots and spaces reserved for 
parks, and the large railroad hotel (which 
afterwards burned) was built. A large Pres- 
byterian Church was connnenced, but never 
got beyond the frame and roof. The organi- 
zation, however, probably continued up uinil 
nearly the time when the Congregational 
Church was organized, the fir.st move toward 
which was taken November 30, 1854, the or- 
ganization being finally consunnnated Janu- 
ary 11, 1855. The present church building 
was erected in the smnmer of 1856, and the 
Rev. William Piatt, from Oberlin, was the 
first pastor. He remained for seventeen years, 
until June, 1871. leaving Utica for Lodl 
I'lains. lie was followed by the Rev. Obediah 
llobbs. who remained however only six 
months. After being six months without a 
l)astor. the Rev. ilr. Breed eame. continuing 
his work until April 1. 1877. During his pas- 
torate the membership increased three fold. 
Rev. Alworth followed, remaining nearly two 
years. In October. 1879, Rev. William Piatt, 
the first pastor, returned and remaine.d until 
his tleath in August, 1880. He was among th^^ 
most beloved and resi)ected ministers Utica 
has ever known : was born in Lebanon CounlN', 
New York, November 3, 1818. and by his own 
efforts, after his conversion secured his edu- 
cation. In the '40 "s he took an active part in 
the anti-slavery agitation. He had been in 
pastoral work at Lapeei' some ciulit years l)e- 
I'ore coming to l^tica. 

Rev. II. yi. Wi'ight liecame pastor of this 
church January 2. 1881, coming from An ln- 



ver 'i'hcological Seminai-y. Tlu' Kev. J. Wal- 
ter Thrush succceih-d .Mr. Wright in July, 
1885, and i-emained two years, to be succeeded 
by the Kev. John Thomas, who remained about 
a year. Rev. Jesse Povey was acting pastor 
for two years after November. 1888. and was 
followed successfully by the Rev. H. A. Nich- 
ols. Rev. J. II. iiutlcr", Kcv. \V. F. Wilmot, 
;ind Rev. Jonathan Turner. 

The .Methodist Episcopal Church is one of 
the okl land marks of Utica and was organ- 
ized in an early day, its present pastor being 
Rev. .Manly P. Kai-i'. As stated before, the 
church was originally built in 1840 near the 
canal and later moved to its present site. 

The tirst doctor in Utica was Lyman T. 
Jenney, who had retired from active practice 
as eai'ly as 1845. In his early practice, the 
doctor was compelled to walk for the two-fold 
reason that thei'c wei'c no horses about the 
country then nor i'o;uls upon whieh they could 
be used. He has been known to walk as far as 
Frederick and Romeo to visit his patients. 
Dr. Henry R. Shetterly was another of the 
very early physicians to be followed a little 
later by Drs. l^'owers, Cowee. W. W. Andrus. 
and Dr. Wm. Brownell (who eame to this 
country in the spring of 1851), and Dr. P. A. 
Knight, who came in 1845. The medical pro- 
fession in Utiea have always contained some 
of its most progressive and active citizens, 
and upon them have fallen to an ininsual ex- 
tent, the management of its public atfairs. 

The present Utica lianking company was 
organized about 189(i. under the management 
of II. J. LaiMontaine, and has since conducted 
a careful, conservative and successful bank- 
ing business. 

The tirst postmaster was William Smith, 
familiarly known as "Picket"" Smith. He 
received this nick name from the fact that he 
conceived the idea of making pickets on the 
Hats near the river and floating them down 
the river to its nuuith and thence to Detroit. 
He held the office from 1828-41. He was suc- 
ceeded by Richard L. Clark, one of the parties 
interested in the strap railroad who kejjt the 
ofliee in a small building on Cass street, near- 
ly opposite the Mt. Cli'niens road, being the 
same building aftei'wards used as a bowling 
alley, and which the women of Utica destroy- 
ed July 9, 1846. in their indignation over the 
neglect of their husbands, brothers and lovers 
for whom the "ball alley"' had too .strong an 
attractiim. After the death of Clai'k. Luther 
K. .Madison became jxistmaster. 

In 1845 the citizens of Utica held an elec- 
tion to select a postnuLster, and John James, 



642 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



a Whig, was ehoseu, but on the advice of 
"Cutt"" Niles, then a power in Democratic 
j)()iitics, a new choice was made and Carej' 
Wortlcn became postmaster. In 1849 John M. 
Vonng, the first president of the re-incorpo- 
rated village, was postma.ster. He resigned 
in favor of John II. Kaple, afterwards post- 
ma.ster of Detroit, who kept the office_ in a 
small building just west of the present bank 
building. He was succeeded by Dr. William 
Brownell, and he in tixrn by John II. Goff. 
Seymour Brownell w^as appointed postmaster 
February 11, 1858, eleven days before he be- 
came twenty-one. He was succeeded by 
George Brownell in 18.59, and he in turn by 
William W. Andrus in 1861. Dr. Andrus, re- 
fusing to ■' Johnsonize" at the time of the 
difference between President Johnson and his 
party, a new postmaster in the person of Reu- 
ben T. St. John was selected. He was fol- 
lowed by William II. Scott, and he by Alex- 
ander Grant in ISl'-i. Mi's. J. P. Grant, 
Utica's only postmistress, was appointed in 
1888 and was followed by William S. Andrus. 
S. P. St. John was postmaster under Cleve- 
land's first administration, and was followed 
by Stuart Beatty, who. however, for political 
I'casons, was not then allowed to hold the of- 
fice for any length of time. James Grant 
served as postmaster from 1889 to 1893, an<l 
Syra Morrison for the next four years. Fred 
II. Clark was appointed in 1897 and remained 
postmaster until the appointuaent of Stuai't 
Beatty, the present incundient, in 1903. 

I'tica has been singularly fated in its fires. 
Years ago a lai'ge fire took place on the south- 
east coi'uer of Cass and Main streets, wliich 
bnriicd stores owned by Seymour Bi'ownell 
and J. N. Young, and a few years later the 
northwest corner of these streets was cleaned 
out. In each case, it was onl.y with great diffi- 
culty that the buildings on the other coi-ners, 
the Exchange Hotel aiul tiie I'pton Block, 
were saved. 

The town was not so fortunate in Jlay, 
19U4. when on Sunday morning, a fire was 
found to have been started in the barn of tln' 
old Exchange Hotel, op]>osite the Mt. Clem- 
ens Hoad. The origin of tiie fire is not known 
cci'tainly, but is thougiit to have been the work 
of a tramji. It spread rapidly to the hotel 
and from there across the road, both to the 
iioi-th and to the east, and was soon entirely 
beyond all control until a lire depai'tment 
friiiii the city of Detroit reached the village. 
In addition to the Exchange Hotel, the old 
land mark of the village and its barn, the 
i-i'sidence of James Messmore, was burned in 



that block. Across Cass street the entire 
block bounded by ilain and Shelby streets and 
the Mt. Clemens road, was swept, wiping out 
Kampton's shoe store, the dry goods store next 
door, ilessmore's meat market and adjacent 
store building, and the barn back of it, and 
Ilupert's house and barn on ]\Iain street at the 
coi'nei' of Shelby street. On the noi-thwest 
cdrner of Cass and ^lain streets the bank 
building. Chapaton's shoe store, Ilupert's 
meat market aiul Abernethy's shoe store were 
cleaned out. The fire also crossed Cass street 
to the block on the northeast corner of ^lain 
street and there wiped out the Upton Block, 
a lai-ge three-.stoiy building built many years 
ago, and also the residences of ^Ir. William 
U]>ton and of John Kub.v, the livery barn 
owned by ilrs. DeKay, and occupied by A. G. 
Sunnuers, Oreutt's blacksmith shop and car- 
riage factory and the large carriage factory 
of Kaps. and then continuing northward, con- 
sumed all the dwellings to a point nearly 200 
feet beyond the alley, running through the 
lilock and up to the propert.v of the Catholic 
Chui'ch on the west side of Shelb.v street. At 
one time it seemed certain that no part of the 
town lying to the windward of the fire could 
l)0ssibly lie saved, and such would have been 
the case had the arrival of the fire engines 
from Detroit been delayed a few minutes 
longer. The fire involved a loss of nearly, if 
not quite, $80,000, and seemed tempoi-arily to 
mean a sei'ious setback to the villagi-, but the 
inhabitants .soon went to work with renewed 
vigiir and conunenced the rebuilding of the 
Inii-ned district with iiuich more substantial 
and handsome sti'uctures than were the old 
ones, and the loss to the individuals by the 
fire is proving to be the coiumunit.v's gain. 

July 9, 1905, another disasti'ous tire, in- 
volving approximately $25,000 loss, started in 
the hotel barn of the Clinton House, and be- 
foiv its pi-ogress was checked the Clinton 
House, both hotel and bai-n. the offic(> of Dr. 
"Wiley, the dwelling of John Ruby, tiie hard- 
ware store and new .store building of Wagner, 
and Reick Bi'othcrs' store, on the south side 
of Main street were wiped out. 

Tile villagi' of Utica. as we have seen, was 
first organized years ago, but the oi'ganizat ion 
falling into disuse, it was re-iiu'oi'|)orated .May 
1(1. 1S77. its lirsl Pi-esident was Jchn N. 
\'oiu)g, who came to Utica in 18.")4. Its fir.st 
Clerk was Alexander Grant, and its first 
Ti-nstees were E. P. Adaii-. William 11, Har- 
vey, Joseph Ka])s, J. II. St. Jobii. Calvin 
Uadd. Ileiny Mitchell. The Presidency of 
the village has been filled successivelv bv Dr. 



PAST AND 1M;KSFA'T OF :\IACO.MB COrXTY 



643 



AVilliaiu A. Aiulrus. \Villiiim 11. lliirvcy, .Ir- 
hiel S. llollistei'. John I. I'rissiiiiiii. Frod J. 
Duseiil)ui-y, Willi;uii II. Marvin, (lin. (1. Koli- 
iTsiiii and th(> iircscnt iiicuinln'iil. .\ul;us1 K. 
Ilahn. 

From the humble start, wliicii lias hci'ii 
noted before in the way of school houses, 
Ftiea's schools have progressed until they are 
now housed in a tine three-.story briek build- 
inur, occupying' a eoinmandinfr site north ol' the 
center of the town. The return.s show thai in 

1904, the school property was estimated to l)r 
worth .'l^S.OOO, and that of the 2-16 children of 
school asie in the district, ITti had liccn en- 
rolled in the school tlurint;' the past year; 
$:^,:n8.():? was sjient by the district dui'ini;' Ihc 
year. 

The pojjulation of I'tiea, accordin<i' to each 
census taken since the re-incorporation of the 
vilhiire. is as follows: 1880. 4!»3 : 1884, r)10; 
18mC 568: 1894, ooB : 1900, 5G2 : 1904. 520. 

The clerks and treasurers of the villa<i'e for 
the past twelve vcars have been as follows : 
Clerks— Enoch J. Andrews. 1898-94: Albert 
F. Leech, 1895-97: Enoch J. Andrews, 1898; 
John F. HoUister, 1899-1904: Kalph Wilcox, 

1905. Treasurers— Ilarmand Keick, 1887: 
Charles H. Firman, 1888; Howard S. Dusen- 
bury, 1889-94: James .Messmore, 1895-96; 
Herman J. Keick, 1897; llowaid S. Dusen- 
bury, 1898-99: Ernest Hahn, 1900: Ploward 
O. Mes.sniore, 1901-02; James B. Russell, 
1903-04; Fred W. Reick, 1905. 



CHAPTER XV 



TOWNSHIP OF STERLING. 



The early history of the northern part 
of this township is closely associated with 
the histoi'v of I'tica and a reference to that 
chapter will show many of the names of the 
early settler.s of the township. The Clinton 
River running- through the northerly and 
easterl.v portions of the townshi]) with Plum 
Brook, Beaver Creek and the Red Run af- 
ford ways and means ol' di'ainage foi' the 
township. Along each side of the river are 
old established highways, along which many 
of the earliest settlei-s of the township lo- 
cated. The one on the west side becoming 
a part of the Detroit & Utica Plank Road 
Company, was for nuin.v .vears operated as a 
toll road, rtica is the oid.v village included 
in the township. Sections one, two and 
three of this township are crossed b.v the 
ol.l ( 'linton (Jc Kalamazoo Canal referri-il to 
in another chajiter. 



The lii'st election in the townshi]) held at 
the house of Jonathan T. Allen. A]iril tith, 
1885, resulted ill th<' selection of William A. 
Davis, Sii])ervisoi-; John ,M. Chapman, 
Clerk; John St. John. KJias Seott, and Or- 
toii (iibbs. Assessors; Abrani Freeland, Col- 
lector; John T. Allen and Russell Andrus, 
])irectors of the Poor; Samuel .Merrill, Louis 
Drake and Jose])li Stickiiey. Commissioners 
of Highways; .\a1liaii \. .Miller. Elias B. 
Jackson and Cordello Curtiss, School Com- 
missioners: Alex Warner and William A. 
Davis, Pound Masters. The chief townshi]) 
iirtici'i-s since that time have been: 

Su])crvisors — William .\. Davis, 1885: Hi- 
laii Ober, 188(i-7; County Conniiissioners, 
1888-42; William A. I)avis,'l848; John B. St. 
St. John. 1844-48: Hilan Ober. 1849-50; Eli 
S. Scott. 1851; John B. St. John, 1852-55; 
Leonard .M. Caster. 185(i; John B. St. John, 
1857-59; Beii.iaiiiin C. (iunn, 18fi0; A. W. 
Aldrich, 18H1 ; John B. St. John. 1862-69; 
Samuel H. St. John, 1870: Seymour Brown- 
ell. 1871-72; llumiihn-y Murphy, 1873-91; 
Ira (;. Chapinai), 1892-97: Andrew Burr, 
1898-1902: Frank F. Forton, 1903-05. 

Clerks — lames Wallace, 1836: L.vman T. 
Jenney, 1888; C. B. II. Fe.ssenden, 1840: 
Chester W. Pheljis, 1841-45; Julius A. Smith. 
1847: William Cowic. 1848; (ieorge A. Adair, 
1849; Elias Scott, 1850; James Abernethy, 
1851-52; L. L. Bailey, 1854; Seth K. Shet- 
terly, 1855; George Brownell, 1862: Elam 
Moe, 1869; George Brownell, 1870: George 
W. Abernethy, 1872: (ieorge Brownell. 1873- 
75; George AV. Abernethy. 1877: George 
Brownell, 1878; Seth K. Shetterly. 1879; 
Erastus AV. Lawrence. 1881; Seth K. Shet- 
terlv. 1883-89; George W. Ruby, 1890; Seth 
K. Shetterlv, 1891-92: William F. Nank, 
Herbert E." .McClellan. 1898-94: Louis IL 
Stead, 1895-98: Tom Reddick. 1899-1902; 
Frank I. Schoonover, 1908-05. 

Treasurers — Abi'aiii Freeland. 1886 ; Elea- 
zer Edgerton, 1838; James .\. Hicks, 1889; 
C. McKisson, 1840; Elias Scott, 1841; Amos 
B. Cooley, 1842: Ral])h Wright. 1843; Wal- 
ter Porti'r, 1844: Ililaii Obei-, 1845: George 
E. Adair, 1847: Hilan Ober, 1848; John B. 
St. John, 1849; Cransoii Beldeii. 1850; C. L. 
Uiee, 1S51: A. II. Welden, 1852: Klias Scott, 
1S58; (ieorge .M. Davis. 1854: W. H. Lester, 
1855: Eleazer Edgerton, 1856: Gilb(M-t Rice, 
1S57; Phineas Andi-us, 1858: John B. 
Wiieht. I860: Charles S. Hutchins. 1861; 
.\ue. II. .Morrison. 1862; Francis Wright, 
1864; Willi:iiii X. Sojier, 18()6-68 ; George 
.M. Davis, 1870-71: (ieorge I'pton. -1878; 



644 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Louis Burr. 1875-7tj : Henry P. Mitchell, 
1878: David V. Robinson. 1880-81; ilartin 
Finnan. 1882-3; James iMessniore. 1884-85; 
Godfi-ied ililler. 1886-7; James Jlessmore, 
1888; Godfried .Miller. 1889-90; Julius Mil- 
ler, 1891; Louis Stead. 1892-93; Alfred 
Schoonover. 1894-95 ; David V. Robinson 
1896-97; Julius Fischer. 1898; Dean C. 
AVrijiht. 1899-1900; (;eoroe W. Abernath.v. 
1901-02: Howard ilessmore. 1903; Henrv 
Dopp. 1904-05. 

The schools of Stei-liiiii' arc included in 
seven districts. The school i)ro]iert.v esti- 
mated worth is $8,100.00. In 1905 there was 
reported as expended for teachers" wages, 
$2,499.(10 and the precedin-;- year a total 
school expense of $3,022.20. The schools 
are well conducted and equipped, and main- 
tain nine and ten months' school annually. 
The following- list of early land buyers, to- 
gether with the liiographical sketches found 
elsewhere in tliis work, will afford consid- 
erable infoi'mation concerning the early and 
present prominent men of the town. 

The chief purchaser of Government lands 
in section 1 of this township, was Isaac L. 
IMoe of New York city in August of 1835. 
In 1832-1834-35. three men came from On- 
tario County. New York, and took up lands 
in section two. These were Ileil Phelps. Hi- 
ram Harris and .Vdoni.iah il. Beebe. In the 
latter year. too. Nun Moe. of ]Mt. Clemens 
Distillei-y fame, [nirehased in section two as 
did his brotlier. Isaac L. ^loe. In this same 
year, too. came that sterling jiioneer so long 
a resich^nt of the Town Line road. Lockwood 
C. Russell from Massachusetts. The other 
early land bu.vers in this section were Will- 
iam B. Ferris. Jr., Emorv ;\I. Ilnmiilirev and 
Philander Powell. 

Section three attracted Eleazon Scott. 
Loring H. Bronson. Peter ^loe. Henry B. 
Shetterly (I'tica's eai-liest physician, father 
of Seth K. Shetterly). and (ieorge A. 
O'Keefe, one of Macoml) cimnty's earliest 
prosecuting attorneys. 

In section 4. we find William A. Davis. 
Loring II. Bi-onson. Eli.jah iia<dielor. William 
Smith. Xatlianicl C. Xaramor and Alexander 
Warren, names fjimiliar to I'tica's old set- 
tlers, as are those who purchased early in 
sections 5 and 6. In 1830, Darius Clark of 
Oakland County, in 1831 Walter Wentworth 
of Jloni'oe County, New York, and in 1S32 
Andi-cw Brown and p]laner Jnhnson each 
took up lands in section 5. They were fol- 
lowed in 1835 l)y Joim A. Wood. Ste|)heii 
Beall. Samuel Fowler, William A. Davis and 



Gurdon C. Leech. In section six, we find 
ilark Wilcox, a purchaser as early as June 
lOtli. 1826. to be followed in 1827* by John 
B. St. John (for so many years supervisor 
in Sterling and the first comer of a family 
who have been so prominent in and about 
Utiea during its entire history), and Will- 
iam Thomas from Livingston County. New 
York. In 1831. among the bu.vers. we find 
the names of Peter J. Desnoyer of Detroit, 
Ephraim Calkins of Livingston County. New 
York, and Christopher Sparks of .Monroe 
County. New York. 

Livingston and Ontario iMinnties of New 
York furnished the bulk of the purchasers 
from the (iovei-nment in section 7. James 
^IcVicar and William Thomas, coming from 
the former in 1827. and William and Elias 
Jackson from the latter in 1832. Humph- 
rey Adams from Oakland County also 
bought in this section in 1831. 

In section 8 we find the names of John 
A. Wood of Rennselaer Count.v. New York, 
Samuel Fi.sher, Samuel B. and Justin J. Jler- 
rill of Genesee County. New York, Abram 
Freeland (later sheriff), John Summers. 
Burgess B. and Catharine Calkin. Ral]i]i 
Runyan and Charles Summers. 

Section 9 was ac(iuired by Samuel Fisher 
of Genesee County, New York. Payne K. 
Leech of Ontario County, New York, Tim- 
othy Lester of Windham County. Connecti- 
cut, and John il. Chipman of Oakland Coun- 
ty, Amos W. and Seth Williams, and William 
Riley Chapel. In section 10, we find the 
names of Asa Hnntle.v. George A. O'Keefe. 
James Wallis, Philaniler S. Cowles and An- 
drew J. Whitney. The last named shares 
with George McDougall the honor of being 
the first purchasers of land in this township, 
as they each entered lands Nov. 12th, 1818. 

Jlonroe Count.v, New York, furnished 
four of the land buyers in section 11. Orlien 
Gordan, Phillip Plass. Daniel Simmons and 
Emory ;\I. Humi>hrey from that county hav- 
ing purchased in October. 1835. The others 
in this section are Sibbel Bardwell. George 
Beckwith. Delsey Ben.jamin. (ieorge W. Elli- 
sini and Davis Schu.vlei-. 

Section 12 was taken u]) in 1835 by John 
Lockwood of Oakland Count.v. Horace W. 
Kittredge of ^lacomb Count.v. Owen I'liillijis 
of Chenango Comit.v. New York, in 183(1 by 
Willai'd Woodwai'd. Amoine Joslin of Ma- 
comli and K'alpli Wright of Livingston 
Coiuily. New York itlie fatliei' of Fi-ancis 
and John B. Wright), and in ls:i(; iiy 
(ieorge Beckwith. 



PAST AM) PHHSEXT OF MACU.MK COUNTY 



645 



In seetiou 13 appears the names of Jesse 
Soi)er of ^Fonroe Comity, New York (18:52), 
Chester Ilurd, of Cenesee County, New York, 
in 1S;{4; Ray G. Waite of Yates County, New 
York: Eli Stone of Ontario County, New 
York ; Henry Sprague of Oakhmd County, 
Henry Harvey of jMaeomb County ami 
Owen Phillips. 

Geoi-fie .\reDougall took up on Novenil)cr 
12th, 1818, a portion of section l-l, but it 
was nearly tive years later before any one 
followed his example. At that time, Carle- 
ton Crittenden of Ontario County, New 
York, and Taber \Vileox of Macomb County 
eaeh purchased tracts in this section. An- 
other ten years went l)y before Peter 0. 
Ober of ;\Iacomb County made two entries 
and at about the same time, Louis Drake 
made a purchase in this section. The fol- 
lowing year, 1834, Eleazer Edgerton se- 
cured a portion of this section. 

The earliest purchase in section 15 was 
made October 29th, 1823, by Taber Wilcox, 
and it was not until 1832 that the next pur- 
chaser, Daniel Pitts of (ienesee County, 5sew 
York, made his entry. He was followed the 
next year by John Cooly of Seneca County, 
New York, and John Bowman of Macomb 
County. In 183-4 John Lee of JIacomb, and 
Amos ]\I. Gates of Genesee County, New 
York, bought in this section as did Charles 
W. Chai)el, and William H. Brockway. both 
of ^lacomb, during the year 1835. 

In 1834-5 section 17 was taken up by 
Ralph Bunyan, Jacob Summers, Jr., John 
Freeland, William Jackson, William Gibson 
and (hirdon C. Leech of ^lacomb County, 
and William :\Iillard and John F. Fricke of 
Oakland County. In 1831 Eli Witt and 
John Gibson took ixp lands in section IS to 
be followed three years later by Nathan 
Calkins, James Tubbs, John Gibson, and 
Philander Cotton, These were joined in 
1836 by Benjamin Livermore, and Lydia 
Postal. Mr. Livermore also at the same 
time took up lands in section 19 where he 
had been preceded by Abram Smith of 
Steuben County, New York, Samuel Clark 
of Oakland County, William Jackson of this 
County, Israel Moore of Genesee County, 
New York, and Algernon L. Ilollister of 
Oakland County. Later in this same sec- 
tion came Richard Nelson of New York city 
and Edward W. Peek of Oakland County, 
both in 1836. 

Peck and G. C. Leech also took up lands 
in section 20 as in 1835 did Patrick .M. Flood, 
Richard Hotham and Oliver Sherman of Oak- 



land County, anil .lnlm Dods of New York 
cily. The niiw familiar names of G. C. 
Leech, .Jolin .lames, Isaac L. Moe appear 
among the purchasei-s in section 21 as do the 
names of Sl.vvanus Hadielor and Asa Baehe- 
liir and Andrew D. Daviilson, all of ]\Iacomb. 
In 1832-5, lands were entered in section 22 
by Oliver Crocker, Francis IMarcliant. Altha 
Rice, Cyrus Smith, Henry Creswicke, Amos 
W, Watkins, Johnson (Jreen and G. C. Leech. 

Section 23 furnishes us several names fa- 
miliar to all acquainted with Sterling since 
Henry J. Stead in December of 1831, Eleazer 
Edgerton in flune of 1832, Ilarley Rice in 
June of 1832, John Rice in October of 1833 
and Sylvanus Bachelor in July of 1832 each 
took up lands in this section. 

In section 24 we again find the name of 
George ]\IcDougall (without giving his for- 
mer address) who again entered lands in 
November of 1818. In 1823. Julius C. Un- 
derwood of Cattaraugus County, New York, 
and Andrew Cone of Ontario County, New 
York, made their entries. George F. Stead 
of this county was the only purchaser in 
1831. In 1832, however, we find Orton 
Gibbs, Chester Cowles and Joseph Robert- 
jean. The bulk of section 25 was taken up 
during the year 1833 l)y Allen W. Ilurlbut, 
Henry M. Gritfin, Cordelo Curtis, Cliauncey 
G. Cady, and Charles McComber, although 
John ^Miliar made an entry in June, 1831, 

George F. Stead was the earliest purchaser 
in section 26, having made his entr.y in De- 
cember, 1833, He was followed in 1834 by 
Thomas Stead and Jacob Tucker. The lat- 
ter also purchased in 1835 as did Loring 
Bryant, Chauncey G. Cady, Gurdon C, 
Leech, Edward Smith, John H. White and 
Jeremiah Godfrey. Besides Gurdon C. 
Leech and John James in section 27, we find 
the names of James Covel, Jr., and Alexan- 
der Peterson. Those who made entries in 
section 28 were William and James Aber- 
nathy, Washington Standley, Albert G. Ful- 
ler and JIason J. Jones, all in 1835. In 1835, 
too, Silas W. Stowell of Cuyahoga County, 
Ohio, Daniel Dunn and Walter Coujan of 
Saratoga County, New York, Septer Scott 
of this county and Thomas Emerson of Bos- 
ton entered lands in section 29. 

Dunn & Coujan also appeal' among the 
jjurchasers in section 30. The balance of 
this section was taken ui) by ^lichigan men, 
viz., Hiram, Brittian ancl Benjamin F. Skin- 
iu>r, James Wood, Philetus Perry and Rob- 
ert Friebnrn, all of Oakland Count}'; James 



646 PAST AND PRESENT 

Walton of this comity and Alvak Ewers of 
Wayiu- County. 

In 18:U. Franklin E. liarton, Jeremiah 
"Wilson. Charles Spraiiue and Asher D. King- 
each niatle purchases in section 31. Cooley, 
Brooks and Jones, who platted a large por- 
tion of 'Sit. Clemens, were also among the 
Government purchasers in this section, as 
were also Fi-anklin Ames, 1835, and Hiram 
Walker in 1836. Ames & Leech also took 
np lands in section 32 where we also find 
the names of Josiah II. Alger, 1834, Jehiel 
Ci-igger in 1834; Charles Spragne in 1834; 
Silas W. Stowell and Ira Alger in 1835. 

The Algers and Leech also took lands in 
sci'tidu 33. The other early purchasers be- 
ing Chester Crooks, j\Iai'y Sjiinniiigs and Ed- 
win Stevens. In section 34 among the early 
purchasers, we find Joseph Stickney, of Ad- 
dison County, Vermont; Asa Bachelor, Dan- 
iel Kearne.y, Oliver Sherman and Edwin 
Jerome. Section 35 brings forth the names 
of Lucv Little, 1831 ; Henry Sperry, Eddius 
II. Rood, Allen W. Ilurlbnt, David Stickney, 
Phoebe Rood, Jonathan Stickney, John 
Scott and Thomas Wellington. Charles Mc- 
Comber of Genesee County, New York, ap- 
peal's to have been the only early land buyer 
in section 36 who was not already a Michi- 
gan man, the others being jMoses Robert- 
jean and Joseph Forton of Wayne County 
and Oliver IMoore, John Harvey, Charles J. 
Forton iiiid Cu.iiah Tingley of this county. 
Did time and space permit, many interest- 
ing stories could be told of the old settlers 
of Sterling, but lack of these and of better 
acquaintance on the part of the writer for- 
bid. However, at least a passing notice must 
be given to the ciuaint and genial character 
of Humphrey ]\Iurphy. who for nineteen 
yeai-s represented the township on the Board 
of Supervisors. His genial face and unfail- 
ing wit. )iot to .speak of his .sound common 
sense and native shrewdness were sadly 
missed when the fickle changes of politics 
brought about his retirement. 

The population nl' Sterling according to 
the census returns, has been as follows: 

1837 523 

1840 677 

1845 831 

1850 876 

1854 980 

iSliO 1082 

1864 1210 

1870 1549 

1874 1711 

1880 2088 



OF MACOMB COUNTY 

1884 2040 

1890 2038 

1894 1985 

ISIOO 1915 

1904 1877 

The assessed valuation of the township as 
equalized by the Board of Supervisors has 
been as follows : 

1842 ^ 45.190.00 

1846 45,877.00 

1851 49,880.00 

1856 249,602,00 

1861 233,431.00 

1866 259,S9!l.OO 

1871 319,000.00 

1876 340.000.00 

1881 973.000.00 

1886 890,000.00 

1891 915,000.00 

1896 890,000.00 

1901 985,000.00 



CHAPTER XVI, 



SHELBY TOWNSHIP. 

Poi-tions of the History of this township 
are included in the chapters on Utica and the 
Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal, In common 
with the western tier of townships of our 
county, the original survey of Shelby was, in 
the winter of 1817-18, made by Joseph Wam- 
pler. of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, of whom 
very little is known. The surface of the town- 
ship was found to be quite level on its eastern 
portion, elsewhere gently rolling and no- 
where hilly. Undulating, grassy plains, with 
scarcely any timber, formed its central and 
southwestern jiorlions, while a broad swell of 
land compriseil the noithwest. The eastern 
and extreme northern parts were heavily tim- 
bered, the remainder but little. The soil was 
fertile, varying from sandy to clay loam and 
clay. AVitli such a variety to select from the 
settlers could easily find what they wanted, 
when after the survey, the lands were thrown 
open by j)roclamation of President for settle- 
ment. It is presumed that they naturally se- 
lected such as I'eminded them of their old 
homes. The Clinton Kiver, entering the town 
at section 18 and flowing in a southeasterly 
direction, and leaving it at section 33, afford- 
ed an outlet to the nuiny sti'(>anis, brooks and 
rivulets which furnished an amjile water sup- 
ply to the settlers. This river, too, alT'oi'dcd 
canoe navigation, by which means some of the 
earlier settlers came into the town. The first 
American settlers of the township were Na- 



PAST AND PRESENT OP MACO:\IB COUNTY 



647 



thauifl S(|uier. Lu'(>ri;v llaiisooin, Elias Wil- 
cox, Joseph ^liller. Ezra Burgess, Elder Abel 
Warren. Pelesr Ewell. Ii-a Preston, Joseph 
Lester, the Axfords, Owens and others. 

Thomas S(niier was the first white inhabi- 
tant who died in the town of Shellty. lie 
was a brother of llirain Squier. by whom he 
was buried. Joelamy Scpiier, a half-sister of 
Thomas S(iuier, was the tinst white ehild born 
in the township, her birth occurring in Jul.y. 
1817. She married James ]Muir at an early 
da.v. and was afterwai'ds known as tlu' Widow 
iluir. of Almont. 

We quote at length from an article on the 
history of Shelby prepared by (leorge II. 
Cannon, on the order on which the lands in 
the township were taken up. "The first house 
erected in the township of Shelby was built 
by Nathaniel Burgess in the winter of 1816- 
1817. on section 3-4. Aniasa and Jedcdiah 
]\Iessenger, as well as Nathaniel Squires, built 
houses on section 28 in 1817. Asa Patridge 
and Ira Andrus came in 1819. settling on sec- 
tion 34. and Ben.jamin and Robert Stead set- 
tled on the same section in 1820. One of tjie 
first English schools in ilacomb County was 
taught by a Mi'. Hadsel, in the winter of 
1818-lfl. the seliool house being on the present 
site of Utica village. The first saw mill was 
built by Asa Price on the Clinton River, in 
1828, and Ailam Price, in the same year, put 
xip a grist mill. An election for delegate to 
Congress was held the same year, July 9 ; 
Wing and Bidwell being the candidates, the 
latter successful in the canvass. We do not 
know by whom, or when, our township re- 
ceived its name of Shelby, but believe it has 
never been changed since first adopted. Not 
so, however, with our principal village of 
Utica. which at first received the uueoannon. 
if not euphonious name of "ilacdougalville," 
changed to the easier jjronounced "llarlow" 
and finally to the present Utica. 

We now come to the first Iniyer of laud 
from the general government in our town- 
ship, and Blake Curtis has the honor of being 
the first purchaser. The records show that 
on Ma.v 24. 1819, he secured the southwest 
qiuirter of section 7, a desiralile selection, and 
one of the best quai'ter 'sections in the town- 
ship. 

ilore than two years passed before another 
entrv was made, as we find no sales recorded 
in 1820. On September 24. 1821. Ezra Bur- 
gess bought the southeast quarfei' and south 
half of northeast (|\uirfer of section 33, com- 
prising 2.')0 acres. Tliis selection is now in 
l)Mrl 1li(' site of Utica \'illage. Nov(Mnber 20, 



1821, James Hazard t-nlercd the west half of 
the northeast quartei- of section o ; these two 
entries being the only land bought in our town 
in that year, and, .singularly enough, were in 
o])posite pai'ts c)f the township. In 1822 the 
buyers were moi'e luunei'ous. Ezra Burgess, 
selecting the west half of northwest quarter, 
section 7, ^Ia.y 13. On June 8, Ceorge Hans- 
coiu entered the west hall' of the northwest 
quarter, section 3. Joseph .Miller, on June 12, 
bought the west half of noi-theast quarter, sec- 
tion 4, aiul on June 18 Nathan B. Miller en- 
tered the northwest ((uarter. section 4. Elias 
Stone on July 27 bought the east half of the 
southeast quarter of the same section, while 
John Stone on the same date entered the east 
half of the northeast quarter of section 5. 
October 3, Oliver Nye bought the east half 
of northwest quarter of section 3. James 
Loper entered the west half of the southwest 
iiuarter, .section (i, October 14. Samuel Ax- 
ford, on November 2, selected the southeast 
quai-ter of the same section, also the east half 
of the northwest (puirter, section 7, and the 
west half of the northeast quarter. These 
nine individuals comprise all who made en- 
tries of land in our township during the vear 
1822. 

In 1823 but few entities were made. The 
tract book shows that Solomon Stone selected 
the southeast quarter, section 3, May 24, 
of that year. Joel Barber, June 28, entered 
the east half of southeast quarter, section 17. 
Sanniel Axford, Jul.v 5. bought the east half 
of northeast quarter, section 7. Thus it ap- 
pears that but three buyers of land, from the 
general government, were of record in 1823. 

The numl)ers were increased somewhat in 
1824, but it seems that settlers came in slowly. 
February 28 Sanuiel Axford bought the ea.st 
half of the southwest quarter of section 6. 
ilarch 23, (ieorge Ilanseom the east half of 
noi-theast quarter, section 4. William W^ood- 
bridge entered the noi'thwest quarter, section 
34. on April 2(). May 17, Eliphas J. Ruland 
selected the southwest quarter, section 3, and 
on the same date Elias W^ileox the northeast 
quarter of the same section. Lemuel Wil- 
liams, Jr., .May 29, entered the east half of 
the southwest quarter, section 4. June 3 
Elon Dudley bought the west half, southeast 
Iiuarter of the same section. 

Kdward ^lartin, June 8. selected the east 
half of the northeast quarter, section 6, and 
on the same date Betsey Ann ^lartin bought 
the west half of the northeast quarter of the 
same section. June 21 John Ilersey entered 
the northwest (|ii:irli'r of section (5. William 



648 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Arnold, on Jul^- 1. bouylit tlie southwest (quar- 
ter, section 5, and on July 2, Abel "Warren 
selected tlie west half of the southwest quar- 
ter, section 4, Kussel Andrus buying on the 
saiiie date the east half of the northwest quar- 
ter, section 8. July 4 Calvin Davis selected 
the west half of the northwest quarter of 
the same section. August 16 "William Arnold 
entered the east half of the northwest quarter 
of section o, and on the same date Peter Dan- 
iels bought the west half of southwest quarter, 
section :i4. 

Thii'tet-n pci-sdns had iiiadc their selections 
and bought their lands during that year. In 
the succeeding year, 1825, we have a list of 
land buyers up to August 4, at which date 
Abijah Owen entered the west half of the 
southwest quartei' of section 8. In the order 
of entries previous to this date, we tind that 
Jonathan Kearsley bought the east half of the 
southeast (juarter of section 20 on February 
23, and Anson A. Adams, on May 14, the 
noi-thwest quarter, section 2. Elisha Nickols, 
I\lay 27, selected the west half of the north- 
east quarter, section 8. July 1, John Gilbert 
entered the northwest (juarter. section 19, and 
on July 6, Kufus Wells the east half of the 
southwest ((uarter, section 34. 

The foregoing list of the earliest laud buy- 
ers in the township of Shelby, comprises the 
names of well remembered citizens, whose de- 
scendants, to a considerable extent, abide with 
us and oecu])y homes in the township, but in 
very few instances ou the land bought by their 
forefathers from the general government. 
Those who bought land from the government, 
with but few exceptions, occupied it for 
homes, but (iovernor "Woodbridge and 
Jonathan Kearsle.v, as well as some oth- 
ei-s, never settled here. From this time on, the 
remaining lands in the township were rapidly 
bought up and settled upon and measures were 
taken for a township organization. A legisla- 
tive enactment of April 12, 1827, gave author- 
it.v. and the fii'st town meeting was ordered to 
be held at the house of Perez Swift, on sec- 
tion 21, the last Monday of the ^Fay following. 
This was a double log house, which probably 
accounts for the selection. 

The townsbi]) of Sterling, ad.joining on the 
south, was foi- rrum.y years associated with and 
a part of the township of Shelby. At the first 
town meeting held, a few of the familiar 
names of our early land buyers appear as 
among the chosen for town otiicers. Calvin 
Davis presided at the uKH'ting, Abijah Owen 
as clerk, and Kussel Andrus. William Ar- 
nold, Elias Wilcox, illon Dudley and George 



llaiisconi were scleeti'd to fill tlie various of- 
fices for that year. 

In the Legislative halls of the State we have 
been largcl.v rein'esented, as the following 
roster of seventeen names and dates of elec- 
tion will show : In the territorial Legislatuj'e 
we find the name of Jacob Svunmcrs. elected 
1835. In till- House of Keprescntatives Isaac 
^lonfort, in 1S37: Ephraim Calkins. 1838; 
Orison Sheldon. 1838; G. C. Leech, 1841; Sam- 
uel Axford, 1842; Ilarleigh Carter, 1845-50; 
Payne K. Leech. 1846; Laman B. Price, 1847; 
Oliver Adams. 1853; Philander Ewell, 1855- 
185fi; William Hi-ownell. 1857-8; 11. 1). Hun- 
yan. 1871-72; Alcxamlei' Grant, 1881-2-3-4. 
Ill the State Senate, Samuel Axford, 1837; 
Jacob Sunnners, 1838-9-40; Ira H. Butterfield, 
1861-62; Seymour Brownell, 1872; William 
W. Andrus, 1881-82. Constitutional conven- 
tion, Wm. W. Andrus. 1867. 

We may also note that a numlier of I'nited 
States deput.y surveyors received tlieii- ap- 
pointment, as residents of Shelby Township, 
to the important duty of executing the linear 
surveys in the ])ublic domain. We recall the 
names of Geo. E. Adair, Geo. II. Cannon, 
Levi II. Cannon, James S. Lawson and Wal- 
ter Warner. These iiH>n have done nnu-h i>io- 
neer work in the land surveys of this state, 
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, New Mexico 
and Nevada. 

The writer is reluctantly comiicllcd to 
leave to the reader's memory any additional 
infoi'iiiation concerning the early settlers of 
the township, except as more can be learned 
from the list of town officers and the sketch of 
the Disco Academy. 

The Supervisors of Shelby have been Jo- 
seph Lester, 1827; Samuel Axford, 1828-34; 
Ephraim Calkins, 1835-:57 (County Commis- 
sioner. 1838-43); Oliver Adams. 1843-44; 
Payne K. liCech, 1845; Oliver Adams, 1846-47; 
Jacob Scrambling, 1848; Philander Ewell, 
1849-56 ; Willard A. Wales, 1857-59 : Philan- 
der Ewell, 1860; Payne K. Leech. 1861; Wil- 
lard A. Wales. 1862; Chauncey W. Whitney, 
1863-64; Philander Ewell, 1865; Willard A. 
Wales, 18(i6-67; Phillip Price. 1868; Willard 
A. Wales, 18(i9-7(); Payne K. Leech, 1871-72; 
James S. Lawson, 1873; Albert L. Gotf, 1874- 
1884 ; Ilenrv J. Switzer, 1885-1896 ; Fremont 
C. ITaynes. "l897-99 ; Edwin Connor, 1900-05. 

The Clerks of the Township have been Abel 
Wai'i-en. 1827-28; John (Chapman. 1829; Solo- 
mon AVales. 1830; William A. Davis. 1831- 
1832-33; P. B. Tliurston, 1834; I). :M. Price 
1835-36 ; Orson Sheldon, 1837 ; Orville Morri- 
son, 1838 ; James B. Carter, 1839 ; C. W. Chap- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ^LA.COMB COUNTY 



649 



el, 184U; llark-liigh C'artur, IS-H-fJ; D. M. 
Price, 1843-44: Jacob Summers, 1845; Fran- 
cis B. Chapel. 1846 ; (Uirdon C. Deshore, 1847 ; 
Francis R. Chapel, 1848: Ilarlehiuh Carter, 
1849: W. ^Y. Amlnis. IS.')!): I'liillip Price, 
1851: llarlehidi Carter. ISo'J; Chauncey W. 
Whitney, 1853: AVm. Brownell. 1854: 'eIou 
Chapin. 1855 ; P. 11. Knight, 1856 : W. C. Wes- 
ton. 1857-58: J. O. Smith. 1859; Alonzo M. 
Keeler. I860: :\Iarvin Satler. 1861: Josiah 
Kinirshur.v. 1862-63: All)ert Goff. 1864; Isaac 
:Moiif()rl. 1865: Phillip Price. lS(i6-67; James 
S. Lawson, 1868-70; Aiiuust K. Baeon. 1871- 
1873: :\1. C. Keller. 1S74; Jlilton B. Salter. 
1875 : George T. Connor. 1876 ; William S. 
Andrews, 1877: Gurdon C. Leech, 1878-80; 
Frank W. Williams. 1881; W. H. Marvin, 
1882; .loliii I. Crissman, 1883-84; George E. 
Bannister. 1885-91: Fi-ank H. P^angliouer, 
1892: August R. Ilahn. 1893-95: John Swit- 
zer, 1896-1903: Ilerh.M't E. .AleCldlan. 1904- 
1905. 

The Treasurers of the Township have been 
Elias Wilcox, 1827-28; Xun Moe. 1829; Jo- 
siah Lockwood, 1830 ; Nathaniel Squires, 
1831; .Iciseiih Lester, 1832; A. D. Yemmons, 
1833; Jcisiah T. Robinson. 1834; George E. 
Adair. 1835: Albert G. Fuller. 1836; Jesse B. 
Gridlev, 1837 : Josiah Price, 1838-42 ; Layman 

B. Price, 1843-45; Jacob Summers, 1846; 
George Price. 1847 : James B. St. John, 1848 ; 
Walter Porter, 1849 ; George W. Summers, 
1850; (ieorge St. John. 1851; James Cheney, 
1852; William Brownell. 1853: John G. 
Marsh, 1854; P. H. Knight, 1855; Jervis Wi- 
nans, 1856 ; George King. 1857 ; Isaac C. 
Cross, 1858; Stephen S. Merrill, 1859; Oriu 
Goff, I860; Ilaswell H. Church, 1861-62; 
Ephraim Parmenter, 1863; Cyrus C. Ladd, 
1864; John W. :Master, 1865:"Samuel Ladd, 
1866; Alsou Haines. 1867: William Rowley, 
1868-69: David B. Andrews. 1870; :\Iilo Ba- 
con, 1871; Gurdon C. Leech, 1872-73; Ralph 
Wilcox, 1874; Reuben T. St. John, 1875-76; 
George T. Connor, 1877 : Reuben T. St. John, 
1878-79; William W. Andrus. 1880; Martin 

C. Keeler, 1881; Ilenrv J. Switzer, 1882-83; 
Walter S. Wise, 1884; William S. Walker, 
1885-86; Reuben T. St. John, 1887-88; John 
I. Crissman, 1889-90; William E. Haines, 
1891-92 ; Calvin P. Runyan, 1893-94 ; Fremont 
C. Haines. 1895-96: John I. Cri.ssman, 1897- 
1898: William T. Reick. 1899; Abram Yan 
Fleet. 1900-01; James C. Hittrr. 1902-03; 
James II. Hodges, 1904-05. 

The population of the townshi|i of Shelby 
as appears l).v the census I'eturus has been: 



1837 1,153 

1840 1,262 

1845 1,290 

1850 1,482 

1854 1.473 

1860 1.675 

1864 1,498 

1870 1,695 

1874 1,581 

1880 1.657 

1884 1.563 

1890 1.653 

1894 1,668 

1900 1.726 

1904 1.666 

The assessed valuation as equalized by the 

Board of Supei'visors lias been for the town- 
ship of Shelbv as follows: 

1842 . ,." $ 72.553.00 

1846 75.264.00 

1851 87.643.00 

1856 541,880.00 

1861 450.807.00 

1866 469,230.00 

1871 476.815.00 

1876 470,000.00 

1880 1,014.000.00 

1886 925.000.00 

1891 940.000.00 

1896 1.000,000.00 

1901 1,300.000.00 

THE PRESTON FAMILY. 

Among the most nmnerous and prominent 
families of the township have been the Pres- 
ton and Goff families, representatives of 
which were united in the marriage of Ira 
Preston and Deborah Goff who, in 1826, set- 
tled in this township. The descendants of 
this couple are now widel.y scattered, one 
being in IIont)lulu and another in Cuba, yet 
for several years past, the famil.y have held 
I'eunions, usuall.y in the township of Shelby, 
which have been largely attended. The fol- 
lowing sketch has been furnished the writer 
h.v ^Irs. Flora A. High, a membei- of the 
t'aiiiil.v. 

"The name of Preston is one of gr<'at an- 
tiipiit.v. and was known in North Britain 
eight hundred years ago. Seventeen towns 
in England bear that name, and history 
reeoi-ds that one Sir William Preston, was 
called u|)on to helj) settle the dis|)ute be- 
tween Robei't Bruce and John Baliol over 
the throne of Scotland. From him the de- 
scent is traced to another William Preston, 
who. with his wife and six chihlreu. came 



650 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



over on the yood ship 'I'nu'lovi' in 16:35, iiiul 
.settled ill New lliiven. Connceticut. 

"Ira, <;reat-f;i'eiit-^reat-yi'andson of Will- 
iam and Mary I'l-eston, was liorn at Wallini;- 
ford, Conneetieut, Mareh 9th, 1875. lie was 
a eloekiiiaker by trade. When about twenty- 
five years of age, he decided to go west in 
search of fortune. Arriving at Avon, On- 
tario Count.v, New York (now Rush, IMon- 
roe County), he met ifiss Deborah Goff, 
youngest dnuiihter of (,'harles (ioff (who liad 
been a soldier in the Revohitionary War). 
They were afterward nuirried and after re- 
siding at Rush about ten years, he decided 
to go still farther west, so came to the 
'swamjis of Michiuan' to see if lie could find 
a spot he liketl for a home. Tie bought from 
the govei'ument '.V20 acres lying along the 
banks of llic .Middle Branch of the Clinton 
River in the township of Shelby, then re- 
turned for his family and in 1826, by way 
of the Erie cnnnl to Buffalo, then by steamer, 
Henry Clay, "ii I lie lak(>s, he reached De- 
ti'oit. They ]iut u|) at The Yaidvce Boarding 
House in the outskirts of the city. The spot 
is now oecupied by the Franklin House. ^Ir. 
J'reston was accompanied by five young 
men, and while he went out to purchase 
oxen, they went into the forest and cut tim- 
ber to put together the running gear for a 
cart. They liad brought mill irons with 
theiii, and it took several trips to get the 
family, their few houseliold effects, provi- 
sions, etc., over the terrible roads to their 
new location. Here they built a rude log; 
hut witli a shake roof, n puncheon floor, and 
;i blanket for a dooi'. and in this simple 
liome, often visited by wild beasts and In- 
dians, they dwelt while the Preston mill was 
built, the Hrst mill in the eonntx' to saw lum- 
ber. 

"The\- prospered, and with their four sons, 
Oeoree W.. Kiley S., Ii-i Sumaii and Judge 
S., anil tliiMi- thi'ee (lau.ulitei's, Kmily, Ma- 
ncrva and Eliza, they soon nia<le tln' wilder- 
ness to blossom as the rose. 

"As tliese chiklren grew to manhood and 
womanliood and married, they settled near 
the old home (no longer a log hut, but a 
large and convenient frame house), and so 
in time the ])lace came to be called Preston- 
ville. These seven cliildrcn are all now rest- 
ing in the silent city of the dead, but theii- 
descendants i-evere their memory, and each 
year they gather at the home of one of their 
number for a day and a dinner together. 
The first reunion of this kind was held at tli(> 
home of Jlrs. iMetta Wili-ox in Slielbv town- 



sliiji. Eighteen such meetings have been 
held. Eiglit years ago, through the etiforts 
of E. li. Wilcox, the family history was pub- 
lished in book form. The Pr'cston coat of 
arms consists of a shiehl surmounted by a 
castle from which a falcon is tiying. It is 
said to indicate the capture of the enemy's 
stronghold by the original ])earer of the 
arms', and that the family will always battle 
for the right. This pioneer family lias es- 
tablished a tine character, and has left its 
stamp, on the history of the county." 

TlIK DISCO AC.\DEMY. 

One of the most widely known ami uniiine 
institutions connected with the hislm-y of 
Shelby, was the J)isco Academy Eneoui-iged 
by the success of the Romeo Acaih'my and 
fired by a desire that thcii- children should 
enjoy bettei' educational advantages, the 
peojile about the locality where now Disco 
stands, took steps to found an institution 
of higlier education which it Avas hoped 
would not only ])r(ivi<le I'oi' the neighbor- 
hood, but woulil attract the moi'c and)itious 
l)Ui)ils from all the sui-rounding country — 
an institution which since its history has 
been completed, is entitled here to more 
than a ])assiug notice. Franklin P. Monfort, 
wliose childhood was spent in its neighbor- 
hood, formerly Prosecuting Attorney of the 
county, and now engaged in the practice 
of his j)rofession in Detroit, has kindly 
furnished the writei' a sketch of the acad- 
emy, together with a di'scription of the 
school that preceded it. and an aeeount of 
its passing. 

"Along in the early thirties and later from 
the Eastern States, mostly from New York, 
came into .Alacond) County in the vicinity of 
where the villaiie of Disco now is, at the inter- 
section of sections i), 10, 15 and 16, of Shelby, 
a flood of .sturdy, energetic men who set about 
to clear up the wilderness, erect log buildings 
and to put upon the counti-y an appearance 
of civili/.ation. Soon liere and tliei-e frame 
dwellings and barns ajipearcd in the midst of 
gai'dcns and orchards sui'i'oundcd ])y gi'owing 
fields of grain, meadows, and ])astures dotted 
with flocks and herds, the result of the indus- 
try of willing hands of those who never had 
occasion to lock a door, but always made wel- 
come the stranger wlio ha|)iiened that way. 
Among these should be named. Calvin Davis, 
Jeremiah Curtis, (ieorgc Ilanscom, Aliel War- 
ren, John Cannon, Hiram Andrews, Elon 
Ti'uman and Loren Andrus, Abrain and Eli- 
jah Wilson, Tra S. Pearsall, Judge Preston, 
John (Jarvin, Orin (ioff, James and Rival T. 



PAST AND I'KKSKXT OF MACO.MB COrXTY 



651 



Payne. Elaiii C'hapiii, Pflrtr Kw.-ll. I'ctcr 1). 
LtM-ich. Charles (iui-doii and Payne K. Leeeh, 
Elijali Harris. Alvah Arnolil. James S. liaw- 
son, Allen Pearsall. Ira S. Hlunilnii'i;-. Joli 
Trowliridue. Charles ('. J.aniii. Louis 1). Owen, 
liobort Welts, Cyrenus Loekwixul. (iilliium 
Graves. Cyrenus Arnold. John Keeler. Har- 
vey Fellows, John K., David and Horace Mer- 
rifield, Isaac ^lonfort (Monfore). Layman, 
]i.. Asa. David .M.. Phillip, Adam. (ie()r!j:e 
and Joshua Price. James Covel, Alpheus and 
Calvin Pierce. Alson Haines, (ieoriie and Ed- 
win Adair, John, Tli<imas. Amantler and 
Frank Ruby, Amos Wales. Ben.jamin and Dr. 
P. A. Knight, Henry and Dr. Joseph Chai)- 
man, Sanniel Axford. Samuel (iibhs. James 
(iorden, Jesse Gillett. Miles (!. Bixby. Abi'am 
.Mack. Capt. Jolin Cheney. Clianncin' and Wil- 
lard Chui-eh. Clarion Darlinu-. Ezra Thorp. 
Anson Crawford. "William X'oorhies, James 
Parish, Charles and Frank Chapel, Tom Me- 
Entee. Joseph Remington. Joseph P. Rose, 
William and Layman Payne, John Strin<;ham, 
Nathaniel Xaramor. Ira H. Buttertield. James 
Stephens. John E. Ames, Joel W. .Manley, Da- 
vid Connor, Benjamin and Ira Jersey, Reuben 
Wilkerson, Zeb, Steve and Chai-les Jiurgess. 
James Beutley. ^Marvin Ilutton. Robert R. 
Harper. Edwai'd Petit. Joel and Horace Cart- 
wrisiht. Joseph F. Ilewett. Alonzo Keeler, Dr. 
Will. Brownell, and others. 

"Amoni;' the first liuildin^s erected was a 
large log tamarack school house, used not only 
for schools, but as well for lectures and meet- 
ings of all kinds, located by the roadside on the 
northwest corner of the southwest quarter of 
the northwest quarter of section 22; furnished 
with an open fire place and with long slab 
seats without l)acks. through the center, and 
other similar ones in front of sloping board 
tables fastened to the inside of the log walls 
for writing desks. The building had one quite 
large door, which swung on wooden hinges 
and fastened with a wooden latch that you 
could raise from the outside by [uilling a latch 
string. It was well lighted by 7 x !• glass win- 
dows ])laced horizontally along and .just above 
the tables, and by a chandelier of tallow-dips 
in the center near and lielow the ceiling, and 
others along the windows for night students. 
A blackboard was an innovation. The scliool- 
master was I'equired to make and mend goose 
((uill pens, and also to manufacture ink by 
boiling soft maple and butternut bark to a 
strong liquid into which, when strained off, 
copperas was put to set its black color. He 
boarded around from house to house and col- 
lected his pay from a rate-liill made up and 



liased upon daily attendance. He must needs 
be a 'hustler.' and was re(iuired to teach 
Webster's elementary spelling book (having 
a wooden cover and reel or black cloth back 
with Esop's Fables in it), the old English 
reader. Daibold's Arithmetic. Kirkam's 
(Jrammar. and all kiiuls of geography of the 
i-arth. ami Heaven only knows what else. 

All of the parties named above were not 
patrons of this school, but must be numbered 
as of that 'Old crowd' who along about 1S49, 
perliajjs because of the mental and moral im- 
provement generatetl in that old 'Intelligence 
Brooder' — the aforesaid tamarack log school 
house — with the visions before them of Cali- 
fornia twenty dollar gold pieces coming their 
wa,v as thick and fast as snow balls around 
the old school house at recess time, having 
prid(; in the mental develo])ment of their 
young people, and conceiving the idea of pro- 
viding better and more commodious quarters 
for a .school where the pupils jnight be pre- 
[lared to teach or to enter the Michigan Uni- 
versity, calli'd a meeting where a committee 
was apixiinted. This committee circulated 
subscriiitioiis and thus raised funds to build 
'the .Macomb County High School,' a build- 
ing erected on the northea.st corner of section 
16. near the north end of the Utica Plains. 
Some contributed material, some labor, and 
some money, and all contributions were 
[irompfly forthcoming under the charge of 
Alonzo .M. Keeler. now living at Rielnnond, 
then a young man .just out of Oberlin College, 
who worked like a 'major' as he now is in 
fact, having earned that title under President 
Lincoln, at a time when Southern chivalry 
eaus(»d Democrats to support a Republican 
administration in holding together our I'nion 
of Slates. 

"The organization emi)loyed .Mr. Keeler to 
build the school house and engaged him to 
conduct its school for five years, and the 
school disti-ict likewise engaged him to teach 
its pupils therein. .Messrs. Monf<n'e. Church 
jind .Xoyes donated to ^fr. Keeler. ten acres 
from their farms which cornered at the site 
of the academy, which he might plat, reserv- 
ing, however, one acre as the academy site. 
The two-story building erected was soon 
filled with the district and foreign scholars 
t'l-oiii far and near, and continued during 
Major l\e<'ler"s supeiMiifendencv and long 
aft<'r to fulfill the expeetations of its pro- 
moters as an institution of learning. About 
this time, its name was changed to 'Disco 
Academ.v," derived from the Latin word 
Disco, signif.ving to l(>arn. under which name 



652 



PAST AND PRESENT OF jMACOMB COUNTY 



it was incorporated in the year 1855. John 
Keeler, Jeremiah Curtis, Philander Ewell, 
Calvin Pierce. Edward Petit. Ira S. Pearsall. 
Chauncey Church. Alonzo 'SI. Keeler and 
Robert H. Harper were its Trustees and 
Isaac ^lonfore its Secretary. They awarded 
stock to its pronioters and their assignees, 
and filed its articles of association with the 
Secretary of State : the building and site 
thereof being conveyed to the Trustees, nam- 
ing them grantees in the deed. ^Ir. Keeler 
was allowed the use of the ])roperty free of 
rent and he in turn made the rent free to 
the District, which paid him a salary that, 
together with the tuition paid by outside 
pupils, constituted his compensation for the 
services of himself and his assistant teachers. 

"Disco soon had its postoffice, its stores, 
its dwellings, boarding h()uses, shops and 
quite a connnodious hotel — the Halfway 
House — for the four-horse Concord Coach 
Line, carrying the U. S. mail and many i)as- 
sengers and much express from Royal Oak. 
its neare.st railroad depot to Almont, 36 
miles to the north. There was life in every 
passing moment, and when the Board of 
Supervisors talked of moving ilaeomb 
County's seat to a point more central than 
Mt. Clemens, an evening meeting was held 
at the Academy, and $15,000.00 and a site 
for the county building were pledged as a 
donation provided Disco was designated as 
Macomb County's seat. Sit. Clemens, how- 
ever, was too shrewd and too much alive to 
allow the resolution to submit such a propo- 
sition to the vote of the people to be carried. 

"Succeeding ^Ir. Keeler the school was 
taught by Prof. S. A. Taft, James Lawson, 
Tyler Cross, Isaac ^lonfore, Mrs. Robert R. 
Harper, Miss ^Mary F. ^lonfort and iMelli- 
cent Connor under similar aiTangements un- 
til September 25th, 1865. At this time an 
effort was made to secure the transfer of 
the propert.v of the Academy to the school 
district to ])e used for a graded or a union 
school. This effort failing, the Trustees al- 
lowed the district to use the lower room of 
the buildinw, the District keeping the prem- 
ises in repair, and permitted the upper room 
to be used as a chapel and public hall, until 
about Deccndjer, 1890, when a controversy 
arose as to the ownership of the property. 
The Disco Literary Society had been organ- 
ized and acquired title to the property by 
deeds from Philander Ewcll, Alonzo SI. Kee- 
ler, and Ira S. Pearsall, the then only sur- 
viving tru.stees. The school district also 
claimed title by reason of its long possession. 



and brought a suit which was finally deter- 
mined in favor of the Society. On January 
14th, 1903, the Society conveyed the prop- 
erty to the District for the nominal sum of 
.+400.00 and the District thus became the 
owner of its first school house site and prop- 
i-rty. Having had free (practically) use of 
the school house for 53 years, the District 
can well afford to pay for the new building 
which is now being erected thereon. 

' ' It may not be amiss to state in this remi- 
niscence that Isaac Monfore was one of ]\Iichi- 
gan's earliest teachers, a member of iliehi- 
gan"s first Legislature in Gov. Stephen T. 
Mason's time, an advocate of the internal 
improvements then planned, as were Charley 
Chapel — who constructed the Clinton and 
Kalamazoo Canal from ^It. Clemens to 
Rochester, and who after its failure acquired 
the title of the canal from the State and con- 
verted it into a water power for its mills at 
T'tica — and Gurdon C. Leech, the builder of 
the horse railroad from I'tica to Detroit, 
along the line where now runs the [Michigan 
Central. These men, too, were all advocates 
of the extension of the United States west- 
ward to the Pacific. The energy and unsel- 
fishness of men of this stamp promoted the 
Disco Academy. It has served its purpose 
and doubtless now is still wafting its silent 
beneficial influence in many a connnunity 
thronghoiit our fairest of lands.'' 

Returning from the memory of this insti- 
tution of learning to the modern schools of 
Shelliy. we find them cared for in the seven 
districts with school property estimated 
worth $4,700.00 exclusive of the Utica Dis- 
trict, which is estimated worth $8,000.00. 
During the year of 1904 $5,507 were expend- 
ed for educational jjurposes. The Directors 
of the several school districts are as follows: 
Dr. G. W. Roberson. Frank Jean. Pliny P. 
Andrews, Frank Yates, John W. Switzer, 
E. G. Keck and Eugene Smith. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

MACOMB TOWNSHIP. 



On the 7th day of JIarch, 1834, the Town- 
ship of ;\Iaconib was organized by an act of 
the territorial legislature of that date. As 
first organized, it was composed of what is 
now both the townships of Chesterfield and 
;\Iacomb. The first election was authorized 
to be held at the house of Daniel Shattuek, 
in what is now Chesterfield. Flavins Green- 
leaf appears to have been the first Super- 
visor elected. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



653 



It was not until 1842 tliat this double town- 
ship was divided, and the present town of 
]\Iaeonib beeanie territorially independent. 
It has oceurred to nie. that a i;lance at the 
different locations of land, made up to the 
organization of the townshij), might be prop- 
erly within the line of pioneer reminiscence. 
The records at hand showing the order in 
which the lands in the town were first taken 
np. tliongh they may not point out what 
lands were first occupied by the pioneers of 
this town, will serve to aid lis. in recalling 
who they were, and in noting them, we may 
lay the basis for such enquiry and research, 
as will enable someone to map out the actual 
settlers, on the date of the town's organiza- 
tion, which ma.v be taken as an epoch in the 
history of the Township. 

Within the lines of the present Town of 
i\Iacomb, who had up to the 7th of ]\Iarcli. 
183-4, invested in its forests, certainly may 
be an interesting question on this occasion. 
Who selected the first lands .' And from 
whence did they come? And where did they 
choose ' As we consider these ([ueries, there 
will naturally arise that other one, why did 
they select as they did ? 

The first entry of land made in tlu' town, 
was by G. B. and D. G. Ginochio, of Detroit, 
of the east half of the northeast quarter of 
section 35, on the 12th day of August, 1820. 

On the 26th day of June, 1S21, Alfred Ash- 
ley, of JIt. Clemens, purchased of the Gov- 
ernment, the east half of the southwest 
quarter of the same section. This is appar- 
ently the mill site of what was long known as 
the Iliiskins mill, and the selection is evi- 
dence of the shrewd foresight of Mr. Ashley. 

The third parcel of land sold by the Gov- 
ernment was the east half of the southwest 
(piarti'r of section 25, to David B. Ford on 
the 22nd day of ilay, 1822. 

On the 9th of August, 1822, Belden Slosson 
of Erie County, N. Y., took up the north- 
west quarter and the west half of the south- 
west (juarter of section 25, two hundred and 
forty acres, and al.so the south half and the 
northeast quarter of section 36. He ajipears 
to have been a speculator, as I have iieen 
unable to find any evidence of his having 
settled on these lands. 

After this entry nearly three yeai's passed 
before anotliei' was suffi<Meiitly coiu'ageous to 
invest in thr town, l^ut in January, 1825, 
Tabor Wilcox, hailing friun within the coun- 
ty, entei-ed the E. ' ■• of the S. E. '4 '^i section 
24. — the I'ightv now owned ])y .\lfred Stew- 



art, and long known as the Dave Osgood 
farm. 

On tlie 16th of .May, 1825, William Wilcox 
of .Jefferson Co., N. Y., took up the N. E. 
14 i^'f section 25, being the lands next south 
of those taken in Januai'y by Tabor Wilcox. 
Probably they were brothers. Four days 
afterwards, Aaron Conkliu and Charles Crit- 
tenden, together took up the S. E. 14 of sec- 
tion 25. — all that remained of (iovernment 
lands in that section. 

The southeast corner of the town, seems 
to have first attracted the land ]nirchaser, 
whether sj)eculator, or settler: — probably be- 
cause of its proximity to the then thriving 
village of Mt. Clemens. 

The next entry indicates a bolder spirit. 
It was in the northeast corner of the town on 
s(>ction 1. and was made by Zephaniah 
Campbell of ^[ontgcunerv Co.. N. Y.. on the 
6th of June, 1825. 

Marquis Nye, who registered as a resident 
of the county of Macomb (and was, I think, 
of the town of Washington), on the 25th of 
September, 1826, saw, or thought lie did, the 
beauties of the farm now owned by Perry 
I\I. Bentlev. and took up the E. i-. of the 
N. W. 1/4, "and the W. ^U of the X. E. 14 of 
section (i. 

Nearly a year afterward, on tiie 26th of 
July, 1827, Daniel Kniffen took up the E. I/2 
of the S. E. 1/4 of section 6. 

After this nearly two years elajise,! before 
the Town catches the eye of a purchaser, as 
it was not till tlie 27th day of June, 1829, 
that the next entrv was made bv Denison K, 
Rose of Wa.vne Co. of the E. Vi;"of the N. W. 
14 of section 1. the lot on which the ^Ii'ade 
P. O. is situated. 

John and David Crawftn-d, of Vates Co., 
N. Y., on the 24th day of :\Iay. 1830, hicated 
the X. E. 14^ of section 1, and commenced 
the history of "Crawford's Settlement." 

On the 13th day of November of the same 
year, Lester Giddings located the W. i •■ of 
the S. W. 14 of section 5. 

On tlie 10th of .May. 1831, Daniel .Miller 
entered the E. Vj of the N. W. 1 ', of section 
8, and seven days afterwards, Samuel (J, 
Richards of Genesee Co., N. Y., purchased 
the 80 next south, the E. 1/2 of the S. W. 14 
of section 8, lands now held by Stephen 
Whitney. 

On the 8th of the next month of June, 
1831, Samuel P. Hooker, of Washington Co., 
N. Y.. made [ii-obably the largest individual 
purchase in the town, so far as (luantity is 
concerned. He located 800 acres, taking the 



654 



l'A.ST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COrXTY 



W. Vo of the S. E. 14 of section 8. the E. 1/2 
of the N. W. 14 and W. 1/2 of the X. E. 14 
and the whole of the S. E. 14 of section 17; 
the east half of E. V'^ of section 20; the E. 
1/2 of N. W. 1/4 of section 33 and the W. 1/2 
of W. 1/2 of section 21. Evidently he sought 
to occupy or hold as much of the banks of the 
Middle Branch as he could. With his pur- 
chases, he enclosed this stream for two and a 
half miles, in a north and south line. Wlio 
can account for his apparently strange selec- 
tion? Was it becau.se only the banks of the 
streams were dry land? What other reason 
can be suggested, for this rather strange se- 
lection ? Certainly this stream was not a sub- 
stitute for a highway. 

On the 27th of the same mouth, June. 1831, 
Calvin Davis entered the W. 14 of the X. W. 
14 of section 8, and the E. 1 2 of the S. W. 
1/4 of section 5, and Daniel ililler entered 
the W. 1/2 of the X. E. 14 of section 8. 

With the next entry, we read the name of 
one of whom many odd anecdotes are told, 
of his eccentricities, wit and quaint humor. 
It was of the W. 1/2 of the S. E. 14 of sec- 
tion 24, on the Sth of Sept., 1831, and by 
Uncle "Kale Chappel"' as he was long known. 
On the 17th of October, 1831, Ira H. Chap- 
man of Tioga Co., N. Y., took up the W. 1/2 
of the X. E. 14 of section 12. And on the 
19th Elizur Webster, Jr., of Geuessee Co., N. 
Y''., and Alphous W. Fargo, of the same 
coimty, took iip, respectively in the order 
named, the S. W. 14 and the N. W. 14 of 
section 28. 

In Febi'uary, 1832, Calvin Davis entered 
as an extension of his landed possessions, the 
W. 1/2 of the X. W. 14 of section 5. It is 
recorded that on the 24th day of October, 
1832. Elihu Rice, of Macomb Co., took up 
the S. E. 1,4 of the S. E. 14 of section 34. 
And in Xovember, of the same year, the S. 
E. 14 of the S. E. 14 of section 11, the lands 
long occupied by Reuben Warner, were taken 
up bv Peter Robinson, and the forty, next 
east, the S. W. 14 of the S. W. 14 of' section 
12, by David H. Robinson, both credited to 
Macomb County aiul probably .some way 
related. 

In 1833, on the 7th of May, John Craw- 
ford extended his purchase to the N. E. 14 of 
the N. E. 1/4 of section 12. And George 
Stroup. on the next day, entered the E. 1/2 
of the X. E. 14 of section 14. On the 3(ltli 
of tile same month. Samuel P. Hooker found 
another piece of the bank of the iMiddle 
Branch, in the E. 1/2 of the X. W. 14 of sec- 
tion 33, and bought it. 



On the 6th day of June, 1833, David Dun- 
can, of Genessee Co., X. Y., invested in the 
X. E. 14 of section 7, and commenced his 
successful demonstration that energy, indus- 
try and perseverance are sure to win. Julius 
Keves, registering from ^laeomb Co.. entered 
the E. 1/2 of the N. E. % of section 2. the 1st 
of July, 1833. And in Sept. and October, 
David McVean, of Livingston Co.. X. Y., took 
up 120 acres in the S. W. 14 of section 33. 
He, like 'Sir. Hooker, for some reason, fancied 
the banks of the Middle Branch. In the same 
month, Laueius Haskins, probably to perfect 
his mill site, and avoid, as he did to a great 
extent, the opportunity for litigation, took 
up the S. W. 14 of the S. W. % of section 
35; and Charles F. Witt demonstrated his 
wit by paying government price for the sand 
hills on the E. 1/2 of the X. W. 14 aiul the 
W. 1,2 of the X. E. 14 section numbered 24. 
And Brooks Howard, of Alleghany Co., N. 
Y., displaved similar judgment in taking the 
E. 1/4 of "the S. E. 14 of section 12, on the 
9th of Xovember. Charles Tucker, from 
"down the River" as we say, gobbled up the 
W. 1/2 of the X. W. 14 of section 13, on the 
10th of December. 

So far as we can learn from the records at 
hand, these are the only lands sold prior to 
the first organization of the township. A 
map of the lands sold would be a little odd. 
It would show that quite an anurant of lands 
at the southeast corner of the town, on sec- 
tions :i') and 36, 24 and 25, had been entered, 
together with a few scattering lots on the 
easterly side, and the most of section 1. 
That only one section, 25. had been wholly 
taken. Beyond this the purchasers had se- 
lected along the ^riddle Branch, and near 
there, from the south line, on section 33, 
northerly, to the northwest corner of the 
Town. Most all "f seetion 6 had been taken 
up. 

A glance at the records of entries, shows 
that the sales of lands in the Township were 
rapid, immediately after the organization. 
iMunieiiial government, and "Home Rule," 
were as attractive in those days as in these, 
it seems. In 1834, many pxirchases were 
made, and many settlements started, that 
have lived by name ever since. Their begin- 
ning and history would form the subject of 
a long and most inleresting paper, and it 
would be (Uijust, in the time allotted me, to 
attempt even a mention of them. And we 
therefore leave it to be the basis of some 
future article. 

In 1835. the jjurehases of the ]iublie lands 



PAST AM) PKKSENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



655 



were still rapid, and almost all the lands iu 
the township were entered before the close 
of lfS;i(). I noticed one entry, iu section 19, 
as late as October. 1851. the"s. W. i/j of the 
X. E. 14 taken n|) by Francis T. Allen. IIow 
this forty came to remain so long unappro- 
priated is somewhat strange, and how Mr. 
Allen discovered the omission, and who he 
was, are queries well worth following out. 

New York furnished by far the largest 
share of the early investors, as well as the 
largest number of actual pioneers. There 
were, however, representatives from JIaine, 
Vermont, Khodc Island, Pennsylvania, 
I\Iassachusctts, Ohio, Virginia and even 
North Carolina. James Brown, of Bertie 
County, N. C, in July, 1835, took up 840 
acres of what are now very productive lands, 
on sections 33, 34, 27 and 28. 

From 1820 to 1834, fourteen years, only 
about 5.000 of the over 23,000 acres in the 
township, had passed to private ownership. 
The remaining 18,000 acres were taken up 
in the three years following the organization 
of the Town, with the exception I have men- 
tioned, of what I may call the lost forty, on 
section 19. 

Fifty-four years have passed since that 
date. Few remain, of those living here then, 
and as their descendants gather together and 
attempt to put on paper a little of their his- 
tory, how naturally and how clearly we see 
cause to regret that a systematic record of 
their trials and labors had not been earlier 
started and carefully preserved. 

■"In the growth of the Town; iu its muni- 
cipal history, and in the peaceful habits and 
pro.sperity of their .successors, we trace clear- 
ly the influence of the sterling and worthy 
character of the earlier pioneer of ilacomb." 

The foregoing concerning tlie settlement 
of the township of ]\[acomb is quoted from 
an article prepared by the late James B. El- 
dredge to be read before a pioneer meeting 
some fifteen .years ago, and where reference 
is made to present ownership, it must be un- 
derstood to refer to about 1890. 

One of the earliest improvements within 
the limits of the township, aside from dwel- 
lings, was the saw mill, which was erected by 
Thomas Ashley on the North Branch about 
on the site of the mill afterwards called Ras- 
kin's mill and later Denewith's mill. This 
was built in 1821 and was run diu-ing the 
following winter by Horace Cady. who had 
taken up lands in the immediate neighbor- 
hood. In the sununer of 1822, an iiddition 
was made suflficient to accommodate a run 



of stone for a grist mill. In 182G, ^Ir. lias- 
kins bought the mills, and he with his son 
took up lands in the immediate neighbor- 
hood. The coming of the Halls and Critten- 
dens in the early thirties, and tln' luu'ehases 
by William McDoiudd, a saddler who had 
come from New Jersey, and lived in ]Mt. 
Clemens for a few years, filled up the south- 
east section of the township. Two brothers 
and five sisters of the Hall family .settled in 
the county, and most of them iu the township 
of .Macomb. They were Isaac Hall, who pur- 
chased land at tlu^ northeast corner of sec- 
tion 15, in the noi-thwest corner of section 14, 
where his son Frank now lives, and his son 
Isaac lived until his death a few years ago; 
John Hall, who purchased a large portion of 
section 36, including the farms now owned 
by Columbus Hall. Harry Hall, the Skillman 
Estate, John and Conrad Lemp: Catherine 
Crittenden and Susan Conklin. whose hus- 
bands, Charles Crittenden and Aaron Conk- 
lin, took up the southeast quarter of section 
25 ; Sally Gamber, whose husband, Benjamin 
Camber, lived next noi'th of the Conklin 
place, and Hannah Stroup and Lydia Cole. 
The Crittentlen family, aside from Charles, 
were located mostly in Chesterfield. 

The Stroup settlement in the north central 
portion of the township had for its old set- 
tlers. George Stroup, H. H. Wade. John Gar- 
vin, Reuben Warner, John and Samuel Whit- 
ney, Elias il. Beach and James Perkins. The 
Davis settlement in the northwestern portion 
of the township had for its early pioneers, 
Calvin Davis, ('hauncey Church, Daniel 
Knitfen, Lester Giddings, and Daniel Miller. 
To accommodate these and the others who 
settled in the neighborhood, a post office 
was established as early as 1830, which to- 
gether with the community, was called Ma- 
comb. E. S. Axtell was postmaster here for 
a number of years and a general store was 
long maintained there, the present proprietor 
being William L. Schoof. Here a IMethodist 
Episcojjal church was long ago established. 
and has ever since been niainlained. Among 
the many other nanu's associated with Ma- 
comb, are Longstaff. ]\lillers. Norton and 
Preston. The i)assing of the ])lank road and 
stage coach much lessened the importance of 
this communit.v. 

^laeomb Township contains an amusing 
evidence of the wild s|)irit of enter])rise that 
])ossessed the state in the thirties, in the city 
of Fi'atd^fort. which was jjlatted in sections 
30 and 31, April 25tli, 1837. Its four hun- 
ilii'(l lots were platted along broad streets 



656 



PAST AND PRESENT OF iL\COMB COUNTY 



about a center marked "extensive salt 
spring." These were undoubtedly the cause 
for the existence of Frankfort, and produced 
more wild visions than they did of salt. The 
farmer who now plows over the site of 
Frankfort imdoubtedly has little idea of the 
hopes and disappointments connected with 
that spot. 

At a comparatively early day, a general in- 
flux of German settlers were attracted bj' 
the rich soil of Macomb, and today a large 
portion of the best lands of the town.ship, 
particularly in the southwestern portion, are 
occupied by those who claim German blood. 
Waldenburg is the name given to a settle- 
ment at the corners of sections 28, 29, 32 and 
33, at which point a saw mill has for a long 
time been maintained. A general store, 
church and school, wagon shop and other 
places of business are found here. A little 
north of "Waldenburg proper is located the 
Waldenburg Skimming Station run in con- 
nection with the Chesterfield Creamery, 
which furnishes the market for the milk of 
the prosperous farmers in the neighborhood. 

Meade is a post office situated in the north- 
eastern corner of the township, and around 
the store and other business places has grown 
up a little community of about two hundred 
people. A general store there was estab- 
lished the writer believes by ^lyron White 
in 1848 at a time when the locality was 
known as Vienna. It has since been run by 
Collins, the Begrows and Lefurgey. Another 
name intimately associated with Meade is 
the family of Jones, three brothers of whom 
are located near ^leade and married three 
sisters from the Hart family. 

The first school in the township was in the 
Davis settlement and the second in the Craw- 
ford settlement. This latter was almost on 
the town line of Ray and was built in 1839. 
Among its earliest teachers were ]\Iary E. 
Garvin, Sarah 0. Garvin, Thurston and 
Mason Cole. For school purposes, Macomb 
is now divided into ten districts and has 
school property of the estimated value of 
$9,500.00. In 1904-05 $2,735.00 was paid on 
teachers" wages in this township, there be- 
ing nine nii>ntlis' sclionl in most of the dis- 
tricts. 

The Supervisors of the township have 
been: Flaver Greenleaf, 1834: Calvin Davis, 
1835-37 (Countv Commissioners 1838-43) ; 
Joel W. :\Ianley, 1843-44; Stewart Taylor. 
1845-6; William :\rcDonald, 1S47-8; Stewart 
Taylor, 1849: Calvin Davis, IS.IO; Hiram :M. 
Jenny, 1851-3; Perry M. Bent ley, 1854; 



Hiram 'M. Jenney, 1855 : Samuel Wliitney, 
185(5; Orange Foot, 1857; Samuel Whitney, 
1858: Horace H. Cady, 1859-72: Jacob 
Stroup. 1873-77; Alfred Stewart, 1878; 
Jacob Stroup, 1879-81 ; John C. Bolte. 1882-3 ; 
Carl Juengel, 1884-1900: Henry Bannow, 
1900-1905. 

The Clerks of the township have been : 
James ]Meldrum, 1834; Daniel Shattuck, 
1835; Charles F. Witt, 1838: Daniel Shat- 
tuck, 1839 : Samuel P. Canfield, 1841 ; David 
Stroup, 1842 ; H. R. Wilder, 1849 : C. P. Crit- 
tenden, 1853 ; Damon B. Weston, 1854-5 ; 
John H. C. Garvin. 1856 ; William Gamber, 
1857; Jacob Stroup, 1858-60; Cyrus B. Rice, 
1861; Jacob Stroup, 1862-64; H. A. Haskin, 
1865 ; Elisha L. Atkins, 1866-68 ; John Bolte, 
1869; Jacob Stroup, 1870-72; Gordon H. 
Wade, 1873-74 : Elisha L. Atkins, 1875 ; Gor- 
don H. Wade, 1876-97 ; William :\Iiller, 1898- 
1900; John D. Peters. 1901-1902: William 
Dopp, 1903-05. 

The Treasurers of the towiishii* have been: 
Laucius Haskin. 1834; Daniel ^liller and 
Charles Van Horn (between 1834 and 1854) ; 
John Bacon, 1854 ; Benjamin Gamber, 1855 ; 
Dan Giddings, 1856-7: John Jackson, 1858- 
1859: H. H. Wade. 1860-61; William Norton, 
1862-63: Charles Briggs. 1864; Fred Jas- 
nuind, 1866-8 ; John Klokow, 1869 ; August 
C. Posner, 1870-77: Carl Juengel, 1878-79; 
Fred Jasmund, 1880-81 : Carl Juengel, 1882- 
1883 : Chas. H. Berger, 1884-85 ; John Schoek, 
1886-7; Henry Kuechenmeister. 1888-89; 
John Sehock, 1890-91; Louis Stier. 1892-93; 
John Schwark. 1894-95; John Xieol. 1896-97: 
John Kruth, 1898-99: Louis Stier. 1900-01; 
Carl F. .Miller. 19(12-03; Christ D»\>\>. 1904- 
1905. 

The population of the township as per 
census returns has been as follows : 

1837 736 1874 1793 

1840 952 1880 2045 

1845 646 1884 1954 

1850 757 1890 1721 

1854 1044 1894 1639 

1860 1358 1900 1677 

1864 1413 1904 1609 

1870 1805 

The assessed valuation of the property of 
the township as e(|ualized by the Board of 
Supei'visors has been as follows: 

1842 .$ 4!l.899.00 

1846 43,709.00 

1851 53,987.00 

1856 27!t.4(i4.00 

1861 241,640.00 

1866 281,900.00 



PAST AND PRESENT OF J\rACOMB COUNTY 



657 



1871 .348.G50.00 

1876 :35r).000.00 

1881 95a.OOO.OO 

188(1 800.000.00 

1891 820,000.00 

189(i 860,000.00 

1901 980,000.00 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP AND NEW B.VLTIMORE. 

The townshij) of Chesterfield was sepa- 
rated from ^Macomb in 1842, and the first 
election directed to be held at the school 
hou.se near the residence of Charles B. Mat- 
thews. This township, although one of the 
last to be organized as a separate township, 
was settled among the earliest. Pierre Yax 
was on jirivate claim 343 earlier than 1796, 
as M'ere the tenants of ]\Ieldrum & Parke on 
the private claims awarded to them, ami 
there were also tenants of Jleldrum & Parke 
at the salt springs in section 11. The earliest 
purchase from the Government aside from 
the private claims was made by Fabian 
Robert.jean of the west half of the southeast 
quarter of section 11, which was made Au- 
gust 2Sth, 1820. James C. Edgerly made the 
second entry in 1822 of lands in section 30, 
now owned by Brandenburg. This was the 
first improvement away from the lake shore. 
He was the first English speaking settler in 
the township. Fabian Jean was born on the 
Clinton River in 1820. Some of his de- 
scendants are still residents of the county. 
Among the others who purchased lands from 
the Government prior to 1830 were Robert 
and Closes Robertjean in s(>ction 13, Dennis 
Furton. Robert Roliert.jean, Jerman Burgess 
in section 14, Antoine, Charles and Abraham 
Rivard in section 22, Dolly Lewis, William 
T. Little in section 23 ; ;\Iichael Rivard in 
section 27. As in the other towns during the 
early 30 's the bulk of the land Avas pur- 
chased from the Government. Among those 
who came during this period were Chauncey 
Hcrriman. William Phelps, Robert Kirkum, 
Allen II. Kirkum, Samuel Ririiardson. Henry 
Fuiicrton, Peatlieanea Kirkum, Josiah Rich- 
ardson. Peter Hart, Silas Leonard, Samuel 
Farr. James Hart, Ann Crawford, Robert 
Crawford, John Harris, Allen Farr, Archi- 
bald J. Corey, Chester Hart, James W. 
Proper, Charles Cooley, Charles B. ilatthews, 
William Allen, Aaron Hulin, Joseph Herri- 
man, Catherine Cook, Russell A. Bates. 
Joseph C. Riviii'd. Maglore and Cliai'ies J, 



Furton, JA'onard and Tousaint Dcloua. Ib-nry 
Fox, L. C. Rivard, Eliza B. Atkins, p:dwin 
Jenney, Charles W. Fuller, John and Joseph 
Herriman, Robert and Joseph Milton, John 
Crittenden, Jesse Goodscll, Joshua C. Parker, 
Charles F. Witt. Klisha Wclicr. Daniel Shat- 
tuck, Zara Granger, Ruth Faircliild. Otis W. 
Cotton, Isaac Davis, Aaron Whiting. Abel 
Whitney, Lucretia Ilaskin, Charles Ketcham, 
John Hill and John Lusk. 

The Indian Reservation lyiny bc^tween the 
Rivei' aux Vase and Salt River has been re- 
ferred to before. A jiart of these Indians 
separated from the Maconc(> band in 1831 
and the remainder were removed fi'om the 
county in 1838. The lands thus vacated were 
rapidly taken up in 1839, largely by land 
speculators or neighboring settlers. 

For school purposes. Chest erfiekl town- 
ship is divided into eight districts besides 
the Lake Fractional District, which includes 
the school at New Baltimore known as the 
Hathaway Institute. The school pi-operty 
included in these eight districts is estimated 
to be worth .$7,100.00, and during the past 
year .+2,223.00 was paid for teachers' wages 
in the district. Aside from this, some de- 
nominational schools are maintained in con- 
nection with the churches. New Baltimore 
school will be noticed more at length in con- 
nection with the history of that village. 

The principal officers of the township since 
its organization have been as follows : 

Supervisors: County Connnissioners, 1842- 
1843: Samuel P. Caufield, 1843: Benjamin' T. 
Castle. 1844-5 : Cyrus B. Symmons, 1846-7 : 
Charles B. :\Ia,ttliews, 1848- Cyrus B. Sym- 
mons, 1849: Samuel P. Canfield. 18.50; Eber 

C. Denison, 1851-2: Sanuiel P. Canfield, 1853; 
Eber C. Denison. 1854: Charles B. IMatthews, 
1855: Jo.shua C. Parker. 1856: Joseph Hub- 
bard, 1857-58: Parker Hart, lS5n: Charles 

D. Crittenden, I860; John Milton, 1861-64; 
Ford L. Milton, 1865: Parker Hart, 1866; 
Joel Hart, 1867-69; Charles D. Crittenden, 
1870; Joel Hart. 1871; John Milton, 1872-76; 
Warren Parker, 1877-78; Joel Hart. 1879; 
William P.aker. 1880; William C. Jones. 1881; 
Wai'ren Parker. 1882-85; Charles Yates. 
188ti-1905. 

Clerks: Robert A. Milton. 1842; Robert 
W. Knight. 1843; Charles B. :\Iatthews, 1844- 
1846; Joshua C. Parker. 1848; Hiram Deni- 
son. 1849; Robert O. Milton. 18.50-53; Living- 
ston Axford. 1854; Hiram Denison. 1855; 
William D. Holt, 1856; Rodoljibus Kern, 
1857: D. N. Tavlor. 1858; James :\lacauley, 
I860; Albert ll.'ndricks. 1861; John J. 



■658 



PAST AND PKESENT OF JIACOMB COUNTY 



Crocker, 1862: Audrtnv J. Rose, 186:3-64; 
Erastus Q. Chamberlin, 1865; Andrew J. 
Rose, 1866; Francis Johr, 1867; William Ran- 
dall, 1868; C. J. Glenn. 1869; Lewis Rose, 
1870: Eda W. SliattiK-U. 1871: C. L. Bradish, 
1872; Sidney 0. Kniuht. 1873; C. L. Bradish, 
1874-75; P. F. H. Schars, 1876; John Han- 
sien, 1877-78: Joseph M. Wilson, 1879-80; 
Christian Schlosser, 1881-89 : A. Barton Per- 
kins, 1890: Christian Schlosser, 1891-1900: 
Loren D. Bates, 1901 : Rndolph Friday. 1902- 
1903; Charles Gibbons, 1904-05. 

Treasurers: Zalmon M. Gray. 1842: John 
Bates, 1843; Joshna C. Parker. 1844-46: 
Parker Hart, 1847-49 ; Charles B. :\Iatthews, 
1850-51; John Milton, 1852-53: Robert A. 
King, 1854-55; Charles D. Crittenden, 1856- 
1857; Charles S. Knisht. 1858: Joel Hart, 
1860: D. M. Mills. 1861-62; L. II. Canfield, 
1863-64: :\Ioses K. Bortree. 1865: Amos Van 
Horn, 1866 ; George W. Douslass, 1867 : Wil- 
liam Baker, 1868-69; Addis L. Haeknell, 
1870-71 ; William Baker. 1872-78 : Sidney 0. 
Knight. 1879-80; William Baker, 1881-82; S. 

A. Knight. 188:3-84: Christian Schnoor, Jr., 
1885-86: S. A. Knieht. 1887-88; William 
Baker. 1889-90; S. A. Knight. 1891-92; Wil- 
liam Baker. 1893-94; S. A. Knight. 1895-96; 
August F. Reinecke, 1897-98; Rudolph Fri- 
day, 1899-1900; Chas. E. Hills, 1901-02; John 

B. Lozen. 1903: Chas. E. Hills. 1904-05. 

The village of New Haven in the township 
of Lenox was for a long time the railroad 
shipping point for a large portion of the 
township of Chesterfield. The plank road 
running from New Baltimore to 5s^ew Haven 
(then called New Haven Station) furnished 
the main thoroughfare for farmers in that 
vicinity. During the slimmer months, how- 
ever, the larger portion of the products left 
New Baltimore by boat. The establishment 
of Chesterfield station in section 30 on the 
Grand Trunk Railway, however, opened a 
new shipping point, and the completion of 
the Detroit & River St. Clair Railway (now 
a part of the Rapid Railway sj'stem), 1898, 
gave to New Baltimore and the other terri- 
tory along its line, additional railroad facili- 
ties. About flic churches on sections 8 and 
17 and the school, located neai-by, has grown 
up a little settlement known as Milton which 
for a long time had a post office. Its aban- 
donment within the last year or two has 
been due to the establishment of numerous 
rural delivery routes. 

In 1845. Alfred Ashley, son of Thomas 
Ashley-, of whom frequent mention is made 
in the history of Mt. Clemens, moved to 



Chesterfield Township and founded the vil- 
lage of Ashley, now New Baltimore. Here 
he built the first saw mill and the first dock, 
and afterwards constructed the first steam- 
boat at this ])iace. and who was also active 
in the building of the plank road to Romeo, 
and from the time of his coming to the town- 
ship until his death there in 1857, he re- 
mained its most prominent, active and pro- 
gressive citizen. June 5th, 1851. he platted 
the village of Ashley, and he. together with 
his wife. Euphemia Atwood Ashley, for 
years owned a large part of the real estate 
in the village. In 1867, the village was in- 
corporated, including within its limits also 
a portion of the township of Ira, in the 
County of St. Clair. At about this time or 
prior thereto the name of New Baltimore was 
adopted. During the 60 "s and the early 
70 's. the village of New Baltimore was an 
active, progressive business place, pi-ob- 
ably shipping out more agricultural and 
manufactured products than an.y other point 
in the county. At the time of the incorpora- 
tion of the village, the stave industry was 
probably at about its best. Three large stave 
mills, employing hundreds of hands, were in 
full operation. The Ashley mill was the first 
one established, and later another mill was 
built under the management of William Jen- 
uey, but soon afterwards passed into the 
hands of Horace Perkins, and in the late 60 's 
was the largest mill in operation there. 
Another mill, which stood near where the 
New Baltimore creamery now stands, was 
built by David Hathaway, and at that time 
was operated by Gilbert Hathaway, his son. 
James S. P. Hathaway later succeeded to this 
mill and for a number of years was the 
wealthiest citizen of the village. Other peo- 
ple interested in the mills from time to time 
were F. IMorell, leabod L. Quimby and 
Crockett McElroy. 

In 1859 the business men of New Baltimore 
included Elias Parker, proprietor of the Ash- 
ley Exchange: Peter Schars. hotel keei)er; 
the merchants being, Frisbie lit Whii)ple. J. 
M. Wilson. E. Fi.shpool, Jas. S. V. Hathawav, 
Taylor & Steiger, R. Kern, C. Desha. F. :\lil- 
ler. G. Prince, Wanke & Co., T. O'Neil, W. 
D. Holt. Haskin & Hudson, J. H. Simpson, 
J. Rehfuss. J. W. Leonard, C. Terry. G. L. 
Phelps, J. F. ]3uttum. R. Jones, W. Seybold, 
A. J. Heath: Gilbert Hathaway was then de- 
scribed as banker, broker and stave dealer, 
and Alfred Ashley, as proprietor of steam 
saw mill; J. Hubbard, stave inspector; C. 
Hultgren, cooper; C. L. Cole, livery; P. M. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



659 



Whipple, wagon maker; A. J. Bates, cabinet 
maker; D. S. Gi'osveuor, mason; H. Hazel- 
ton, sash and blind niannt'actnrer ; Hendricks 
& Shoemaker, stave dealers; C. P. lIot>ker, 
justice of tlie peace, and A. E. Van Inwageu, 
T. Howell and D. Hedges, blacksmiths. 

The presidents, clerks and treasurers of 
the village since 1883 liave been as follows: 

Presidents: Joseph M. Wilson, 1883; Wil- 
liam Randall, 1884; John Carlson, 1885; Wil- 
liam Randall, 1886; D. Milo Heath. 1887-^.2; 
Jos. M. Wilson, 1893-94; D. Milo Heath, 
1895; Jos. :\I. Wil.son, 189G: Robert A. Heath. 
1897-98; August F. Reiuecke, 1899-1904; 
Floyd C. Andrews, 1905. 

Clerks : Edward Van Slambrook, 1883-86 ; 
A. Barton Pei-kins, 1887-92 ; Rudolph Friday, 
1893-1905. 

Treasurers: Albert Perkins, 1883; Chris- 
tian Schnoor, 1884-87 ; A. B. Perkins, 1888- 
1889; August F. Reinecke. 1890-91; Alfred 
Beuehler, 1892-93; D. Milo Heath, 1894; 
Charles A. Miller, 1895 ; August F. Reinecke, 
1896-97; Charles E. Hill, 1898-99; Svdney A. 
Knight, 1900-01; Alfred Beuehler, 1902-03; 
Sydney A. Knight, 1904-05. 

The press is represented in New Balti- 
more by the Era. which was established 'Slay 
27th, 1897, by its present owner and editor, 
Frank W. Andrews. The plant was de- 
stroyed by fire January 15th, 1899, but, 
Phoenix-like, it rose from its ashes and its 
publication continued without a serious 
break, with a new outfit and improved ap- 
pearance. The Era was not the first venture 
in the newspaper line known to New Balti- 
more. As was natural in the days of its 
prosperity. New Baltimore attracted those 
ambitious to succeed in journalism. About 
1853, Thomas M. Perry started at Ashley a 
paper called the Ashley Independent. Al- 
though this paper was eompelknl to suspend 
publication after a short life, the same name 
was used a few years later by ^Martin B. 
Ferris, for the paper which he published at 
Ashley. The business of the village and the 
po[)nlation of the surrounding country evi- 
dently did not justify the ventiu'c, and ;\Ir. 
Ferris soon abandoned the enterprise and 
moved to Indiana. 

The schools of New Baltimore are under 
the direction of a Board of Education, con- 
sisting of William Baker, Dr. L. P. May, 
Christian Schlosser, Frederick C. IMiller and 
Rudolph Friday. ]\Ir. E. E. Crook is super- 
intendent of the schools and is assisted by 
seven teachers. The school is well equipped 
with a good library and laboratory facili- 



ties, and is housed in an unusually fine brick 



buildii 



In October. 1871. (iilbert Hatha- 



way, long one of the i)roniiiU'nt citizens of 
the village, diecl, and by his will provided 
for a legacy of .$15,000.00 to the village of 
New Baltimore to be used for the purposes 
of a high school building. Dilficnlties arose 
in the ailniinistration of the estate which led 
to a long litigation between the village and 
James S. P. Hathaway, residuary legatee 
under the will of his father, Gilbert. The 
funds, when finally made available to the 
village, were suppleniente(l by additional 
moneys raised by the public, and a building, 
now estimated to be worth $20,000.00, has 
been erected on a handsome site and forms 
one of the chief adornments of the village. 

Attracted ])articularly by this excellent 
building, the authorities in 1904 established 
the county normal school at New Baltimore, 
of which the Board is made up of the Hon. 
P. H. Kelly, State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction ; 0. D. Thompson, county commis- 
sioner of schools, and Prof. E. E. Crook, of 
New Baltimoi'e schools. The first normal 
class was organized Sept. 15th, 1904, under 
act No. 24 of^the Session Laws of 1903. The 
school is largely attended, and the prospects 
for its future success are very fiattering. 
One-half of the second floor of the Hathaway 
Institute building is given up for its use, and 
finer quarters could hardly be obtained. 

In 1896 was established the jirivate bank 
of W. F. Sandell & Co., which has ever since, 
under the management of Charles C. Hill, 
afforded satisfactory banking facilities for 
the village and vicinity. 

March 3rd, 1902, $24,000.00 was voted by 
the citizens of the village for the establish- 
ment of a water works system, which was 
soon afterwards put into oj)eration. In con- 
nection with this, an electric light system 
was established for the furnishing of street 
and private lights. The village was bonded 
to the sum of $22,000.00 for the lighting 
plant. Thus equipped with water works, 
electric light and a large and commodious 
hotel, the Chi'sterfield. built by a syndicate 
of citizens of New Baltimore, Mt. Clemens 
and Detroit in 1900, the village of New Balti- 
more, with its beautiful location upon 
Anchor Bay, affords a most attractive and 
delightful resort for those who diu-ing the 
hot summer months ai'e looking for a pleas- 
ant escape from the luiise and heat of the 
cities. The Kai)id Railway affords a fre- 
quent and convenient mode of connnuniea- 
tion with the outside world. 



66o 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



The population of the township of Chester- 
field as per census returns has been as fol- 
lows: 

1845 845 

1850 1.002 

1854 1,612 

1860 2.157 

1864 2.150 

1870 2,175 

1874 2.213 

1880 2.349 

1884 2.202 

1890 2,121 

1894 2.088 

1900 2.093 

1904 1.960 

The assessed valuation of the property of 
the township as equalized by the Board of 
Supervisors has been as follows : 

1842 $ 33.950.44 

1,S46 43,066.00 

1851 60,666.00 

1856 431,562.00 

1861 374,469.00 

1866 394,208.00 

1871 447.480.00 

1876 430,000.00 

1881 914.000.00 

1886 820,000.00 

1891 820,000.00 

1896 850,000.00 

1901 1,055,000.00 



CHAPTER XIX. 

TOWNSHIP OF LENOX. 



At the organization of the township of 
Lenox in 1837, the first election was directed 
to be held at the dwelling house of Sterling 
Case. It was proposed at the time the selec- 
tion of a name came up that the three oldest 
men in the township should select the name. 
Accordingly Benjamin Haight. Mason Har- 
ris, and Israel Dryer each selected a name. 
As the choice of ^Ir. Haight and ^Mr. Harris 
hai)pened to be duplicated by other town- 
ships in the State, the name of Lenox, sug- 
gested by Mr. Dryer, was adopted. 

At tlie first town meeting, held April 3rd, 
1837. William Francis, Thomas F. Dryer and 
William P. .Miller were the inspectors, and 
Alanson Flower, clerk. Aside from the 
su]K'rvisor. clerk and treasurer, whose names 
will be founil in the list of supervisors fur- 
ther on, at this election there were chosen 
Jacob E. Hall, IMason Harris, Justin Corey 
and Eben Carl, justices of peace; A. T. 



Corey, A. Flower and Jacob E. Hall, asses- 
sors; Eben Carl, Abner Stevens and Eben 
Brooks, roatl commissioners: Carlos W. 
Brown. Justus R. Craudall, James 'SI. Mil- 
lard, school commissioners; Oliver Bates and 
William Jliller, poor directors; Justus R. 
Crandall and Justus Ellsworth, constables; 
Allen Ilacket, A. Flower. Eben Brooks. C. W. 
Brown. William Miller. Jacob E. Hall. 
Lyman Bates. Slias Leonard and William 
Leonard, overseers of highways. Since that 
election the i>rinci|ial township officers have 
been : 

Supervisors: Benjamin Haight, 1837; B. 
Wriuht, 1838: Countv Commissioners, 1838- 
1842; Aldis L. Rich, 1843-44 ; Justus R. Cran- 
dall. 1845-47: Leander :\Iillen. 1848; Carlos 
W. Brown. 1849: Justus R. Crandall. 1850- 
1851: Aldis L. Rich. 1852; Thos. P. Dryer, 
1853; Justus R. Craudall, 1854-55; Carlos 
W. Brown, 1856: Justus R. Crandall, 1857; 
George W. French. 1858 : Justus R. Crandall, 
1859-62: Milo Selleck, 1863; Daniel Bates, 
1864-69 : Lucius II. Canfield. 1870-76 ; Adam 
Bennett. 1877-79: Lucius H. Canfield, 1880- 
1882; Gil R. Lovejoy. 1883-86: Lucius II. 
Canfield. 1887; Zenas Corey, 1888-95; Gilbert 
R. Lovejov, 1896-98; W. F. Edmands, 1899- 
1900; Adam A. Bennett. 1901-05. 

Clerks: Thomas II. Dryer, 1837-47; John 
Haire, 1848-50; Justus R. Crandall. 1852; N. 
C. Knott, 1853; Justus R. Crandall. 1854; 
William G. Carl, 1855: ^lason Harris, 1856; 
.Milo Selleck. 1857; Daniel Bates, 1858; Wil- 
liam H, Mellen, 1860 ; Abram S. Devall. 1861- 
1863: John W. Leonard, 1864-65; Benjamin 
L. Bates, 1866-67: William H. Sutfin, 1868- 
1869; Adam Bennett. 1870; Isaac N. Cook, 
1871-73: Elias Duvall. 1874: Theo M. Gid- 
dings, 1875; Isaac Cook. 1876: Clarence E. 
Fenton, 1877: William Wiethofl:'. 1878; 
Chester S. Fenton. 1879 ; Avander H. Shafer. 
1880-82; Chas. F. Kielbloek. 1883-84; Aug. F. 
Kaiser, 1885-87; Chas. F. Kielbloek, 1888-89; 
Adam Bennett. 1890-92: Chas. Kielbloek. 
1893-94: Adam A. Bennett. 1895-96: James 
E. Hull, 1897-98; Samuel D. Spore. 1899; 
Adam Bennett, 1900; James E. Hull, 1901-05. 

Treasurers: Justus R. Crandall. 1837; 
William A. Edwards, 1838; Gabriel Cox, 
1839-40: Israel Dryer. 1841; Carlos W. 
Brown. 1842; John Church. 1849; Russell W. 
(Jreen. 1850; Leander :\lillen. 1851; Alvin 
Davis, 1852-54; M. Van AVinkle, 1855; John 
Church, 1856; Sabin Harris, 1857; Alvin 
Adams. 1858: :Martin L, Dryer. 1859-60; Asa 
Bhmehard, 1861-63; Tolcot Bates, 1864-65; 
Elijah Sutfin, 186(i: David L. Carl, 1867-68; 



AST ANT) PHKSKXT OF MA('(\MR CorXTY 



66 1 



Boiijainin T^. liMtcs. 18tiS)-70; Kpliraiiii Fullcf- 
toii. 1871: Jaiiu's .M. Kowley, 1872: Adam 
Bennett, 1873-7(J : E. P. Fullei-ton. 1877 ; Rus- 
sell T. Ilazletoii, 1878: Denis La Furgey, 
1879-80: Calvin A. Smith. 1881: W. T. Spink, 
188;?-1: Joseph P. Li-ht, 1885: C. F. Kiel- 
hloek, 1886-87; William Wurtzel. 1888-89; 
Philip A. Williams. 1890: William Wnrzel. 
1891-92: t'lias. F. iirncUman. 189:3: Aiifjust 
F. Kaiser, 1894: William F. Ediininds. 1895- 
1896; Homer W. IMaxwell. 1897: Homer 
Bates, 1898-99: William Kiirzhals. 1900-01 ; 
A. Jay Baldwin. 1902-(W; William J, Bn.ek- 
maii. i904-0.'>. 

The first school house built in District Xo. 
2 of Lenox was ereeteil hy David Burt in 
1851, and was burned in 1860, and a new 
frame building erected on the same site in 
1861. The tir.st teacher was Jane Harris. 

lu 1840. according to the reminiscences of 
IMrs. Amelia Bancroft Crawford, school was 
taught in a primitive log house just west 
of the farm long occupied by Thomas Dryer. 
At this time the country seemed to be al- 
most entirely covered by water, and in her 
horseback ride to reach her school, the horse 
was for a large part of the way compelled 
to wade through water several inches deep. 
This lady afterwards taught in the Hall 
school as well as in schools in other parts of 
the county. The present schools of Lenox 
are contained in nine districts, with school 
property estimated worth $6,850.00. The 
directors for the past year have been Fred 
Druengel. Chauneey W. Johns. AVilliam C. 
Steffen, Rudolph Loose, ]\[alvin A. Fries, 
Charles P. Kielblock. Baldwin Hasselback, 
John F. Fink and Gil K. Lovejoy. 

The village about Lenox station, now a 
part of Richmond village, has been referred 
to in the history of Richmond. The other 
village of the township is New Haven, with 
a ])opulation of about six hundred. It is 
situated on the Grand Trunk Railroad, and 
was for a long time known as New Balti- 
more Station. The village was organized 
in 1869, the first election being held on May 
3rd of that year. The presidents of the vil- 
lage have been Ben.iamin L. Bates, E])hraim 
Fuller, ]\rorgan Nye, Justin R. Crandall, 
Adam Bennett. Clai-ence E. Fenton. Charles 
X. Sears, Clavin T. Smith, Ileiii'y H. Quick, 
Alexander Gunn, John S. Parker, Isaac N. 
Cook, William F. Edmunds, John Ru.ssell, 
Edgar B. Harris. Elias B. Parker, and A. J. 
Baldwin. The village has an electric light 
I)lant, a bank, elevator, ci-eamery, rollei' mill 
and churches of the Baptist, Congregational, 



Lulliiran, Methodist and Presbyterian de- 
nominations. It is the railroad shii)]>ing 
point for Meade, Ra.v Center and ()mo (a 
settlement in section 19 of Lenox, that has 
grown u|i aniniid a saw mill long i-uii by 
Ilazclton ami now by John White, and the 
general store now run by Will t^ Sons), with 
which places it has daily stage connections. 

The .Methodist Church Society of the vil- 
lage was organized by the Rev. John Russell 
at Meade, at which |)hice Ihe Rev. Thos. 
Seeley was pastoi'. In Xoveiiiber. 1870, the 
present cluu-cli ediliee was dedicated, the 
pul]iit of which is now filled by the Rev. 0. 
W. Willett, a graduate of .Xorthwestern Uni- 
versit.v, formerly a missionary in China. The 
Rev. Peter Scharmerhorn, pastor of the Con- 
gregational church, has been preceded in 
that position bv Josei)h England, Samuel D. 
Breed, John S.' Kidder, N. D. Glidden. Park 
A. C. Bradford, Robt. Parsons, Jacob Flook 
and "William Bradley. The Baptist Society 
of the village was first organized in Ches- 
terfield about 1843. and for some time held 
its meetings in the school house in the Bates 
settlement. The church at New Haven was 
built about 1855, and is now in charge of the 
Rev. J. W. Wallace. At Chesterfield, Elder 
Goodrich. Rev. Kingsbury and Rev. Starr 
had charge of the church. The church now 
has 63 members with a Sabbath school of 60 
members. In its work, it is materially as- 
sisted by an active Ladies Aid Society. The 
present occupant of the substantial parson- 
age, which the Lutheran church has erected 
neai- its church building, is the Rev. Henry 
Tourney, under whose ministry the church is 
apparently en.joying great prosperity. 

Nearly all of the lands in this township 
except section 16 of school land were pur- 
chased from the government in 1834, 1835 
and 1836. The earliest selection made was 
June 4th, 1831, in section 6 by Phineas D. 
Pelton, of Genesee County, N. Y. In Novem- 
ber following another entry was made in 
the same section by William Francis of On- 
tario County, N. Y. 

In 1833 Richard Bailey from Ontario 
Count.v, N. Y., made a selection in section 
6 : Alanson F1ow(M's of Geiu'se(» County. N. 
Y.. in section 7; Bi'u.jamin Haight and Eras- 
tus D. Powell in section 31. Among the 
other land buyers who made their selections 
during the following three years might be 
uametl Justus II. Ellsworth, of Erie County, 
N. Y. : i^ichard Claggett, Stillman (lolf and 
David I. Bo^'d in section 1; Hiram Burke, 
Erasmus M. and Alexander Beebe in section 



662 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACO^rB COUNTY 



2; Lemuel Hicks, John G. Dennison and 
Justin Corey in section 3 ; Albert Treat, Har- 
rison Russell and William E. Welles in sec- 
tion 4; Alanson Flowers, Ebenezer Brook 
and Warren Cook in section 7 ; Joseph C. 
Brown. Francis Stone, Flavins J. Hicks and 
Norton L. Miller in section 8; John Church. 
Arteraus Blake, Mary Case and Levi Beard- 
sley in section 9 ; John B. Goddard, Nelson 
and James Edwards in section 10; James 
Edwards and Justin Corey in section 11; 
James Earl and Patrick Healey in section 13; 
Chester Dodse and Samuel P. Heyden in 
section 15 ; Thomas F. Dryer, Imley Prescott 
and Henry Dwight in section 17 ; ApoUos A. 
Puller, Carlos W. Brown, Mason Harris, 
Israel Dryer, Thomas P. Dryer and Sally A. 
Millard in section 18; William Miller, Mans- 
field Harris and AVilliam A. Nelson in section 
19; Gabriel. William J. and Harling Case, 
Nelson Edwards and John Dodge in section 
21 ; James Snook and William Beer of Mid- 
dlesex County, N. Y., in section 23; David 
Spoor and Christopher Raft'erty in section 
26; Silas Leonard, Ira S. Perry and John 
Harris in section 29; Jacob E. and Myron 
Hall, Charles Thompson and Henry Peatman 
in section 30: Benjamin Haight, Erastus D. 
Powell, Otis AVing, Hannah Lyman, Hiram 
D. Howell, Sybil E. Crawford and Caleb Rice 
in section 31; Abram Burkholder and John 
A. Saunders in section 32 ; William Maxwell, 
Samuel Farr, Orville Paine, Orvin P. Sim- 
mons and Lyman Bates in section 33; 
Stephen Sabin, Elijah Phelps, Zara Granger 
and Charles W. Fuller in section 34. 

The population of the township, according 
to census returns, has been as follows : 

1837 234 

1840 284 

1845 513 

1850 654 

1854 946 

1860 1,453 

1864 1,383 

1870 2,135 

1874 2,164 

1880 2,516 

1884 2,452 

1890 2,385 

1894 2,266 

1900 2,351 

1904 2,330 

The assessed valuation of the township as 
Cfnuilized by the Board of Supervisors has 
been as follows: 

1842 $ 42,169.20 

1846 39,418.00 



1851 43.225.00 

1856 233.(;!)i).00 

1861 213,790.00 

1866 265,436.00 

1871 319,165.00 

1876 340,000.00 

1881 993,000.00 

1886 900.000.00 

1891 91().()()().(I0 

1896 92().(l(l(l,n() 

1901 1,150.000.00 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE TOWNSHIP OF RICHMOND. 

The township of Richmond, the most 
northeasterly of the county, was not settled 
as early nor as thickly at first as were the 
townships nearer Detroit and the Clinton 
River. The first entries of lands in this 
township were made December 1st, 1832, 
in section 30, on which day both Edwin B. 
Rose from Macomb County and John Hale 
of Detroit each entered a tract in that sec- 
tion. The latest entry for government lands 
was made April 4th, 1884, by Richard Ball, 
of this county, in section 16. As has ap- 
peared before, the township was organized in 
1838, and the first town meeting was ap- 
pointed to be held at the house of George 
Perkins, on whose wood-pile it was held in 
point of fact. Mr. Perkins was then living 
on the "Ridge," and the name of the town- 
ship was selected by the suggestion of Phillip 
Cudworth, in memory of a township of the 
same name in Ontario County, N. Y. At this 
first meeting the following officers were se- 
lected : Hiron Hathaway, as supervisor ; 
(ieorge Pei-kins. as clerk: Durfee Simmons. 
John Hicks and Jesse Huff, as assessors; 
William Simmons and John Goodar, as over- 
seers of the jjoor; Jesse Welden and Russell 
Peters, as commissioners of the highways ; 
Jesse Welden, James Flower, Horace Ewall 
and W. P. Simmons, as justices of the peace; 
Jeremiah Robinson and J. S. Durfee as con- 
stables: Jei-emiah Robinson as collector; 
Durfee Siiiimoiis, Pliny Corbin and Ben 
Ellsworth, as commissioners of county 
sehools; p. Cudworth, C. C. Davis and H. 
N. Curtis as fence viewers, and John Bates, 
poundmaster. 

The land where the village of Richmond 
now stands or rather that jiortion of it called 
Beebe's corners, was mostly taken up from 
the government by Erastus Beebe in 1835, 
and the future growth of a settlement there 



PAST AND I'RKSFA'T OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



663 



proved t\w wisdom of ilr. lieebc in his se- 
lection. Beiny the spot where the ridge 
runuing east and west joined tliat nuiuiug 
north and south, — and the importance of 
high lands, jiartieidarly for highways, was 
more ajiparent then than now, — it was nat- 
ural tliat here slionld gradually grow up a 
coiiimnnity. Early a general store was kept 
there liy II. P. Beebe, and a blacksmith shop 
soon followed. The locality came to be 
known as Beebe "s corners, a name which it 
retained until the granting of a village char- 
ter in 1879. The little community which 
grew up in the northwest (piarter of section 
1 of Lenox was a rival to Beebe 's corners, 
and after the coming of the Grand Trunk 
Railway with its station at Ridgeway, as the 
Lenox settlement was called, the jealousy 
was not without its bitterness at times. Be- 
tween the two settlements along the main 
street naturally were established stores and 
other accommoilations which sought to draw 
eu.stom from both ways. About half way 
between the Corners and the Station 
grew up a little business center which 
at times was referred to as Coopertown, 
which is now the heart of the village of Rich- 
mond. The natural growth of the eonnnuni- 
ties has been towards each other until it be- 
came a continuous settlement from the Cor- 
ners (at the intersection of the Ridge Road 
and ilain Street) to the Station. The order 
and times of the platting into village lots is 
indicative of the deniand for lots that came 
fr(mi this growth. The original part of the 
Corners was never formally platted, but the 
little scttli'ment grew up as the progress of 
the locality demanded around the junction 
of JIain Street and the Ridge Road coming 
in from the west. Dee. 1st, 1859, ju.st about 
the time of the completion of the building 
of the Grand Trunk Railroad through the 
village, the Gillett, Beebe and Richard addi- 
tion to the village was platted. In the Beebe 's 
aildition was included lots on each side of 
JIain Street northerly from the town line, 
then call(Ml Plank Street (now Division), to 
where the corners settlement had spread, to 
Church Street on the westerly sid(> and just 
beyond Park Street on the easterly, and in- 
cluded also lots on both sides of ;\laciimb 
Street between the town line and Park 
Street. The Gillett part of the addition lay 
in Lenox and continued the same lines as the 
Beebe addition southerly to the church, ex- 
cept that nothing was platted in it on the 
easterly side of ^lain Street. The next month 
Blackwell's plat of "the village of Ridge- 



way, near Beebe 's Corners" was made and 
recorded. This inchided the (irand Trunk 
depot grounds and covered a strip of land 
running from the north town line of Leno.x 
(Division Street) to the quarter section line 
in section 1, bounded westerly by Oak Street 
and by .Main Street southerly of its intersec- 
tion with Oak Street, and easterly l)y Beech 
Street, and its line continued southerly 
across the railroad. In .May of 1860 John 
Hicks platted eighteen lots just west of the 
Corners and north of the Ridge road, includ- 
ing in his plat Prospect, North and West 
Streets. For several years the corners seem 
to have far surpassed the station in growth, 
as in January, 18()5, Seth Lathrop's first, and 
in April, 1867, his second addition appear, 
supposedly to answer the demand for more 
building lots. These lay westerly and south- 
erly of the original village and ran southerly 
as far as Park Street, and together with the 
plats already mentioned antl Beebe 's third, 
platted much later, constitute all of the vil- 
lage west of ^lain Strce! north of the town 
line. In 1867, too, Beebe i)latted an adilition 
lying just north and easterly of the original 
village, along ^ladison and Division Streets, 
and the following year he opened his second 
addition, lying next north of the town line 
(Division Street), with its thirty-nine lots 
along Stone and Forest Streets. During the 
next decaile, Ridgeway seems to have had the 
best of the controversy. IMarcli 12th, 1869, 
Blackwell's addition filled in the space be- 
tween his original plat and Gillett 's addition 
to Richmond, including as it does all of the 
village south of Division Street betweeu 
;\Iaple Street and ;\Iain north of ^laple on 
the west side and Oak Street on the east 
side. In 1871 and 1875 James B. Davis added 
to the village two plats which covers all of 
the village east of the railway, except the 
small portion included in Blackwell's orig- 
inal plat. During this decade the only adtli- 
tion to the ujjper part of the village was 
Beebe 's third, which, however, was a large 
one and carried the village east(>rly to the 
Driving Park ground between Division and 
Washington Streets. The Heath and Stone 
additi(Uis in the northeast section of the vil- 
lage were made ^May 27th, 1881, after th(> in- 
cor])oration of the village. 

In the township at large, as was natural, 
the parts first settled were along the ridges. 
The first school was tauuht in the house of 
Daniel Hall by Mahala Weeks. .\ year later 
Jliss Lucinda Clough became the teacher in 
a log scdiool house built near the Hall resi- 



664 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



dence. The i)reseut ten school districts lying 
wholly or in part in Hichuiond have school 
property estimated in the current year to 
be worth !|;19,380, of which $5,000 is in the 
Memphis district and $9,500 in the Richmond 
village district. No. 13. In these were ex- 
pended for school purposes last year $7,- 
207.83, and in them were enrolled 576 of 
the 756 included in the school census. 

An inspection of the list of the first land 
buyers in this township will show that the 
larger proportion of them who had not al- 
ready acquired a residence in ^Michigan came 
from New York, although .Massachusetts is 
also well represcnti'd. It will reveal the 
names of most of the old families of the town- 
ship, whose history, did time and space per- 
mit, would prove most interesting to trace. 
Among these land takers we find an even 
dozen of the fairer sex, whom circumstances 
prol)al)ly drove to this step usually left to 
their brothers. 

Section 1 was taken up by James Rig and 
Agness Rig of Wayne County in 1835; 
Joseph Potter and Gideon M. Potter of St. 
Clair County in 1835; John Dods of Mon- 
treal. Canatia, 1835; Alexander H. Bartley 
and Richard Cro.ssier and James Osterhaut, 
of "Wayne County, in 1836. 

Section 2 was obtained by Daniel J. Chapel 
from Livingston County, N. Y. ; Isaac B. Gil- 
bert of Macomb County; Joseph Potter, 
James Wells of St. Clair County, all in 1835. 
Timothy Allen, Ontario County, New York, 
in 1836. 

Section 3 was secured by Timothy Allen 
of Ontario County, New York ; Joseph Par- 
son of Monroe County, New York, in 1836. 

Section 4 was held by Ephraim Chamber- 
lin of Macomb County in 1836; Henry Haw- 
kins, Vanrensselaer Hawkins of Genesee 
County, New York, in 1837 ; Gideon M. Pot- 
ter, from ;\Iacomb County, in 1838. 

Section 5 was i)atented to Zekiel M. De- 
Foret of Livingston County, New York, in 
1836 : Susannah Thompson, Macomb County, 
in 1836 ; Henry and Vanrensselaer Hawkins 
of Genesee County, New York, in 1837. 

Section 6 was bought by Jacob Frost of 
Macomb County in 1836 : William C. Hag- 
gerty of New York City in 1836 ; Henry and 
Vanrensselaer Hawkins of Genesee County, 
New York, in 1837. 

Section 7 was taken up by Jere Keyes of 
^Tonroe County. New York, in 1836 ; Daniel 
Garland of Wayne County. ^lichigan, in 
1836 ; Jehiel Butterfield, Macomb County, 



;\Iichigan, in 1836: Peter Ackley, Niagara, 
New York ; Cyrenus Webster of Macomb 
County in 1836 ; Horace Cooper, ]\Iacomb 
County, 1836 ; John P. Hall, Macomb County, 
in 1837; Benjamin Woodbeek of Macomb 
County in 1837 ; Henry and Vanrensselaer 
Hawkins of Genesee County, New York, in 
1837; Daniel Roberts of St. Clair County in 
1836 ; Robert iloaw of Ontario County, New 
York. 1837. 

Section 8 was acquired by Jeduthan Blip, 
Hampden County, Mass., in 1836; Ezekiel M. 
DeForest of Living.ston County, N. Y., in 
1836 : Henry and Vanrensselaer Hawkins of 
Genesee County, N. Y., in 1837; Thomas 
Moaw of Ontario County, N. Y., in 1837. 

Section 9 was settled by Jere Keyes of 
Monroe County, N. Y., in 1836 ; John M. Cut- 
ler, Macomb County, 1836 ; Henry and Van- 
rensselaer Hawkins of Genesee County, N. 
Y., in 1837. 

Section 10 was sold to Thomas E. Haywood 
of Monroe County, N. Y., in 1836 ; Aaron 
Day of Hampden County, JIass., in 1836 ; 
Holman Jackson. Macomb County, in 1836; 
Joseph Piersen of Monroe County, N. Y., 
in 1836 ; Aaron Day of Hampden County, 
Mass.. in 1836; Isaac B. Gilbert, Macomb 
County, in 1836. 

SectioTi 11 was obtained by Nathan Hicks 
and Timothy Allen of Ontario County, N. 
Y., the former in 1835 and the latter in 1836 ; 
Isaac B. Gilbert of Macomb County in 1835. 

Section 12 was secured by Lot Clark and 
Steven Warren of the State of New York 
in 1835; Alexander H. Bartley of Wayne 
County in 1836; Reuben R. Smith. ]\racomb 
County, in 1836 ; Luoien B. Barker, ^ladison 
County. N. Y., in 1836; Timothy Allen of 
Ontario County, N. Y., in 1836; David Den- 
ton of St. Clair in 1836. 

Section 13 was purchased by Lot Clark 
and Steven Warren of New York State in 
1835 and 1836: Silas Stevens of St. Clair 
County in 1836: Durfee Simmons of St. Clair 
County in 1836 ; Russell Peters of Lapeer 
County in 1836 ; William Pierce of Macomb 
County in 1836. 

Section 14 was taken up by Gideon D. Sim- 
mons of Ontario County. N. Y., in 1835: John 
Wells (if Wayne County in 1836: John Man- 
chester of Madison County, N. Y., in 1836: 
Durfee Sinunons of Madison County, N. Y., 
in 1836 (afterwards of St. Clair County) ; 
John Bywater of Portage County, Ohio, in 
1836; William Bywater of Macomb County 
in 1836. 



i'AST AND I'KESEXT OF .MACU.MB CUU.NTY 



665 



Section 15 was held by Solomou Lathi-op, 
Hampden County, ^Mass.. in 183(5 ; Charles 
Ely of Ilainpden County, .Mass., in 183G. 

Section 17 was patented to Alanson IIiu'l- 
but, ^Middlesex County, Ct., in 1835; Henry 
Davis and Charles J. Davis, Hiram Benedict, 
Henrv Johnson of Genesee County, N. Y., in 
183(3-! William M. C. Lathrop of New York, 
N. Y., in 1837 ; Thomas Moaw of Ontario 
County, X. Y., in 1837; Daniel G. Stowe of 
Genesee County, N. Y., in 1837. 

Section 18 was bought b.v David Page and 
Holly Go.ver of ilaeomb County, ^Michigan, 
in 1835; Oratus Hulett of Huron County, 
Ohio, in 1835; Eben Kimball and Levi Kim- 
ball, ]Malaneton W. Chambcrlin of IMaeond) 
Count.v in 183(i : Nathan Dodge of (ienesee 
Count.\'. .\'. Y., in 183(j ; Samuel Booth. Gen- 
esee Count,v, X. Y., in 1836 ; Jesse Ruff, IMont- 
gomer.y Count.v, X. Y., in 1836; Isaac Robin- 
son and George Wells, James S. Spencer of 
Macomb Coiint.y in 1836 ; Gilbert Longstaff 
of Macomb County in 1837. 

Section 19 was purchased by Anson Petti- 
bone of Genesee County, N. Y., in 1833 ; 
Enoch C. Hodges and Henry Dennis, Jere- 
miah Walton and Ann D. Walton of ^laeomb 
Count.v in 1836 : Charles J. Davis, Genesee 
County, X'. Y., in 1836 ; Abel Harrington, 
Wa.vne County, N. Y.. in 1836; Chester 
Smith of Genesee County, N. Y., in 1836 ; 
John 0. Roorke of W^a.vne Count.v in 1836. 

Section 20 was secured by William P. Jef- 
sions of Tolland County, Ct., in 1833 ; Pliny 
Corbin of Monroe County, N. Y., in 1833; 
Alanson Hurlbut of Jliddlesex County, Ct., 
in 1833 ; Jeremiah Robinson, Yates County, 
N. Y., in 1833; Martin J. Arnold, Ontario 
County, N. Y., in 1833; Henry M. Curtiss, 
Genesee County, N. Y., in 1836 ; Justus H. 
Ellsworth, Erie County, N. Y., in 1836. 

Section 21 was occupied by Pliny Corbin 
of Monroe Count.v, N. Y., in 1835 ; Charles 
Goodar of Oakland Count.v in 1835; Laura 
Rose of Macomb Count.v in 1835; Samuel 
Cooley, Genesee Count.v, X. Y., in 1836; Har- 
riet Perkins of Macomb Count.v, in 1836 ; 
Betse.v Grant, I\Iacomb County, in 1836. 

Section 22 was purchased b.v Jonathan H. 
Guild of Windham, Ct.. in 1836; Amsay W. 
Sutton and Joel A. .Maher in 1833. 

Section 23 was taken up b.v Isaac B. (411- 
bert, Macomb Count.v, in 1835; Charles El.v, 
Ilamiiden Count.v, .Mass.. in 183(); Pariiiel.v 
Bierce from Connecticut in 1836; Ben.iamin 
F. Green of Livingston Count.v, N. Y., in 
1836; Daniel (Jilli't of Livintrston ('ountv, 
X. Y., in 1836. 



Section 24 was held b.v Sanuiel Baker of 
Wayne County, X. Y., in 1836; .Milan Clapp 
iif Wa.\iie Count.v. Mich., in l.s3(i: William 
Winds and John Kell.v and William Fields 
of .Macomb Count.v in 1836; Abl).\- Win.ins of 
Macr)ml) Count.v in 183il : Aim A. Andrews 
(if .Monroe Count.v, X. Y.. in 1837; Caleb 
Rice of Ontai'io Countv, .X. Y., in 1836. 



Section 



was obtained bv Jere Norton 



of Poi-tage Count.v. Ohio, in 1836; Daniel 
Hall of (ieauga County, Ohio, in 1836; Amos 
F. Albright of Wa.xiic County, ^licliigan, in 
1836; Eleazer .Miiihell of Wayne County in 
1836; Isaac H. (iilhert of JMaeomb County in 
1836; James 11. Woods and Caleb Rice of 
Ontario County, X. \'., in 183(); Charles 
French of Woi'cester Count.v, Mass., in 1836. 

Section 26 was largely taken up b.v Jere 
.Norton of Portage (^'ouiit.v, Ohio, in 1836; 
Daniel Hall of tieauga Count.v, (Jhio, in 1836; 
Solomon Stone of Monroe County, N. Y., in 
1836: Ebenezer of Hampshire County, Mass., 
in 183(): Anna Richai-ds of Genesee Count.v, 
.N. Y.. in 1837: Clarissa Hancock of St. Clair 
County ill 1S3I). 

Section 27 was sold to Isaac Munson of 
Otsego County, X, Y., in 1836 ; Solomon 
Stone of Monroe County, N. Y., in 1836; 
Leonard Stumj) of Ontario Count.v, X. Y., in 
1836 : Bradford L. Skiff of St. Clair County 
in 1836; Henrv P. Beebe of Jlacoiiib County 
in 1837. 

Section 28 was acquired by ('harles (joodar 
of Oakland Count.y in 1835 ; Edwin B. Rose, 
(iieorge Perkins of ]\Iacomb Count.v in 1835; 
Jacob Beekman, JMacomb Count.v, in 1836 ; 
Samuel Coole.v, (Jenesee Count.v, X. Y., in 
1836; Solomon Storfe of .Monroe Count.v. N. 
Y., in 183(i : rien.jaiiiin B. Kerclieval of 
Wa.vne Count.v in 1S36: Samuel I'. ( 'lenieiis 
of Wa.vne County in 1837. 

Section 29 was bought b.v jMartin J. Ar- 
nold of Ontario Count.v, X'. Y., in 1835; John 
Bates, ^lorgiin L. JlcKooii and (jideon Gates, 
James M. .Merit, Hiram Burke of ;\l;icoiiib 
('ouiit.\- ill 1836: Charles French of Worces- 
ter Count.v, .Mass., in 183(). 

Section 30 was obtained li.\' John Hale of 
Detroit in 1832; Edwin B. Ro.se of :\Iacomb 
Count.v in 1832: Asa Ingrahan of JIacomb 
Count.v in 1835; Joanna C. Tenn.v of ;\Ionroe 
Count.v, X. Y., in 1835; John Goodar of Oak- 
land Count.v in 1835; John Bates of Macomb 
Count.v in 1836; Eli.iah Waterman of Cattar- 
augus Count.v, X. Y., in 1836; Rufus P. 
Daton of ;\Iaconib (^'ount.v in 183(): Adanis 
Trayler of Livingston Count.v, X. Y.. in 1836; 
■lolui \'oiiiiev of ]Mae(mib Count \- in 1S38. 



666 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Section 31 was taken up by Sumner Pierce 
of :\raeomb County in 1832-1834 ; Seth Hath- 
away of ilacoiiib County in 1834; Daniel 
Bray of ^raeoiiib County in 1835; Ainos Par- 
sons of Ontario County. N. Y., in 1835; Wil- 
liam G. Hathaway of Niagara County, N. Y., 
in 1835 ; David O. Codwise of ]\Iacomb Coun- 
ty in i835 : Simeon Newberry of Lapeer 
County in 1836; David Perry of Monroe 
County, N. Y., in 1836; John Mow of ila- 
comb County in 1836 ; Felix Randall of Por- 
tage County, Ohio, in 1836 ; Benjamin B. 
Kei-eheval of Wayne County in 1836. 

Section 32 was purchased by Charles G. 
IMorse of ilonroe County, N. Y,, in 1836 ; 
Levi Beardslev of Otsego County. N. Y., in 
1836; Miclosneth S. Hall of Wayne County 
in 1836 : John Starkweather of Wayne Coun- 
ty in 1836 : Edwin Jerome and Joseph An- 
(lerson of Wayne Coinity. Mich. : Felix Ran- 
dall of Portage County. Ohio ; Edwin Jerome 
and John Starkweather of Wayne County in 
1836. 

Section 33 was taken up by Hannah Free- 
man of ^lacomb County in 1835; Benjamin 
W. Freeman of ^Macondj County in 1836; 
Ephraim S. HarviMis of Genesee County, N. 
Y., in 1836; William R. Hieks of Macomb 
County, in 1836 ; Isaac W. Perkins of Graf- 
ton Countv, N. Y., in 1836 ; George Palmer of 
St. Clair County in 1836. 

Section 34 was granted to Benjamin Sim- 
mons, and Pliilli]) Cuilworth of Ontario 
County. X. Y.. in 1835; Cyrel Hicks of 
Wayne County in 1835; Samuel N. Hyde of 
Erie County, N. Y., in 1836 ; Isaac IMunson of 
Otsego County, N. Y.. in 1836; William R. 
Hieks and Fi-aucis E. Rayden of ^lacomb 
County in 1836; Lowell Gage of ^lonroe 
County. N. Y.. in 1836. 

Section 35 was bought by Asa K. Phipps 
of ilacondi County in 1836 ; Hiram Burke of 
Genesee County, N. Y., in 1836; Erastus il. 
Beebe of (fenesee Count}', N. Y., in 1836 ; 
Alexander Beebe of Genesee County. N. Y.. 
in 1836 : Smith Johnson. Chautauqua County, 
N. Y.. in 1836; Melancton W. Smith of 
Cliautau(iua County. X. Y.. in 1836; John 
Hicks of Ontario County. X. Y., in 1836; 
Lansing B. ^Mizner and Bayard Clark of C. 
S. in 1836; Fi-ancis (i. Macy of Erie County. 
X. Y.. in lS3(i. 

Sect inn 36 was ohtainetl by Smith Johnson 
of ('hautau(iua County. X. Y.. in 183(i ; David 
Weeks. Genesee County, N. Y., in 1836; 
David J. Boyd of Xew York City. N. Y. ; 
Amos F. .Mhright of Wayne County in 1836; 
Lansint;- B. .Mi/ner and liavard Clark of l^ 



S. in 1836 ; Isaac B. Gilbert of ilacomb 
County in 1836. 

In i879 the rivalry between the Station 
and the Corners, as the two extremes of the 
present village of Richmond were called, was 
laid aside sufficiently to allow of the incor- 
poration as one village of the territory 
formerly known as Beebe 's Corners, as well 
that of old Ridgeway, and the section on 
each side of 'Slain Street between the two. 
This was but a legal recognition of the actual 
fact, as the two localities had grown towai-ds 
each other in spite of the jealousy that had 
been strongly kept up. The first election 
was set to be held iMarch 5th. 1879, "at the 
store lately occupied by ililler & Ilaskins 
on JIain Street," and Thomas Conway, B. F. 
Doty and Lunuin II. Heath appointed the 
Board of Registration therefor. The result 
of this election was the selection of Alonzo 
'SI. Keeler as President, and of Addison G. 
Stone, as Clerk. The village has progressed 
ever since most satisfactorily under the fol- 
lowing presidents: Thomas Conway, elected 
in 1880; Sanford M. Stone, in 1881 and 1882; 
Norman Mclntyre. in 1883; James P. Cooper, 
in 1883 at a si)ecial election held because of 
the resignation of ^Ir. iMcIntyre ; James M. 
Hathawav, in 1884 and 1885; Theodore ^Mil- 
ler. in 1886, 1887 and 1888; William H. 
Acker, in 1889 ; James M. Hathaway, in 1890 
and 1891 ; James E. Weter, in 1892 to 1898, 
inclusive: William II. Acker, in 1899 and 
1900: Simon H. Heath, in 1901; AVilliam II. 
Aeker again, in 1902 and 1903 ; Jutlson Black, 
in 1904, and O. B. Evans, in 1905. The 
Clerks for the same time have been Addison 
Stone, elected in 1880 for a second time; 
Adelbert T. Sutton, in 1881 and 1882; E. 
Bruee Keeler, in 1883 and 1884: A. Martin 
Keeler, in 1885 and 1886: IMerton Fuller, in 
1887 and 1888; R. F. Gould, in 1889 until 
his removal, when his place was filled by 
Olnev Culver, who was again selected in 
1890 ■; Richard W. Heath, in 1891 and 1892; 
Frank W. Btirke. who was kept in that office 
from 1893 to 1901 : Elmer U. Gorsuch. elected 
in 190L 1902 and 1903; and the jtresent in- 
cunibrnt. Daniel L. Hapclje. elected first in 
1!I(I4. 

Among the evidences of progress of the 
village is the installation in 1895 of a fine 
water-works system in the village at an ex- 
l)ense of about !f;19.000, after a special elec- 
tion at which the (piestion of incurring this 
expense was passed upon by the electors. 
About five miles of i)i])ing has been laid and 
about 25,000,000 gallons of water are 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



667 



pumped iiniHially. The firavity system, with 
staiidpipi'. is ust'il. and tlie source of the 
water supply is artesian wells. In eonnec- 
tion with this plant is operated a municipal 
electric lisrhtino- jilant, by means of which its 
streets are lighted and light is also furnished 
to its citizens. The combined plant has been 
a paying investment from the start. 

Among the h()t(>Is that have accommodated 
the traveling public here have been the 
Beebe House, built about 1855 by (ieorge 
Beebe, the ^laher House, "Agent's Home," 
kept by E. G. Gleason in 1875, and the Com- 
mercial House, built by James P. Cooper 
about 1880. At the Station or Ridgeway 
were to be fomid at various times the Ridge- 
way Ihmse, the National House. Grand 
Trunk House, and Springborn's hotel, built 
in 1896. Another was Ramsey House, built 
by William Ramsey about 1876. This was 
later rel)uilt and rechristened the Glenwood, 
and is now known as The St. Clair. 

Wm. H. Acker in 1878 starteil and has ever 
since maintained a private bank, which has 
always commanded the confidence of the 
comnumity and accordingly has always been 
successful. The other banking enterprise of 
the village is the ]\Iacomb County Savings 
Bank,. a corporation organized July 2, 1898, 
with a capital stock of ^25.(i(li). 'J'he deposits 
at the commencement of business Sept. 1, 
1898, amounted to .'i;2.(H)6.00. which on :\ray 
29th last had increased to $32,764.25 of com- 
mercial deposits and .$213,013.37 of savings 
deposits. The success of the enterprise is 
apparent from the above. The last annual 
statement showed resources of $288,001.74. 
and surplus of $17,223.12. 

The |)ress has been represented in Rich- 
mond by two papei-s. The Richmond Herald 
was established June 8th, 1876, by Del T. 
Sutton and George W. Keufield, the latter re- 
maining in the fii'ni, however, only a few 
weeks. .Mr. Sutton eiidea\'oretl until the fol- 
lowing Novemlx'i' to convince the people of 
the connnunity that it was time for the vil- 
lage to sup])ort a newspaper and then sold to 
David S. Cooper, who continued the effort 
until the following June. Sufficient support 
not appearing the ]iublication was then sus- 
pended. Howevei' the shoi't life of the Her- 
ald was not in vain for it apjiarcntly taught 
the people the benefits of the press and when, 
in November of 1877, William C. Walters 
started the Richmonil Review, he received 
mote encouragement. The first issue ap- 
peared November 8th, 1877. Two years later 
the [laper was purchased by Frank S. Abbott, 



then a ])racticing attorney of the village, who 
contiiuied management of tlie paper until 
August of 1880, when it was purchased by 
Dei T. Sutton of the one-time Herald, who 
has been proprietor of the paper the major 
part of the time since. It has, however, 
changed hands several times, passing from 
Sutton's hands back to those of its first 
owner, Walters, who, however, soon re-sold 
to Sutton. Frank S. Abbott also again took 
charge at one time, but also returned the 
paper to Sutton. Mr. Crawshaw, Frank 
llirt and Warren S. Stone have also at times 
been interested in the ownership of the paper 
prior to its passing into the hands of Mr. 
Elmer W. Gorsuch, the present owner, who 
has ])ul)lished the paper successfully for the 
past few years. During Mr. Sutton's owner- 
ship the paper was issued from building on 
the corner of Washington and Main Streets 
and latin- from the Cooper block. Crawshaw 
moved it to the Iniilding next door, also 
owned by Cooper. Hirt took the office to the 
Acker building on ilain Street, where a bap- 
tism of fire was received, after which the 
paper found a new home in the Hacking 
building, where it remainetl until removed 
to its present home in the Heath building. 
The Review has always been independent in 
polities and its eight pages of six columns 
each have always been devoted to the wel- 
fare and snceessful growth of its native 
village. 

The iviclimimd postot'lice was established 
in 1840, with Philij) Cudworth as jiostmaster. 
lie was followed by David Ward in 1844, 
lliiain Burke in 1848, II. P. Beebe in 1851, 
James .M. Hicks in 1854, II. P. Heel,,- in 18(;(i, 
D. G. Gleason in 1866, Seth Lathniii in 18(i!t, 
and H. P. Beebe again in 1872. On the com- 
ing in of the first Democratic administi'ation 
of the country for a ((uarter of a century, 
under President Cleveland, James M. Hatha- 
way was ap])ointed postnuistei- in 1885, who 
was followed by Simon II. Heath in 1889. 
The whirl of national polities brought a 
ehange <if ]iarties again in 1893, and restored 
the office to Mr. Hathaway for four years 
when he yielded to J. M. John.son. Simon H. 
Heath again cam(> in in 1901 and still pre- 
sides. During his term tlii> office has been 
elevated to the presidential class. I'lidei- his 
charge, too. have been established two rural 
delivery routes that bring so nnich satisfac- 
tion to the farmers of the township. Route 
No. 1 was started June 2nd, 1902, and has 
been cared for by Ral])h Keeler and Chailes 
Heath. R<nite .\,,. 2 started Julv 1st, 1904. 



668 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOMB COUNTY 



since which it has lieen cared for by J. A. 
Quick. 'Sir. i^eebe had the office at the cor- 
ner of Washin!j:ton and ilain Streets, ilr. 
Hathaway in the Byers building, Mr. John- 
son in the Stevens building across the street, 
and ilr. Heath removed it to the more central 
location in the Hacking block, where it 
stayed until the current year when it was 
moved across the street into the C. B. Lutes 
building. 

The po.stoflice of Lenox was established at 
the "station" in 1872 during the service of 
Hon. 0. D. Conger as Congressnuiu from this 
district. The fact that the name '"Ridge- 
way" was being duplicated in the list of 
postoftices in the state previ'uted the use of 
that name for this po.stoffice. and the adop- 
tion of the name Lenox both for the postofiice 
and the railroad station gradually led to the 
complete abandonment of "Ridgeway" as a 
cognomen for this locality. The new post- 
otiRce \vas estalilishcd moi'c for the aeconnuo- 
dation of the officials than the public and the 
small salary did not make it very attractive. 
After some difficulty James P. Davis was ap- 
pointed, who first kept the office at his resi- 
dence on ^lary street and later in the Jonas 
building on ilain street and .still later in the 
Jesse Gleason building on Grand Trunk ave- 
nue. After two years service Sir. Davis 
yielded possession of the office to Zenas 
Corey, who held it fifteen yeai's. The public 
had gradually come to find the convenience 
of the office, and its business has continually 
increased in size. Oil R. Love.ioy took charge 
of the office in 188!) and has held it ever 
since except during the four years of Presi- 
dent Cleveland's second term, when it was 
held by J. il. Rowley. It has been located 
in buildings owned by ^Fr. Lovejoy on ]\Iain 
street for the few years. In January. 1904, 
the first rural delivery route was established 
with David \Y. Wilson in charge, and in the 
same year the second i-oute was started un- 
ili'i' till' cai'e of (irant Woodruff. 

Tile village of Richmond has seven church- 
es, the Ba]iti.st, Roman Catholic, Congrega- 
tionaiist, (Jci-man Evan gel icnl. ^[ethodist 
Ei)iscopal. (ici-iiian Lutheran, and (ierman 
Metl;oiiist, the hist iiameil being a recent 
comer friuii its formci' location near Jlutton- 
villc. St. Chiii' ('(I. The Free Methodists had 
for a long tiim- an Di'ganizafion in this vil- 
lage, also wliicli. liiiwcviT. just at present is 
not active. 

The ('atliiilic' eililice is located in Lenox 
and a ver\' pretty IJectoi'v has also been 
built by the parish. 



One of the oldest of the religious organiza- 
tions of the place is the Baptist Society. Pre- 
vious to 1869, however, no formal organiza- 
tion was had, although meeting had for some 
time been held in private houses and in a 
small building afterwards used for the 
Lenox postoffice. The organization was ef- 
fected June 15th. 18(i9, with ilanson Farrar, 
Deacon, H. F. Douglas. Clerk, and D. Stew- 
ai-f. Treasuri'r. and a board of trustees made 
up of the above named officers and James 
Cooper and Harvey French. The following 
year in January the Sabbath-school was or- 
ganized and later in the year steps taken to 
secure the erection of a suitable house of 
worship. This was completed on a lot given 
for that purjiose by ]Mr. Gillett, February 
25th, 1871. The society has pursued a con- 
tinuous and generally successful career ever 
since. Among the early pastors were Rev. 
William Arlington, and Rev. Silas Finn. The 
several ministers of this church, as nearly as 
can be ascei-fained with the dates of their 
taking charge are as follows: S. (iardner in 
187fi; A, W. Gower, in 1877: E. E. Bayliss. 
in .Inly. 1878; M. H. DeWitt, in October of 
that year; E. SI. Stephenson, in September, 
1879: Rev. Fairchild, in 1880: W. H. Rupert, 
in 188:^ : Rev. A. Snyder, in 1885 : W. T. Os- 
borii. in 1S87: Rev. Wm. Hari', in 1890: Dea. 
Arthur Dav in 1892; iliss Vera Wadsw(u-th. 
in 1892; Rev. A. Storv, in 189-i; W. II. :\Iills, 
:May 16. 1897 ; P. M. Teller, in 1898 : H. N. 
;\Iarsales, in 1899, and the present pastor. 
Rev. C. :\I. Batty, in 1901. 

The (tcrman Evangelical Church of the 
village belongs to the S.vnod of North Ameri- 
ca and was established in Richmond in 1889. 
The Rev. E. L. K. Ilagen took charge then 
with seventeen families a.ssociated with the 
new church. The church and parsonage 
were built that year. :\Ir. Hagen left in 1895 
and Rev. R. E. Riemaiui. the ]iresent jiastor, 
took charge of the cluu'ch at the same time, 
lie had formerly been an East India mis- 
sionary for nine years. There are at present 
seventy-five families connected with the so- 
ciety, and a Sunday-school of fi-oin thirt.v to 
forty chihli-en is |)residei! over liy live teach- 
ers. The organization i)ears every evidence 
of being in a flourishing condition. Con- 
nected with this church is the Evangelical 
Trinity Church of Armada with twenty-five 
fairiilies associated, which was established in 
1898, and as well the First German Evan- 
gelical Church of Adair, established in L'^99, 
with thirty-one families attending. Ladies 
Aiil Societies are organized in connection 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



669 



with r.icli of tlu'st- chiirclies, tlie uik' at l\ii-h- 
111011(1 iiuiiilHTini); 23 iiieiiibers, that at Ar- 
iiiada, ciuhteeii, ami the Adair society haviugr 
seventeen iiieiiihcrs. The htisiiiess atfairs of 
the J\iehiiioii(l Church are looketl after liy a 
(_'lnii'eh Comniittee apjioiiiteil every tiiree 
years. The present coiiiiiiittei> is made up of 
Charles Liiike, Charles Piels, Charles Hage- 
meister, William lianiiigarteii and Jos. Ilar- 
ting-. Among those prominent in maintain- 
ing this church in addition to those above 
named on the Committee are Ephraim Rauni- 
aarteii. John Ilirt. F. Gierk, P. E. Williams, 
A. Lindke. W. Woehlert. John Wilier. Fr. R. 
Sehurz, A. Dittiiiaon, and A. .Matehin. 

Tuesday, September 26. 1871, the followers 
of the Congregational eliurch in and about 
Richmond met at the office of Dr. D. G. Glea- 
son. and there adopted the constitution of 
the First Congregational Society of Rich- 
mond. The members of the new organization 
numbered forty-five and they selected as 
their first Trustees: C. S. "Knight, Seth 
Lathrop and E. 'M. Beebe. S. ]\I. Stone was 
chosen Clerk and ^Irs. C. S. Knight as Treas- 
urer. In 1S72 a church building was built 
on land given therefor by Seth Lathrop. The 
present) building was erected in 1SS7. The 
ministers in charge of this church have been 
as follows : S. O. Bryant from 1872 to 1875 ; 
W. I. Hunt, 1875-77 ; Ebenezer Ireland, 1879- 
81 : Frank Bissell, 1881-82 ; Rev. Norris, 1882 ; 
Rev. Walley. in 1884: G. M. Franklin, in 
1887: F. E. York, in 1888: D. A. Strong, in 
1891: H. R. Williams, in 1893: S. A, Long, 
in 1896 : I. Terbourtrh. in 1899 : Rev. Gadd. in 
1903. 

In 1832 Daniel Hall invited Jere Norton 
and John Hicks to meet at his house for the 
first ^Methodist prayer meeting, which was 
led by Norton, During the same year ]\Iiss 
Mary Norton organized the first Sunday 
school, which was held in the house of John 
Hicks. The first sermon preached in the 
neighborhood was the funeral sermon of 
Henry Stump in 1838. The Rev. R. R. Rich- 
ards otticiatcd at the services and the burial 
was in the rear of the late Sanford I\l. 
Stone's house. The first class in the ^[etlio- 
dist Episcoiial church was organized by the 
Rev. L. Whitney in 1839 and met in the 
log school house opposite James JNIcCauley's 
house. From this time on services were lield 
in-clly regularly, ii]) to 1844, usually at 
Danii'l IlalKs, after that until 1847 at the 
log school house and later in the frame 
school house on the farm afterwards owned 
bv Barclav Wchling. In 1859 the M. E. 



I hurch building was constructed standing on 
the lot immediately west of the old West 
school building at a cost of $1,800.00. From 
here the church was moved to its present 
site and given quite extensive repairs in 
1867. In 1871 a division in the church oc- 
curred and nearly one-half of the members 
withdrew and formed the Free Methodist 
Society. In 1881 a lot for a par.sonage was 
I)urchased on which in 1882 the present resi- 
dciK-e was built. Since then tlie church itself 
has been thoroughly repaired aiul an addi- 
tion put on, for which work liberal subscrip- 
tions were received at the time of the dedi- 
cation of the renovated building, and the 
society was thus enabled to start free from 
debt upon a term of successful work, which 
is now being continued b.v the Rev. AV. Geieh. 

The High School of Richmond was built in 
1875 and has had for princijials: II. F. Smith 
for three years, S. II. Briggs for three years, 
G. II. Burgess for one year, E. L. Briggs 
for one year, A. E. Millett for three years, 
R. J. Crawford for nine years, J, M, Tice for 
two years, L. A. Suydan for three years, and 
W. L. Lee for five years. It is located in 
District No. 13 of the Township and its value 
and the amounts paid for school jnirposes is 
included in the totals for the Township 
given elsew^iere. There is now under way a 
plan for the consolidation of this district and 
the Lenox district (Fractional 12 of Lenox 
township) which has' developed anew the 
ancient jealousy between the two ends of 
the village, and threatens to delay the erec- 
tion of larger and more suitable quarters for 
the schools. At the time of writing the con- 
troversy has not been settled so as to be- 
come a part of history. 

Richmond has proven itself to be one of 
the most energetic and progressive of the 
villages (if the (_ ounty. It now has a po]nila- 
tiou of aliout 1,300, and has besides the enter- 
prises already mentioned, an opera house 
with seating capacity of about 500, a fine 
driving ]iark, three grain elevators, a cream- 
ery, egg pickling works, a fiour mill, fruit 
evaporators, and several smaller factories. It 
is well equipped with telegi-apli and telc- 
I>lione service and an unusual amount of pub- 
lic s])irit and enterprise is displayed. 

Another thrift.v village of Richmond is 
]\Iemphis, although it lies also jiartly in St, 
Claii' County, The locality was setthnl as 
early as 1835, the earliest famili(>s being the 
James Wells. Potter, Welch. :\loore. Slater, 
Mansfield, and Bird. It was incorporated as 
a village in 181)5. and now has a population 



670 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



of about G50. It has three churches, Cougre- 
gatioual, ^Methodist aud Adveutist. The 
^leuijihis Bee is published here, and the 
private bank of Fred (i. Coburn, under the 
name of the ^Memphis Bank, attends to the 
financial interest of the town. Flouring 
mills and a grain elevator exist for the con- 
venience of the neighboring farmers. 

When the postoffice was to be established 
in 18-18 there was considerable discussion 
over the name to be taken, the locality hav- 
ing up to that time been u.sually referred to 
as Well's Settlement. Bellview, because of 
the river on Mhich the town is located, Riley, 
in honor of the Indian chief who, days gone 
by, had been prominent aud well-known in 
the locality, and Birney. after James G. Bir- 
ney, were among the names suggested and 
rejected for ilempliis. 

As early as 1837 religious services were 
held here by Mrs. Chilson, a follower of the 
ilethodist church, but it was not until at 
least a decade later that the ]\Iethodists had 
a church building of their own. The Con- 
gregational society was formed in 1840 at 
the house of Deacon A. CTilbert under the 
guidance of Rev. Seth Hardy of Romeo. 
Their house of worship was built in 1842 and 
their first pastor was Rev. Charles Kellogg. 
In 1839 a Baptist society was formed, made 
up largely of the Simmons, Smith and Eaton 
families. At one time the society owned a 
small meeting house in the southern part of 
the village but for many years has had no 
active existence. 

Oel Rix, who built a flour mill there in 
about 1840. was also the proprietor of the 
first store of the settlement. Dr. Sabin, the 
first physician of the locality, built a saw- 
mill about the same time. Having railroad 
connection with Port Huron and none with 
the rest of Macomb County, and being partly 
in the former county, ^Memphis" business is 
largely directed northward rather than to- 
wards the balance of the County. 

The following tables of the population and 
assessed valuation of the township are pre- 
pared from the public records : 

POPULATION. 

1840 602 

1845 815 

1850 1.000 

18r)4 1,263 

18()0 1,685 

1864 1,484 

1870 2,182 

1874 2,105 



1880 2,613 

1884 2,524 

1890 2.485 

1894 2,385 

1900 2,275 

1904 2,354 

ASSESSED VALUATION. 

1842 ^ 45,519.00 

1846 44,710.00 

1851 47.161.00 

1856 217,613.00 

1861 2.'i(l.7(lO.()0 

1866 309.620.00 

1871 395,152.00 

1876 430,000.00 

1881 1,202,000.00 

1886 1,070,000.00 

1891 1,100.000.00 

1896 1,080.000.00 

1901 1,320,000.00 



CHAPTER XXI. 

ARIIADA TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE. 

It is related that in the year 1832, a meet- 
ing was called at Armacla Corners (.later 
usually spoken of as Selleck's Corners) at the 
southern corners of sections 31 and 32, our 
present township of Armada, to consider the 
I^roposition of organizing a separate township. 
At this time. Armada, together with Rich- 
mond, formed a part of Ray. At this meet- 
ing, the organization was strongly opposed 
at first, but was later carried and at that time 
the name Armada wa.s determined upon with- 
out any knowledge of its special meaning or 
its fitness. It was said to have been sug- 
gested by Hosea Northrup. In the legisla- 
tive enactment creating the township, the 
name was spelled Armadia, but in later men- 
tions of the township, the proper name Ar- 
mada was used. The first township meeting 
was fixed at the house of Edmund Stewart, 
the first IMonday of April, 1834. At this meet- 
ing. Henry B. TenEyck presided and Ros- 
well W. Green acted as Clerk: Darius Ses- 
sions and ilinot T. Lane acted as inspectors. 
At the election which followed, Alfred 
Goodell was chosen Supervisor; Leonard Lee, 
Clerk; Erastus Day, Eden Armstrong and 
Tddo Warner, Assessors ; Ednnnid Stewart 
and Norman Burk, Overseers of the Poor; 
John Proctor, Chauneey Bailey and Hosea 
Northrup. Commissioners of Highways; Asa 
Palmer, Constable; IMartin Buzell, Alfred 
(ioodell, Asa Ilolman, Charles Farrar, School 
Inspectors; Joel Cartwright, Job Howell, 



PAST AXI) I'KESEXT OF .MACOMB COrXTY 



671 



Petor Wiiixlhcck, .losi'ph C. Donaldson, A. 
(ioock'll, lienoiii Kiiiipp, and Xathaniel Car- 
tel', Ovorset'i's of lliiiliways. 

These offieers afVonl the names of many of 
the I'iirliest settlei-s of the township. In ail- 
dition sliould l)e named, however. Nathan 
Rowloy, Xi'il (Iray. .Xni'inan Perry. Ira Hiit- 
tei'lield, I'llisha I). Andrews. Elijah Bvirk, 

Israel (i. iirlknap. Daniel Di'aper, and 

Aldrieh. 

The (iovernnicnt land survey of this town- 
ship was made liy AVillinm Preston. Deputy 
I'nited States Surveyor, in ilarch, 1817. This 
surve.y, starting- at the corner of sections 35 
and 36 on the south boundary of the town- 
ship, first ran north to the north line of the 
township, thus passing through the site of 
the present village of Armada. The sur- 
veyor's memoranda regarding the land where 
now stands the village of Armada, was as fol- 
lows : "Ijand first half mile second rate, 
rolling and dry. last half same; timber fallen, 
underurowth thoi'ii. j^lum briars, etc., March 
15th, 1817. The descriptions given by the 
surveyor of the township generally, would 
indicate a low, level countr.y somewhat wet, 
heavily timbered and second rate soil well 
watered with many streams having a general 
southern direction. The survey having been 
made in Mai-ch. the melting snows and over- 
flowing of streams undoubtedly aided in giv- 
ing an unfavorable impression of the country 
and led to the soil being classed as second rate. 
This impression may have continued for sev- 
eral years, as the high rolling "oak openings" 
to the west were occupied by the home seekers 
for some time before the more fertile and 
productive soil of the township was taken up. 
Another reason that has been suggested for 
this order of selecting lands was the fact that 
the "oak openings," being lightly timbered 
and covered only with an underbrush, could 
be readily cleared and prepared for grain, 
and thus secure a quicker return to the settler. 
Then, too, the streams of xVrmada were slug- 
gish, and being clogged by the fallen timber, 
the water was held back and covered the low 
lands, thus making the country appear more 
watei' soaked than it actually was. As a mat- 
ter of fact, the townsliij) had no lakes, hills 
or marshes within its boi'ders. "A slight ele- 
vated sand ridge thought to be an ancient lake 
beach entered the township near the south- 
west corner, and curving to the north, passed 
out near the northeast corner of section 24. 
An earth emijatdcment of a fort like struc- 
ture, su])p()s('d to have been the work of 
iniiuiid builders, stiiod on the bank of the 



large sti'eam mi seetidii is. As this was very 
near the seclimi line, it seems strange that 
the surveyors were I'utirely silent as to its 
existence. The Hrst settlers report walls of 
earth sevei-al feet (Kil in iieigiit : that it ran 
along the bank of the river several rods, had 
apparently a gateway and the inclosure eon- 
taineil more tluin thn^e acres. Two other 
structures of similar charactei- were found in 
its vicinity, one on the northwest some two 
or three miles distant and one to the south- 
west less than two miles." 

We quote further from ilr. Cannon's ar- 
ticle on the Early History of Armada Town- 
ship, published in the Armada Graphic in 
July of 1!)()(). 

"In the now township of Armada, the first 
entry of Government land was made by John 
Proctor, Nov. 8, 1823. Mr. Proctor gave his 
residence as Livingston County, state of New 
York. The selection being foi- the southwest 
fractional quarter of section 31, comprising 
121. !)1 acres. This ai^pears to have been the 
oidy parcel of land bought of the Government 
in the township during that year. 

In 1824: there were but four who took up 
land in the town; these were Chauncey 
Bailey, Peter Daniels, Moses Fi'ceman and 
Nornum Perry. These entries were all on the 
western side of the town in sections 18 and 31. 

In 1825 Benoni Knapp and Job Howell, 
both of Ontario County, N. Y., were the only 
buyers. In 1827 Friend Marks of ]\Iaeomb 
County, and Darius Sessions of Connecticut, 
were the only purchasers. In 1827 the niim- 
bers were increased to 10. These were Israel 
(i. Belknap, llosea .Xcu'thrup. James Stark- 
weather, Beuagen Tupper, John Finch and 
Charles Tupper, Peter Edgett, Sylvester and 
Dariixs Pinch. 

Only two buyers in 1828. These were 
Chauncey ]\Ioore and Darius Sessions. In 
1829 Peter Aldrieh. Edmund and John 
Stewart, and Job Ilowell were the only buy- 
ers. So slow was the town in settling that 
only seven enti'ies of land were made in 1830. 
These buyers were Joseph and Peter Aldrieh, 
Calvin S. White, Abram Northrup. John D. 
Armstroiii;', William Besole and Leonard 
Lee. 

In the following two years. 1831 and 1832, 
the number of buyers had greatly increased, 
and from thence on the lands were rapidly 
taken up, the rush being in 1833-36. The last 
I)arcel of land being sold to Xorman Burk, 
Nov. 3, 1841, and was for the southeast 14 
of southwest Vi secticm 2. And only four 
otliers wei'e buyers that year. These were 



672 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Jaiiu's Poiiiitaiii, Al)el Sumner, HoUey Goyer 
aud Oliver Strobridge. 

A iiuiuber of women became holders of real 
estate in the town by securing- titles direct 
from the government. Charlotte King and 
Anna Finch bought each a -40 on section 35 
in 1834. Diana Lathrop bought an 80 on 
section 1 in 1836. Betsey Harrington secured 
a fractional lot of 91 acres on section 4 in 

1836. Abigail Rowley bought a 40 on section 

7 in 1833. Polly Burriugton entered an 80 
on section 9 in 1836. Susan Banister become 
the owner of 120 acres on section 4 in 1835. 
^Melinda Chamberlin bought an 80 on section 
14 in 1835. Betsey Andrews in 1835 bought 
a quarter of section 14. Catherine Smith and 
James Donaldson became the joint owners of 
240 acres on section 18 in 1832. Lncy 
Knickerbocker bought an 80 on section 23 in 
1834. Rhoda J. Belknapp in 1831 bought a 
fractional lot of 60 acres on section 31. Sarah 
Ann Conklin took up a 60 on section 13 in 

1837. The largest land owner direct from 
the government was Elisha D. Andrews, who 
secured 760 acres, making his selections in 
sections 20, 21 and 22. He was from ilonroe 
county, state of New York, and his first pur- 
chase was 160 acres in 1831 on section 22. 
Anson Pettibone bought 320 acres in sections 
13 and 24 in 1833. Daniel F. Hunt secured 
240 acres, Ira Phillips 270, Austin Day 199 
acres, Elijah Burke. Jr., 200 acres. Amos 
Palmer, Blake Barrows and Waldo Barrows 
iniited in buying 240 acres on section 12 in 
1836. Josiah C. Leech, of Livingston Coun- 
ty, .state of New York, bought 237 acres in 
1832 on section 7. E/.ekiel A. Osborn secured 
269 acres on section 3 in 1833. 

There were 18 separate entries of 160 on 
fractional quarter sections made in the town, 

8 of 120 acres and 126 entries of 80 acres or 
fractional 80 's and 102 of 40 or fractional 
40 acre lots. Two hundred and seventy-two 
separate entries in all by various purchases 
and all the government land had passed into 
the hands of private parties. These buyers 
were mostly eastern peojile and the states of 
New York. Pennsylvania, JIassachusetts, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey and Coimecticut 
were represented, wliile a few gave tlii'ir resi- 
dence as the I'liited States. 

Eighteen yeai-s had passed since the first 
selections of land hail been made, and these 
were largely for homes, as it is believed that 
but few parcels were bought and held for 
speculative purposes. ' ' 

John E. Day, in an article supplemental to 
Mr. Cannon's work, pointed out the fact that 



as the first settlers in Armada had come by 
the way or Romeo or Indian \'illage, as it 
was then called, it was natural that they 
should follow the "trail" running ea.st fi'om 
Romeo to St. Clair along which the mail was 
carried at that time once a week each way. 
It was along this trail that John Proctor evi- 
dently came when he was attracted by the 
point at the southwest corner of the township, 
near which I'roetor's mill was later built. It 
will be noticed, too, that nearly all of the 
land buyers during the next few years were 
along the southei-n tier of sections in the 
township. Alfred Goodell, Sanford Corbin 
and Alvali Sibley in about 1831 settled a 
mile north of this "trail" in section 25. Com- 
ing from Romeo, they had passed the locations 
of Leslie. Day. Edget. Farrar. AYarnei- and 
Howell, and passed the night with a man by 
the name of Belknapp, whose log cabin stood 
on the corner of section 29. They camped on 
the site of the house long owned by IloUey 
Goyer, and later by Dr. J. E. Barriuger, 
where they were joined the next day by 
Goodell, who had brought his family to Romeo 
from Detroit a few tlays prior. The Goodells 
made a small clearing during the summer of 
1832 and in the fall prepared for the erection 
of a story and a half house in the raising of 
which they were assisted by the neighbors. 
At this time a man by the name of Richards 
was the mail carrier between Romeo and St. 
Clair over what was called the Hoxie Trail. 
In the suuuuer of 1832 the Butterfields located 
just north of the Goodells, and in the fol- 
lowing winter Edwin Rose came. Elijah 
Burke came in April, 1833, and purchased 
the frame house started by Corbin, and in 
the following year Corbin returned to the 
settlement from Rochester, where he had been 
following his trade and started the mill, which 
in view of the remarkably good crop of the 
year 1833, proved a most iiseful addition to 
the district. In September, 1S34, the Ridge 
Road was laid out by Bni-ke and a few of his 
neighbors, which road later formed a part of 
the road from Port Huron to Romeo, and the 
corners where Burke himself is located came 
to be designated as Burke's corners, by which 
name the site of the village of Armada was 
for years known. 

The next few years Ai'iiiada shared with 
the rest of ]\Iichigan in tlie rajjid growth of 
wild hopes of the times. A melancholy re- 
minder of these hopes appears in the records 
of the Register of Deeds office, although all 
memory of it seems to have faded from the 
minds of even the oldest settlers of Armada. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMB COUNTY 



f>73 



Jnnt' 22d, 1837. .InUn N. Draper platted the 
Villaae of Genoa, layinu diit 1!12 lots of fifty 
by one hunilrt'd feet. This village was sup- 
posed to be loeated in the northeast corner of 
the southwest quarter of section 6. but why it 
was conceived and why it never existed, except 
on paper, "deponent saith not." 

In an old map in the writer's possession 
bearing- date, 1859. the two localities in the 
township bearing- specific names, were "Ar- 
mada Corners" at the southern corner of sec- 
tions 31 and 32 (later better known as Sel- 
leck's Corners) and Houeoye, the name by 
which the present Armada village was kno-wn 
for a number of yeai-s. This name w^as se- 
lected, I lielieve, because of the desire of a 
numl)er of the settlei-s in the locality to be re- 
minded of their former home. The business 
directorv of the jilaee at that date included 
Dr. J. S. Smith, the Rev. S. E. AYarren. H. B. 
Castle, E. F. Sible.v, merchant : J. C. Snover, 
"horse farrier and saloonkeeper"': N. Bar- 
ringer, blacksmith ; J. W. Yan Blaricum, car- 
penter: S. S. Stearns. ^I. D. : A. Conner. AY. 
Tibbitts. J. P. 

The village, although settled as early as 
1830, and having a Post Office as early as 
18-13, was not incorporated until 1867, at 
which time the first village election was di- 
rected to be held January 1-tth, 1S6S, under 
the superintendence of AVilliani H. Clark. Jr., 
AVilliam E. Preston and Francis ^I. Grout. 
March ">th. 1885, the village was incorporated 
by special act of the Legislature, which, how- 
ever, merely directed the continuation of the 
former officers, by-laws and entire village ma- 
chinery, and continued the name under which 
the village had been incorporated by the Su- 
pervisors, Arnuula. The Presidents of the 
village have been as follows: Hirou Hatha- 
way, F. AI. Grout, Charles Lathrop, C. F. 
Corbin, John E. Barringer, AYilliam Preston, 
James Flowers, Hiram Barrows, David H. 
Barrows, L. H. Lincoln, IL H. Spencer, Phil- 
lip B. Aldrich, Charles Andrews. Henry C. 
Aldrich. Sabin L Stump. "Wesley A. Dudle.v 
and Elton P. Cudworth. 

The first postmaster of the village was Solo- 
mon Lathrop. who had the office in the home 
of the Rev. Samuel A. Benton, then Con- 
gregational pastor. Later John P. Hall acted 
as distributer of the few letters that arrived 
until about 1848, when Charles A. Lathrop. 
the storekeeper, became postnuister, and for 
the first time, the office was kept in a public 
building. The village has steadil.v pi'ogrcssed. 
received several severe baptisms of fire, which 
have served to call forth handsomei- and bet- 



ter business places. The place now has a pop- 
ulation of about 950 and has a hotel, bank, 
prosperous schools, water works, a weekly pa- 
per — Armada Gi-aphic — Congregational, Ger- 
man Evangelical and ^lethodist churches. It 
is located on the air line division of the Grand 
Trunk System, and has express, telephone and 
telegraphic connections. David H. Barrows 
is the present postmaster. 

The Armada Savings Bank was founded 
in 1885 by Bert C. Preston. It was a private 
bank under the name of Banking House of 
Bert C. Preston. In March, 1901, it w'as re- 
organized as a state bank under tlie name of 
the Armada Savings Bank with a capital stock 
of $25,000.00. Its present corps of officers 
are Bert C. Preston, President; George II. 
Ilebblewhite, Vice-President; J. E. Macau- 
ley, Cashier. The President, Vice-President, 
Frank E. Lathrop, of Armada, John L. Pres- 
ton of Port Huron and James H. ilcDonald 
are the Board of Directors. The bank build- 
ing, built in 1897 by Air. Preston at a cost of 
nearly $4,000.00, is heated by furnace, well 
lighted, with a front of Ohio stone and terra 
cotta. It is well equipped with Alosler safe 
and vault and is one of the most up-to-date 
bank buildings in the county. 

The Armada Graphic, published by C. D. 
Alacauley, is the representative of the press 
at this thriving village. It has enjoyed a suc- 
cessful career for a great many years '.aider 
the ownership of H. J. Barrows. It has been 
preceded in Armada by the Telegraph, estab- 
lished in April. 1876. by A. P. Stone and by 
the Armada Index, established in 1874 b.y 
Edward H. Bentley. 

The Congregational Church of Armada 
was organized in September. 1838, by the Rev. 
John B. Shaw, then pastor of the Congre- 
gational Church at Romeo. Its charter mem- 
bers were Eli.jah Burke and Betsey Burke. 
Alvah and Alary C. Sibley. John P. and Ke- 
turah Hail. Betsey Beebe. Charlotte Alillard 
and Robert Love. The following pasti>rs have 
labored iu this church since its organization: 
Rev. Luther Shaw, 1840-41; Rev. Samuel A. 
Benton. 1843-56: Rev. Luther Shaw. 1856-57: 
Rev. Samuel AI. Judson. 1858-60: Rev. Rob- 
ert G. Baird, 1862-75; Rev. Eben L. Hill. 
1876-77; Rev. Thomas G. Pearce. 1877-7S: 
Rev. A. II. Fletcher. 1879-80: Rev. J. F. Alal- 
coiiib. 1S80-81: Rev. Henry N. Bissell, 1881- 
86: Rev. Enoch II. Burt, 1886-89: Rev. John 
II. Ashby. 1889-98: Rev. Ileudrik Van Om- 
meren, 1898-1903: Rev. Jonathan Turner. 
sine.' 1903. 



674 



?AST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



THE AK.MADA A(iRIcrLTURAL SOCIETY. 

The following account of that most suc- 
cessful and long-lived of agricultural affairs 
of the county — that organization which has 
afforded so many pleasant occasions for re- 
newing old friendships and acquaintances not 
to mention opportunities for most successful 
and satisfactory electioneering — the Armada 
Fair, has been furnished to the writer by Dr. 
J. E. Barringer, who has been intimately con- 
nected with the Society since its founding: 

"The Ai-mada Agricultural Society is the 
outgrowth of the Ai'inada Farmers & Me- 
chanics" Club of Armada Township, which 
was organized at the call of a few men, who 
thought to improve their occupation by free 
discussion of topics connected with their busi- 
ness. The organization was effected in 1870 
with Hiron J. Hathaway, President; J. E. 
Barringer, Secretary ; and Nathan Adams, 
Treasurer. Jleetings were held monthly and 
a plowing match was held each year. The 
last two years of its existence as a club, a fair 
was held at the village of Armada, at which 
no entrance fee was charged, and no cash 
premiums were paid, simply a card to desig- 
nate a preference. The officers the second 
year were the same as the first. The third 
year John Paton, Sr., was chosen President, 
and, upon the death of Mr. Adams, C. A. 
Lathrop succeeded him as Treasurer. In 
February, 1873, a meeting was held, respon- 
sive to a call of citizens for the purpose of 
forming an agrieultiu-al society upon a broad- 
er basis, and capable of becoming an incor- 
porated body. AH being favorably inclined, 
the object was effected, and the Armada Agri- 
cultural Society began its existence with Hon. 
Charles Andrews, President; H. H. Spencer, 
Vice-President ; J. E. Barringer, Secretary : 
Charles A. Lathrop, Treasurer; and a board 
of directors as follows: George W. Phillips, 
W. D. Pettibone, Abner Lemon, James Craw- 
ford, Jabez Hebblewhite, J. F. Jackman, 
Erastus Day and Amasa Sutton. The first 
fair of the society was held on the Society's 
ground on the first week in October, 1873, 
and the society has held an annual fair since 
without a bi'eak, the last one being held the 
first week of October, 19(14. 

"The Society is not a township institution 
as its name would seem to imply, but is open 
to entries and membership without regard to 
local it.v. It has no race track, and never has 
oft'ered oi- paid any premiums for speed. In 
fact, it was organized and has lieen success- 
fully operated as a pun-ly agricultural fair 
without horse racing or anv games of chance 



ever being allowed on its grounds, and al- 
ways has maintained the liberal admission fee 
of twenty-five cents for each person each day. 
The beautiful grounds and commodious build- 
ings are all the property of the Society in 
"fee simple," and all its promises are re- 
deenu'd and its obligations paid. Presidents 
of the Society have been : Charles Antlrews, 
John McKay, W. D. Pettibone, George A. 
Phillips, J. E. Barringer, Benjamin F. Proc- 
tor, Amos Finch, D. S. Youngs, James David- 
son, 0. D. Pomroy, Henry Pratt. Secretaries: 
J. E. Barringer, George F. Adams, II. P. Bar- 
I'inger, A. J. Freeman and Orby Hulett." 

The first school house in Armada township 
was located on the lands of Col. Perry, near 
Arnuida Corners, built of logs put up by a 
"bee" and covered with timber donated by 
Noah Webster (not of dictionary fame). The 
next was also a log school house located near 
the house of Alfred Goodell. This was put 
up in 183t) to accommodate the school which 
prior to that time had been held in Mr. Good- 
ell's barn by iliss Harriett Perkins. About 
this same time, a school was erected in the 
village with slabs standing endwise spiked 
to a frame made of poles. The first teacher in 
this was a ^liss Day from ^lassachusetts, who 
evidently was discouraged by the hardships 
and disadvantages of the pedagogic profession 
in ^lichigan and soon returned to her native 
state. George Lathrop taught in this school 
house in 1838 or 1839, and was followed by 
Miss Amelia Bancroft and Joseph Goodell. 
Charles A. Lathrop also taught here at a 
somewhat later period. In 1843, the Rev. S. 
E. Benton from Vermont established a pri- 
vate school at his house in teaching which he 
was assisted by Dr. J. P. Gleason. The Rev. 
Eleazer W. True also ojiened a private school 
in a building erected for that purpose in the 
southeasterly part of the village which was 
conducted successfully from about 1848 to 
1853. The Rev. Mr. True continued to live 
in Armada until his death in 1874. The old 
school house in the village soon gave way to 
a frame building, and was later superseded by 
a brick building and the growing demands of 
the schools have always been ]irom])tly met 
by the inhabitants, who were the descendants 
of that class of Americans who have ever 
appreciated the benefits of an education. The 
ten school districts of Armada township have 
propertv estimated worth $7, 700. 00. and ex- 
pended 'during the year of 1904-0;i, .t3,.'i44.00 
in teachers' wages. Eight or nine months 
school is held in each of the Districts, 'i'lie 
Directors of the various districts f(U' tln' iiast 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



675 



year have beeu as follows: E. J. Proctor, 11. 
E. Curtis, E. A. Ilewett, Frank Millard, A. 
H. Stephens, E. F. Phillips, Daniel O. Pome- 
roy, Peter Chatrou, Ferdinand Ebeling and 
Adelbert Lewis. 

A History of Armada witliont further iiieii- 
tion of pjlijah BurUe woidd be sadly incom- 
plete. He was born in ilexieo. New York. 
June l;^th, 1807, and removed to the site of the 
present Armada village in 1833. His brother, 
Norman Burke, had pi'eeeded him nearly two 
years. He was married in Deeeiidjer. 1829, 
to Betsey A. Burdiek. a native of Cayuga 
County. New York. ^Ir. Bui'ke was active in 
all that wouitl forwai'd the interest of a new 
settlement: at his home was held the tirst re- 
ligious services in the neighborhood, and he 
was ever a willing helper in the Sabbath 
School and temperance movements, and in 
whatever he felt would redound to the moral 
growth of the community. He was held in 
high esteem and sincere affection by his neigh- 
bors. He died at his home in Armada in 
1848. 

The Supervisors of the township have been 
Alfred Goodell, 1833-35: Minot T. Lane, 1836- 
39; Solomon Lathrop, 1840-43: Norman Per- 
ry, 1844-51 : Darius Sessions. 1852-53 ; Nor- 
man Perry, 1854-55 ; Warren Tibbetts, 1856- 
58: Charles Andrews, 1859-63: Erastus Day, 
1864-5: George E. Burke. 1866; Hiram Bar- 
rows, 1867-8 : Gideon Draper, 1869 ; Charles 
Andrews. 1870-2 ; Gideon Draper, 1873 ; Holly 
Cover. 1874-79; Charles Andrews, 1880-91; 
Harvev P. Edwards, 1892-95: Charles H. Cas- 
tle, 1896-1905. 

The Clerks of the township have been: 
Leonard Lee, 1834; Chauneev Bailey, 1835- 
36 ; James Flower, 1837 ; Urial Dav. 1838-39 ; 
Ira Selleek. 1840; Charles W. Chamberlain, 
1841; James McCraeken. 1842; Charles W. 
Chamberlain. 1843 : James ^IcCracken, 1844- 
45: Andrew ^Vard, 1846-51; Georae Andrews, 
1852-53: Andrew Ward. 1854-55; Winfield 
"Wisner, 1856; Charles A. Lathrop. 1857: 
Crawley P. Drake, 1858; Winfield Wisner. 
1859; Nathan Adams, I860: Michael R. Weir, 
1861: Nathan Adams. 1862-64; Henry C. Al- 
drich. 1865-66; fieorge :McClusky, 1867; Per- 
rin C. Goodell. 1868-70; Charles A. Snover. 
1871: James E. Vincent, 1872; David H. Bar- 
rows. 1873-75; Robert B. Vibbert. 1876; 
George F. Adams. 1877-82 ; S. B. Shaw. 1883 ; 
D. H. Barrows, 1884-86; Harvev P. Edwards, 
1887-91; Edward W. Sutton. 1892-3; Hiram 
J. Barrows. 1894-95; Edwanl ^\. Sutton. 
1896-1905. 

'rh<' 'I'reasurers of the township have been: 



Asa Palmer. 1834; George T. Powell. 1835; 
J. S. Becraft. 1836; Abner Barrington. 1837- 
38; Minot T. Lane, 1839; Sanford H. Corbin. 
1840; Joseph C. Donaldson, 1841: Eli.jah 
Burke. 1842-44; Samuel Wi/ner. 1S45-50; 
I'errin C. Goodell. 1851-52; John Johnson, 
1853: David T. Pi'att. 1854-57: Thomas M. 
Gould, 1S5S: Benjamin F. Kellam. 1859: 
Daniel D. Dunham, 1859 ; Dounce D. Dun- 
ham. I860; Crowley P. Drake. 1861; H. H. 
Spencer, 1862 : Burton W. Sceley. 1863 : Beach 
G. Whitnev, 1864: Burton W." Seelev. 1865- 
67: Thomas Proctor. 1868-9; Michael R. 
Weir. 1870-71: (ieorge F. Adams. 1872-3; 
John E. L. Baiiinuvi'. 1874-5: David 11. Bar- 
rows, 1876-7; Elisha D. Lathrop, 1878-9; Da- 
vid H. Barrows, 1880-82; H. J. Barrows, 
1883; B. C. Preston. 1884-5: Sabin I. Stump, 
1886-87: Oratus Hnlett, 1888: Bert C. 
Preston. 1889: Horace P. Barringer, 
1890: Oscar D. Pomerov. 1891-2; Carl- 
ton :M. Partch. 1893-4; Charles H. Castle, 
1895; Elton P. Cudworth. 1896-7; Hei-inan 
Tietz. 1898-99: Fred Hebblewhite. 1900-01; 
Charles E. Lathrop. 1902-03; Hiram J. Bar- 
rows. 1904: Harvey P. Edwards. 1905. 

The population of the township as per cen- 
sus returns has been as follows : 

1837 1001 

1840 652 

1845 1069 

1850 1146 

1854 1415 

1860 1488 

1864 1316 

1870 1722 

1874 1552 

1880 1793 

1884 1701 

1890 1770 

1894 1796 

1900 1933 

1904 1976 

'i'he assessed valuation of the property of 
the township as e(iualized by the Board of 
Supervisors has been as follows : 

1842 $ 59.617.00 

1846 62,000.(K) 

1851 67,508.00 

1856 380.193.00 

1861 386.405.00 

1866 400.329.00 

1871 430.290.00 

1876 445.000.00 

1881 1.122,000.00 

1886 1.040.000.00 

1891 1,035.000.00 



676 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



1896 yiiu.uoo.uo 

1901 1,130,000.00 



CHAPTER XXII. 



THE TOWNSHIP OF RAY. 

This township was named, it is recorded, by 
Noah Webster, one of its earliest settlers, 
after the Latin name of a river in Europe, 
Rhea. The Latin .spelling was evidentlj' early 
abandoned, since we find it Ray in the act of 
1827 estalilisliinu' the township and directing 
the first town meeting to lie held in the house 
of Noah AVel)ster. the alleged christener of 
the new township. This meeting was held 
May 28th, 1827, and at it Reuben R. Smith 
was called to preside and Edmund Steward 
was made clerk of the meeting. The result 
of the election that followed showed Smith 
elected Supervisor and Steward Clerk. The 
other otticci's elected at this time were: 
Chauncey Bailey, William Stephens and John 
Proctor, Assessors: Norman Perry, Job How- 
ell, and Nathaniel Thomson, Commissioners ; 
Moses F'reeman, Constable and Collector : Jo- 
se])h Chubb, Sr., William Hall and Josiah 
Ilamlilin, Overseers of the Poor; Joseph 
Chubb and Chauncey Bailey, fence viewers: 
Job Howell and Joseph Chubb, path masters. 

The government survey of this township 
was made in February, 1817, by William Pres- 
ton, Deputy Cuited States Surveyor, and the 
impressions of the surveyor of the town and 
also an account of the first land-buyers has 
been collated liy George II. Caimon. as fol- 
lows : 

Its surface was level and densely timbered, 
no lakes or hills were found and no marshes 
or waste hmd : uumy small streams flowing 
southward gave a plentiful supply of water, 
and everything woidd appear to make it de- 
sirabl(> for settlement cxcejit its heavy growth 
of f (J rest trees which abounded everywhere 
in .stately ti-unks of tall and thick growth. 
Thes(> may well have appalled the stoutest 
hi'arl anil most resolute to conquer. We will 
eojjy from the field book of the sui'veyor his 
notes of a few section lines taken at random 
at various portions of the township. In go- 
ing noi'th from the corner of sections 31 and 
32 on the south boundary at 40 chains he set 
a post for quarter section corner, his witness 
trees were a sugar luaple 12 inches in diam- 
eter and a white oak 3(1 inches. At 4fi chains 
he came to a marsh which was Ki rods wide, 
at M) chains and 50 links he marked a maple 
for a witness tree, which was 30 inches in 
diaiiietrr and at S(l chains lie cslalilisbcd the 



corner for sections 29, 30, 31 and 32. This 
corner is now the center of the village of 
Davis. Of the land on this mile, he says: 
Laiul good second rate, timber, wkite oak, ash, 
elm, lynn, sugar and lieech. with under- 
growth of spice, prickly ash. ironwooil and 
lieech. In ruiuiing west from this corner at 
58.46 chains, he marked a white oak tree 
three feet in diameter for a line tree, and at 
63.70 chains he passed a run 8 links wide 
running south and at 70.20 chains he came 
to the west boundary 95 links south of the 
corner. The soil on this mile he calls good 
second rate, with timber same as before. We 
turn now more to the interior of the town and 
go north between sections 22 and 23, and at 
80 chains he set a post in a willow marsh, 
where was a run 3 links wide, course east, for 
the corner of sections 14, 15, 22 and 23. He 
calls this land good second rate, with timber 
of oak. beech, sugar and elm. undergrowth 
of prickly ash and beech. We will iu)w go 
east between sections 15 and 22. At 29.10 
chains he found a creek which was 66 links 
^vitle, course south, at 80 chains he intersect- 
ed the east boundary of the section .52 links 
south of the corner. This land he calls very 
good second rate, with sugar tree, ash, beech, 
lynn and elm timbei-, undergrowth of sugar 
beech and spice. North on line between sec- 
tions 5 and 6 at 10 chains a run, 3 links wide, 
course east at 24 chains a creek 50 links wide 
running east, alongside same, at 32.50 chains, 
the same cour.se northeast at 85.57 inter.sect- 
ed the north boundary of th(> town 6 links 
from the corner on same. Land good second 
rate, timber, beech, sugar, ash, white oak and 
lynn. undergrowth beech, ironwood, plum and 
hawthorn. Tiiis was the last mile run in 
the township liy the method then in vogue in 
subdividing a town, and the date given was 
February 17lh. 1817. The area of the town- 
ship was found to be 22,763 acres and costing 
the government much less than one cent per 
acre for its sui-vey. On its surface a thick 
growth of timl)er everywhere abounded, 
gi'owing rank and tall on a clay. lo;imy soil, 
very rich, it Wiis all of the deciduous variety 
and not in all its borders were fouiul any of 
the conifer species. Beech, hard anil soft 
maple, cial<. lynn. black and white ash, with 
niiieb elm intcTspersed, were the main varie- 
ties (if timber i)revalent. The laml was in 
dill' time offered for sale by ]iroclamation of 
the President of the I'nited States, the land 
olifice for this district l)eing located at Detroit. 
The first parcel of land sold in the township 
was conveyed tn iienben i\. Sniitb. who gave 



PAST AND PRESENT OF JIACOMB COrXTV 



677 



his residence in .Macninh (•(i\iiity. his selection 
being: the east half of the sontheast ciuai-tei" 
of section (i, January 7th, 1824. Only three 
others selected and l)onght land in that year 
—Joseph Chubb. October 14th; Nathaniel 
Thompson. October 18th and Josiah Lee, No- 
vember 3il. In 1825 sixteen persons made 
their selections of land, nine in 182ti, ten in 
1827. five in 1828. one in 1829 and fourteen 
in 18:J(). From this date on the buyers were 
frequent, many taking' up land in 1831, the 
rush being in 1835-6 and 7. The last parcels 
of land sold by the government in the town 
were taken by Green Freeman in section 25, 
and by Henry R. Mizner in section 13 on 
Feln-uary 13tli. 1853. It will be seen that in 
less than tliirty years all of the government 
land in this township had passed into the 
hands of private parties. The buyei-s were 
mostly young men and their holdings were 
acquired for the purpose of building up 
homes, but very few. if any, of the selections, 
were held for spec\ilative purposes, and were 
generally in small parcels of forty or eighty 
acre tracts. The largest land buyer was Jo- 
seph Chubb, who bought 640 acres, section 22 
entire. James Thompson bought 560 acres, 
Nathaniel Thompson 480, Andrew Sotherland. 
John Inman, Jr., Joseph Durfee, Jr., each 
400 acres; Joel Thompson and Noah Webster 
320 acres each. Benjamin N. Freeman, Hiram 
H. Lillibridge, William Gass and Lewis Davis 
240 acres each; while eleven bought 160 acres 
each, a large number buying 80 and 40 acre 
tracts. Several women evidenced their faith 
in the future prosperity of the town by ac- 
quiring title to a considerable portion of its 
real estate. Clarissa Bump bought in section 
1, Lois S. Holman in section 4, L.ydia Garvin 
in sections 14 and 21, Naomi Sontherland and 
Huldah Hall bought in section 25, Almira 
Tuttle in section 26. Polly Owens in section 
27, Irene Bates in section 30, ilargaret Mc- 
Gregor in section 32, Lydia Stone in section 
33, Elizabeth Jones and Susannah Roberts 
bought in section 35. The majority of the 
settlers came from central New York and 
from the counties of Genesee, Ontario. Yates, 
Monroe, Greene, Seneca, Livingston and Ni- 
agara. One hailed from New Ilampsliire and 
one gave his residence as state of Virginia. 
Two came from Washington county, Rhode 
Lsland. One from New York eit.v and one 
from Upper Canada. As a matter of interest 
it will be of value to note the names and year 
in which the first owners secured their title 
to the lands in this township. Section 1 was 
taken by Stillraan Golf in 1827. John Perry in 



1831. Silas Nye and .Maxwell Bray in 1833, 
Clarissa Bump and William Pratt in 1835, 
Nelson Perry in 1836, Richard Case in 1837, 
and Benjamin C. IMcArthnr in 1839. Section 
2 was secured by Sanford Wood in 1827, 
William Giddings in 1830, N. M. Millspaugh 
and .Miriam Titus in 1831 and 18:i4. Andrew 
Southfi'land in 1832, Willi;nn (i. Hathaway in 

1835. Section 3 was patented to William R. 
Hicks, Lewis S. Holmes and iloses R. Smith 
in 1831, Charles .Marble, Jr., in 1833. Cyrus 
Hewitt in 1834, Daniel Hewitt and John Me- 
Kinster in 1835. Section 4 was bought by 
Seamans Filmore and Arnold Lanfier in 1830, 
Lois S. Holman and Benjamin L. Perkins in 

1831, Benjamin Proctor, John ]\I. Crawford 
and Seamans Filmore in 1832. Section 5 
was taken by Benjamin N. Freeman in 1826, 
Isaac Thompson in 1827, Benjamin and 
Aaron Howard in 1830, Horace Dowd and 
Noah Webster in 1831. Section fi was bought 
by Reuben R. Smith in 1824. Benjamin N. 
Freeman, Reuben Smith, Noah Webster. Ed- 
mund Stuart and Daniel Evans in 1825, An- 
.son Rowley in 1827 and John Proctor in 1829. 
Section 7 was taken by Rufus Hall in 1826, 
Simon King in 1827, Benjamin Proctor in 
1828, Noah Webster in 1830, Anson Bristol, 
Anson Rowle.v and Isaac Stone in 1831. Sec- 
tion 8 went to Nathaniel Tlmmpson in 1824, 
Charles Redwa.v and AVilliam Hall in 1825, 
William H. Baker in 1826, Carpus Redway 
and Benjamin Proctor in 1828, and to 
James Thompson in 1830. Section 9 
was selected bv Nathaniel Thompson in 
1824, William Hall in 1825. John M. Craw- 
ford in 1830. Jeremiah Jewel. Andrew 
and David Sontherland in 1831. Section 
10 was patented to Andrew Sontherland 
in 1831, David B. Bennett and Stephen Smith 
in 1834, Daniel Hewitt, Franklin ]\loore, Joel 
Thompson and D. S. Perry in 1835. and to 
Hiram King in 1838. Section 11 went to 
Alexander Sontherland in 1826, Andrew 
Sontherland in 1831, Elisha Corby in 1832, 
Abner W. Benton and James Steward in 1835 
and to Joel Thompson and James Steward, 

1836. Section 12 was sold to Alexander 
Sontherland in 1825, William Giddings in 

1832. Thomas F. Dryer and William Gid- 
dings in 1836, William I\L Yallet in 1837, and 
to Richard Case in 1844. Section 13 was 
bought bv Nehemiah Cole in 1832. Joseph M. 
Caldwell and Newell S. Cole in 1833, Joseph 
M. Caldwell in 1834, Carleton N. Brown in 
1835-6, Azariah Prentis in 1836. Seyman 
Young and Orlando B. Skibs in 1837. and to 
TIenrv R. Mizner in 1853. Section 14 went 



678 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\IACOiIB COUNTY 



to James Colwi'll in 1832. Siinou Perry. Ly- 
dia (iarviii. Abner W. Benton and Xeheniiah 
L. Cole in 1835, and to William M. ililley and 
Orasnuis Lathrop in 1836. Section 15 was 
taken by Josiah Lee in 1824, Joshua Price in 
1827, James Thompson and Samuel Butter- 
field in 1832 and 1835. Seetion 16 was bought 
of the state liv A. Freeman in 1839, S. Stone, 
A. :\Iiller. :\I.' T. Howell, F. Hitt' in 1842. P. 
Miller and D. and Josiah Lee in 1842 and N. 
Gray, Jr., in 1845. Section 17 was bought 
b.v Nathaniel Thompson and Elijah Stone in 
1826. Dennison R. Rose in 1827. James 
Thompson in 1828 and 1831, and Ileman Nye 
in 1831. Seetion 18 was sold to John R. Per- 
rv and John D. Smith in 1830. Thomas Mitch- 
ell, John Dicken. A'alentine Lamb, Milton H. 
Webster and John Inman, Jr., in 1831, and 
to Anson Bristol in 1832. Seetion 19 was 
obtained by Silas Hayden and Abraham T. 
Powell in 1825. Mayor Webster in 1826, John 
Ferguson. James Collins, John Inman. Jr., 
Bissell Robinson and Philander ililler in 
1831. Seetion 20 was sold to Zelotus Stone 
in 1826, William 'SI. iMille.v. John Inman. Jr., 
Ben.iamin Miller and Ileman N.ve in 1831. 
Seetion 21. Isaac Monl'ord bought in 1827, 
Edward Arnold in 1831. Nathaniel Garvin 
and Henry ^lorris in 1832, Simon Stone, 
Theophilus Stone and Samuel Inman in 
1833, L.vdia tjarvin in 1835 and Theophilus 
Stone in 1836. Joseph Chubb bought entire 
seetion 22 in 1824-5. Section 23 was sold in 
1835 to William J. Loucks, Martin Priestl.y. 
Lvnian Wheeler, Joel Thompson, W^ilson W. 
.M'iller: in 1836 Ira S. Perry. U. C. Smith and 
Elislia B. Strong. Seetion 24 was taken by 
Rous Card and John ililler in 1835, Azariah 
Prentis. Dennis Turner, Daniel Lee, Samuel 
Meek and Jonathan T. Flint in 1836; B. C. 
Southei'land in 1851 and William Armstrong 
in 1852. Section 25 was sold to Iluldah Hall. 
David B. Tuthill and Charles Wykoff, Norton 
Wykoff ill 1835; Richard Breed, Iliram Rob- 
erts, Walden King and Ro.val W. Jenne,y in 
1836; Naomi Southerland in 1852 and to 
(ireen Freeman in 1853. Section 26 was pat- 
ented to William II. Drake, William McCurdy 
and James Jones in 1837: Steward Taylor, 
Ovid Alien, John F. Seaman. Crban C. Smith, 
William Tuttle. Simon W. Newberry. Harvey 
S. Higgins. Josiah Parks and Almira Tuttle 
in 1836, and to William Richards in 1845. 
Section 27 was conve.yed to John ^Matthews, 
William Stevens and Samuel Everets in 1825 ; 
Robert AVarner in 1832, Urban C. Smith, 
Thomans (!. Omans in 1835, to William M. 
Millev, Pollv Omans and Lewis Curtis in 1836. 



Section 28 was secured b.v Henry Morris in 
1831, William Gass in 1832, and to Jacob 
Sheniierhorn and William Gass in 1833; to 
Marvin Stone in 1835, and to Edwin Jerome 
in 1836. Seetion 29 was sold to John Inman, 
Jr., in 1831, John Gass, Jr., in 1832, William 
(iass, John J. Steel, Thomas Pa.vne and Will- 
iam (iass in 1833. Section 30 was bought bv 
Eli II. Webster in 1826, Isaac Milley and Ed- 
ward Arnold in 1830, Daniel Wilber in 1831, 
and Irene Bates in 1832. Seetion 31 was 
taken by Lewis Davis in 1830, Norman Row- 
le,v, Levi Hoard and Austin Rowley in 1833, 
Alden Fenneer and Edwin Arnold in 1834. 
Section 32 was sold to Joseph Durfee. Jr., in 
1827-8-30, Margaret McGregor in 1832, 
Lewis Davis in 1834-51. Section 33 was 
patented to Nicholas Johnson and Jacob E. 
Shermerhorn in 1833, Samuel Hoxie, Joseph 
Durfee. Joseph Durfee, Jr., and Lydia Stone 
in 1835, Daniel McGregor and William Lyons 
in 1836. Seetion 34 was sokl to William 
Warner in 1833, John F. Seaman, Hezekiah 
Detirafl', Ilyman H. Lilliljridge and Newell 
Durfee in 1835, and to Plli.iah Anderson in 
1836. Seetion 35 was entered by Nelson R. 
Holdridge in 1831, Russell Roberts, Austin 
Iloldridge. Beverl,v Robinson, Ilenrv Polkin- 
hone and William Warner in 1835, Elizabeth 
Jones. Jacob Seamans. Susannah Roberts and 
Will. Warner in 1836. and to Ben,]. B. Ker- 
cheval in 1837. Section 36 was bought by 
Jacob A. Crawford, Davis Crawford, Nelson 
R. Iloldridge and Ira Crawford in 1831, 
Stephen C. Crawford in 1834. David B. Tut- 
tle, Stephen, Daniel C, Enoch and Jacob A. 
Crawford in 1835. 

Certainl.v our worthy President of today 
would not have been uneasy about race suicide 
had he contemplated the families of the earl.v 
settlers of Ra.v. The town was fortunate in 
the large number of its land buyei's who be- 
came its residents, and also in the .sturdy, 
vigorous stock from whicli the.v came. The 
heav.y task of clearing off the heavy timber 
and making homes and fertile farms was un- 
dertaken with right good will and carried 
through to a most successful issue. Among 
the largest families among these earl.v settlers 
was that of the Rev. Jonathan E. Davis, 
who settled near, and after whom was named 
Davis. His nine sons have honored his name 
aiul scattered it through the county and else- 
where. It would be interesting to be able to 
give a more detailed account of the fainil.v 
such as can be given of another of Ra.y's old 
families. 



I'AST AND PRESENT OF ;\rACO.MB COUNTY 



679 



THE GASS FAiUI.V. 

who have loiiii- pursiu'd the culiniralile prac- 
tice of hokliiiji' aiumal family reuiiious. As 
many as forty yeai*s ago at least began the 
custom of the children of John Oass to meet 
annually at the old hotel at Davis, and there 
revive the memory of thei!' childhood days 
and friends. As time went on the yatherinus 
widened until at their meeting now all as 
expected, antl few others allowed, can boast 
of having in their veins the blood of John 
Gass, or who have married into the Gass 
family. In 1902. three hundred and ten per- 
sons gatliei'ed at the reiuiion and not to exceed 
tive of them were '"outsiders." The meetings 
have always been held in Kay with one excep- 
tion. 

A formal organization has been perfected 
the better to secure the attendance of all, 
and the last Wednesday in August is set for 
the annual round-uj) of the family. At pres- 
ent "Watson W. Lyons is the President, An- 
drew J. Gass. the Vice-President, and liast 
Gass, the Secretary of the association. Up 
until 1902 there had alwa.vs been present at 
least one of the sons of the founder of the 
family, but death has chosen his victims since 
and in 1904. not one of the first generation, 
either sons, daughters or their spouses, were 
left to gather with the children, grandchil- 
dren and great-grandchildren. As nearly all 
of these have been residents of Ray part of 
their lives at least the families of the children 
of John Gass are here detailed : John Gass, 
the father, was born in 1776, and came to 
Ray in July, 1837, from Gi'eene County, New 
York, and located in section 30. Here he 
died December 17th, 1S(;4. His children num- 
bered fourteen, all of whom except one lived 
to maturit.v and came to ^lacomb county, and 
usually married there and founded homes 
here after marriage. Duncan, the oldest son, 
nuirried Hannah Goodsell, sister of Dr. Good- 
sell of Chesterfield: Lydia, the oldest daugh- 
ter, married Asel \Vhitcoml) and became the 
ancestor of the large Whitcomi) family of 
Ray. The names of the other children and 
their mates will recall to those familiar with 
Kay names, many of its prominent residents. 
Jemima married John Dicken of Kay (father 
of "William Dieken, once County Clerk), "Will- 
iam. Phidi^ia ( 'iuipman : John. .Margaret Stitt. 
dnuulitei' of Andrew Stitt, who came to Wash- 
ington, this count.y, in 1825; Jane married 
John Inman; Eleanor. Bissell Robinson; and 
George, Rachel Johnston. Nelson married the 
sister of Squire Wm. M. Willey, another head 
of one of Ray's large families. Three of the 



daughters evidently liad similar tastes, for 
they each found in a Lyons her affinity, the 
three married three brothei-s. Eliza married 
William Lyons and became the mother of 
Watson W. Lyons, Jlrs. :Mary E. Bartlett of 
Komco and Rebecca Wiei-s of Davis; Harriet 
selected Elias Lyons, the father of Wilson, 
.Munson anil Lawson Lyons; while Clai'issa 
chose Sanford Lyons. James, the .youngest 
of the family, marrietl Valoria, daughter of 
Orsel Dudley of Washington. 

The nuuiy small rapid ruiniing streams in 
the town aifordeil inviting water-power for 
saw and gri.st mills, and the earlier da.vs saw 
several very successful mills. Pi'ol)ably the 
oldest grist mill was the Gi'ay mill in st'ction 
six. where Dr. Neil Gray started and long 
lan a most successful mill, starting at an 
early day. In the days of the old plank roads 
this was a shipping point for Hour into which 
large amount of the wheat of the surrounding 
country had gone. Dr. (jra.v was one of the 
fii'iii of (iray Bros., who also so successfully 
operated mills in Washington, Bruce and also 
in Oakland county. Later the mill was run 
only for the purpose of prepai-ing buckwheat 
flour. Since about 1890 it has not been run. 
Another old mill was the Proctor mill in the 
extreme northwest corner of the town. 

Ani)ther mill, started in early days, which 
has not merely held its own, but has led the 
wa.v in improvements and progress, is the mill 
now owned and operated by Fred B. Wolcott 
on section 16. This was built by Freeman, 
and has been operated, among others, by John 
Smith, Norman Crawford, and Fi'ank Ritter. 
between its start and its becoming the prop- 
ert.v of the present ownei-. It is now fitted 
with the most improved machinery for mak- 
ing the best flour and is in every way an up- 
to-date flouring mill and does a business in 
((uantit.v and (|uality that .justifies the .judg- 
ment of its owner. 

Among the saw mills wiM'e the one built 
and long run by Robert Warner and Heze- 
kiah DeGroiV, two and a half miles east from 
Davis; the Plank Road .Mill at Davis was 
for a long time operated almost solely for the 
I)ui'pose of furnishing the jdank for the Mt. 
Clemens and Romeo Plank Road; and the 
Shafer ilill at Ray Center. 

■\mong the other localities in the town that 
have borne special names and jjla.ved their 
parts in the life of the ]ieopl(> there are Sel- 
leck's corners on the iiorth town line, a mile 
east of the northwest cornel- of the town, 
whcT-e Uncle John Selleck kept his po]iular 
tavern; Dicken 's Coi'uers at the .junction of 



68o 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



the two I'lank Koacls that traversed the towu; 
Raj' Center, where another of the famous tav- 
erns flourished in stage coach days, and with 
the passing- of the cause of their being, have 
fallen to less interesting uses, or to utter dis- 
use; Ray Exchange, a mile further east, the 
site of another of those hotels, and Davis. 

This last named place was for a long time 
called Brooklyn, a name selected because the 
people found it difficult to choose between 
the names of the two prominent settlers of the 
neighborhood. John (iass and Jonathan E. 
Davis. "When a postoftice came to be estab- 
lished there the former name had to be aban- 
doned to escape duplicating the postoffice 
name. Here was located the plank road mill 
and aroiind that and the general store that 
has been located there for many j'ears has 
gi'own up a little village. Here are now lo- 
cated the general store of Giddings, Wright 
& Co., which carries a stock probably not sur- 
passed in size by any in the county, the furni- 
ture stock of S. M. Whiteomb, the hardware 
store of ]\lclnnis, a shoe and harness shop, 
a saw and feed mill of East Gass, and a tile 
yard, besides several dwellings and a church 
edifice (^Methodist ). where the Rev. Wm. B. 
Weaver holds service. 

The first church building in Ray was built 
in 1839 for the Close Communion Baptist So- 
ciety. Their first settled minister was Will- 
iam Tuttle, and among its first members were 
Andrew Southerland, Russell Roberts, Iliram 
Roberts and Josiah Parks. The Baptist 
church proper was organized in 1837. The 
first Congregational church in Ray was or- 
ganized February 13th, 1838, by the Rev. 
Philander Baber of Romeo, at a meeting held 
at the house of Diivid Stone, its elected Clerk. 
The members who .joined at that time were 
David Stone and wife, William Stone, Tlieo- 
philus Stone. Zelottes Stone, Orrilla Welton, 
Oi-samus Lathron and wife, Thomas E. Dry- 
er and Carlos W. Brown. 

The first adult white person known to have 
been buried in Ray was the wife of Joseph 
Chubb, on January Htli, 1827. Edgar Free- 
man was the first male cliild, and Lucinda 
Chubb the first female child liorn of white 
pai'ents. The first school house erected in Ray 
was a log one in 1834. near the spot now 
known as Ray (.."enter. From this humble 
origin the schools of Ray have grown until in 
1904 in the eight districts, $3,436.16 was ex- 
pended in the cause of education, .$2,176.25 
of it being for teachej-s' wages. Out of the 
332 included in th(> school census, 232 were 
enrolled during 1904 and attended at least 



part iif the eight or nine months" scIkihI lidil 
in each district. The houses are, as a rule, 
in excellent condition and the support given 
the schools l)ear witness to the devotion of 
its inhabitants to the cause of education, the 
estimated value of school property being 
.$.5,600.00. 

The population of the township as appears 
by each state and national census taken is as 
follows : 

1837 786 

1840 80.J 

1845 1,166 

1850 1,232 

1854 1.355 

1860 1.544 

1864 1,490 

1870 1,556 

1874 1,495 

1880 1,538 

1884 1,4.53 

1890 1.404 

1894 1,412 

1900 1,363 

1904 1,307 

As something of a guide to the increase in 
the value of the property of Ray, a table of 
the assessed valuations as equalized by the 
Board of Supervisors of the county for the 
various veai-s is given below: 

1842 $ 59,856.00 

1846 58,507.00 

1851 63,353.00 

1856 391,781.00 

1861 359,930.00 

1866 366,700.00 

1871 388,440.00 

1876 380,000.00 

1881 894,0110.00 

1886 790,000.00 

1891 810,000.00 

1896 785,000.00 

1901 850,000.00 

The Supervisors of the township with their 
times of service have been: Reuben R. 
Smith, 1827-38 : County Commissioners, 1838- 
43: Charles IMarble, 1839-40; Josiah Lee, 
1840; Alexander Tackles, 1842-43; Neil Gray, 
1843-44; Jacol) A. Crawford, 1844-45; Reu- 
ben 1\. Smith, 1845-46; Jacob A. ("rawford, 
1846-48; John M. Crawford, 1848-49; Jona- 
than E. Davis, 1849-50; John :\I. Crawford, 
1850-51: Charles ]\rarble, 1851-52; John M. 
Crawford, 1852-54: Joel Thompson, 1854-55; 
Iliram Barrows, 1855-56: Joel Thompson, 
1856-58; Deliverance S. Priest, 1858-59: Elias 
W. Lvons, 1859-60; Joel Thompson, 1860-61; 
Deliverance S. Priest, 1861-62; John M. 



PAST AM) IMJKSEXT OF MACCWIB COUNTY 



68 1 



Crawfonl, 1862-63; Deliverance S. Priest, 
1863-70 ; Ezra Nye, 187U-81 ; Watson W. Ly- 
ons, 1881-83: Allen Ilazelton, 1883-4; D. S. 
Priest, 1884-86; :\Iilo W. Davis, 1886-91; Al- 
bert McGregor. 1891-93; M. W. Davis. 1893- 
95; A. N. JleGresor. 1895-96; Geo. W. Downs, 
1896-1903: Chester Chubb, 1903-05. 

The Clerks for the same time were: Ed- 
mund Steward, 1827-29 ; Noah Webster, 1830- 
35; Duncan (!ass. 1836; David Stone, 1837- 
39: W. :\I. WiUev, 1840: Josiah T. Robinson, 
1841: W. M. Wiliey. 1842: David Stone, 1843; 
Orau Freenuui. 1844-45; Joseph Sutherland. 
1846 ; William M. Lee. 1847-48 : Joel Thomp- 
son, 1849-51 : Daniel F. Lake, 1852-53 ; Will- 
iam M. Lee, 1854: Joseph Chubb. 1855; John 
Tewksburv, 1856; Oran Freeman, 1857-58; 
Joel Thompson. 1859; John W. Goodell. 1860; 
Ezra Nye. 1861-64 ; Wesley AV. Wiliey, 1865- 
66 ; Ezra N.ve. 1867-70 ; Norman Crawford, 
1871 : William L. Dieken, 1872 ; Noi-man 
Crawford. 1873; William L. Dieken, 1874-76; 
Norman Crawford, 1877-78: :Milo W. Davis, 
1879-86; 0. N. Devereaux. 1886-7; W. F. 
Switzer. 1887-88; Geo. W. Downs, 1888-90; 

A. G. Bottomlev. 1890-91 ; F. L. Chubb, 1891- 
92; Geo. W. Downs. 1892-96; T. R. Andrews. 
1896-98; Wm. S. DeWitt. 1898-99; Chester 
Chulib. 1899-03; Dayton Mclnnis, 1903-05. 

The Treasurers for the same time were : 
:\Ioses Freeman. 1827; Norman Perrv, 1828- 
9: Carpus Redway, 1830; William Ila'U, 1831; 
Apollos A. Fuller. 1832 ; Norman Perry, 1833 ; 
Eli II. Webster, 1834-36 : Elijah Stone, 1837- 
38; Wilson W. :\Iiller, 1839-40; Ben.jamin 
]Miller, 1841 ; David Sutherland, 1842 ; Joseph 
Sutherland, 1843; Elijah Stone, 1844; Orsa- 
mus Lathrop, 1845-46 ; Elias W. Lyons. 1847- 
48; James H. Sutton, 1849; Thomas G. 
Onmns. 1850 ; James Gass. 1851 : Robert Suth- 
erland. 1852-53; John Goodell. 1854; John E. 
Butterfield. 1855 ; Nelson Gass, 1856 ; Charles 
Fillmore, 1857; Elias Stone, 1858; Elias L. 
Stone, 1859; William L. Dieken, I860; Elias 
L. Stone. 1861; Wm. D. Thompson. 1862; 
JMyron Thompson. 1863-64; Weslev W. Wil- 
le.y, 1865: Nelson Gass, 1866; R." :M. Stitt. 
1867-68; George W. Garvin. 1869-70; Russell 

B. Bratton, 1871-72 ; Daniel T. Chul)b, 1873- 
74; Orrin J. Gass, 1875; Volnev N. Arnold, 
1876-77; Eugene W. :Miller, 1878; Myron 
Thompson. 1879; Eugene W. Miller, 1880-81; 
William II. Freeman. 1887-88; Czar D. 
Thompson, 18SS-90; E. N. Miller. 1890-91; 
Albert Sehnovei'. 1891-93; Archie I\I. Chubl), 
1893-95; J. W. Davis. 1895-97; David Cud- 
worth, 1897-99; Alex :\lclnnis, 1899-01; Czar 



D. 'i'lioiiipsiin, 19(il-(i:i; Jdhii Klopstdck. 1!M)3- 
1)4; Horace Newberry, 1904-05. 

An institution wliich since its home is now 
located in Ray. properly belongs in the his- 
tory of this township, is the ilaeomb Lodge 
No. 64 of the Fi'ee and Accepted Masons. Ray 
alone, however, has not exclusive claim to this 
lodge since it was first organized in Macomb 
township, and has di'MWu to its support ;\Ia- 
sons from all the neighboring towns. 

The first connnuuicatiou of ^lacoml) Lodge 
No. 64. F. & A. ;\I.. under dispensation, was 
held at the house of D. Ben.jamin in ilaeomb 
township. April 29th, 1853. The first hall 
occupied was the third story of the hotel at 
Macomb corners on the Plank Road. ;\Iaeomb 
township, and the first conuuunication in the 
hall was held December 12th, 1853. The 
charter of [Maeoml) Lodge No. 64. F. & A. M., 
was granted January 13th, 1854. Aliout the 
.vear 1862 IMacoml) Lodge No. 64 purchased 
of Barlow Davis the frame building on the 
northeast corner of section 31, Ray township, 
in the village of Brooklyn (now Davis). This 
building was burned i\Iay 14th, 1873, but the 
lodge records were not destro.yed. The lodge 
very soon set about erecting the two-story 
frame building on the same ground, which 
]\Iacomb Lodge still owns and occupies. Fol- 
lowing are the names of the blasters of Ma- 
comb Lodge and the .vears in which they 
served: A. P. Bentley, 1853-54-55-56; John 
Nichols. 1857; Barlow' Da vi.s, 1858 and 1866; 
J. E. Davis, 1859 ; Charles Bennett, 1860 and 
1862; G. W. Knapp, 1861; A. Lincoln. 1863; 
Henry Bennett. 1864-65-67-69-70-71-72-73-74- 
75-76-77-79-83-84-85 and 86; C. F. Apling, 
1868; A. E. Collins. 1878-80-81 and 82; E. R. 
W^ilcox, 1887-88-89-90 and 91 ; C. E. Giddinsrs. 
1892-93-94-95-99 and 1900; A. M Grinnell, 
1896-97-98: W. G. Phelps. 1901 : J. M. PajTie, 
1902-03-04 and 05. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



ROMEO. 

While it may be considered as practicall.y 
settled that Asahel Bailey was the first set- 
tler in the vicinity of Romeo who came with 
his famil.v and remained permanentl.v in that 
localit.y, there has been cqnsiderable discus- 
sion as to who was entitled to the honor of 
having made the first invasion into the wil- 
derness at that place. March 21st. 1821, Silas 
Scott began the work of clearing five acres, 
which he planted with corn near where now 
stands the ^lellen House on the north side of 



682 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Gates strc'L't, and prol)al)ly during tlif samu 
year, one David Hill from St. Clair county, 
took up the east half of the northwest quar- 
ter of section 'Sb of Bruce on November "iOth. 
After seeurinu' the crop of corn, he sowed the 
ground to wiieat and returned to his home 
tor the wiute)'. Being prevented from re- 
turning by an accident, his father harvested 
the wheat, and Hill, not being able to return 
until 1824, lost the right to be considered 
one of the tirst settlers of the conuuunity. 
Latei', however, he taught school near Utica 
and also in Washington not far from Indian 
Village, as Konieo was then known. To the 
south of Romeo, near Washington Village, 
Jeremiah Allen also in 1821 began his im- 
provements. These he later sold to Asahel 
Bailey. In January, 1822, Asahel Bailey 
antl his wife. Chauneey Bailey, his cousin, 
and his wife, who was a sister of Mrs. Asa- 
hel Bailey, came to Romeo, and for about two 
year.s lived in the same house. Chauneey 
Bailey settled in 1824 on a separate fai-m, a 
short distance to the northwest. Later he 
.sold this claim and took up land near Farrar's 
mill in Armatla township and was one of the 
tirst settlers of that locality. Eleven months 
later in the fall of 1822 came the Hosie fam- 
ily, who remained in the vicinity of Romeo 
until 1829. Frederick Hoxie, the elder man, 
died in 1827, and was buried about a mile 
south of the center of Romeo. His sou Job 
remained until 1829, when he removed to a 
l)oint not far from Utica. In I82:i, the Hoxie 
family were visited by Samuel Chamlierlin 
of Lima, New York, and Edward Brewster 
of Riga, New York. The little settlement 
which was then growing up around this point, 
came to be called the Hoxie settlement, by 
which name it was designated npon Farmer's 
map made in 1828. 

The ridge upon which Romeo was situated 
afforded a natui'al highway in the days when 
the country was flooded with water and the 
established trail thi-ough the couiitrx' fol- 
lowe<l the (lid Indian trail along the ridec. 
The spot from the eai'liest mentions, is re- 
feri-etl to for its attractiveness and beauty. 
Here the ui)lands of the west and the heavy 
forests of the east met upon a soil possessed 
of a richness and fertility unknown to either 
side. "Grand old forest trees here and there 
reared their great forms indicative of the fer- 
tile plains, and here and there anon were 
bountiful prairie spots or openings, where lit- 
tle toil removed the slender shi-ubs and gave 
to the Indian his coveted field of corn. Hith- 
er, too, the t'liip])ewa was accustomed to re- 



turn from his suuuner wanderings, and on 
the very spot where Romeo now stands, tradi- 
tion tells of iminy and many winter Indian 
homes; so that when the first white nuin 
looked in upon the (|uiet scene, he gave it the 
name which our first postotfice bore, the name 
of Indian Village." (John H. lloUister). 

In 1871, Dr. Ilollister prepared a series of 
articles upon the early history of Romeo, 
which were published in the Romeo Observer. 
From these the writer takes the following 
mention of the iiiliahitaiits of the conununity 
in 1827 : 

"If I should call the roll of early residents, 
few would now give answer, but as I remem- 
ber them located, say in 1827, their names 
would appear by families something as fol- 
lows : 

"The Hoxie family had this year disap- 
peared and could hardly be counted in. (In 
su]iplemental article. Dr. Ilollistei' coi'rected 
this.j 

"Asahel Bailey had settled at the 'corners' 
• on the same spot he had occupied so many 
\-ears. The house he rebuilt still stands near 
the site of his first location. He and his wife, 
formerly ]\Iiss Freenuin, were then in their 
younger years. As the time sped on, there 
were born to them Prudence, Maria, Stephen, 
liois, Lydia and Fhebe Jane. 

"Elder :\Ir. Finch had located his eighty, I 
think as early as 1823 and had erected the 
fii'st frame barn on the site for a long time 
afterwards occupied by Jlr. Samuel Ewell. 
Part of his family were grown and married. 
Kzi'a, the oldest, had married Jliss Becraft. 
John, the second, married Miss Hopkins. 
;\lartha was married to Mr. Burchard Throop 
and lived 'down in the fourth town.' 

"The younger sons were (ieorge. Albert, 
Aljiheus, Addison ami Alanson, 'the little boy 
that was lost,' 

■■Es(|. (iates had located his farm, the same 
he occupied for many years. His wife was 
Miss Blinn. and here were boni to them Jane, 
Wilbur. Martha, John, Lucy Ann. Iluln-rt and 
Barton. 

"('apt. Gad ( 'haiiilierliii had this y(>ar, 
1S27. arrived at the head of a large family, 
which with accompanying neighbors and 
friends formed a colony of .some sixt.y souls. 

"He bought out Ebeuezer Kittredge, and 
settled on tlu' I'ai'iii next iKiiih of Asahel 
Bailey. His eldest daughter was the wife of 
Col. John B. Ilollister. who was one of the 
younger and moving s[)irits in the settlement 
till his death in iS.'il. A son, Stephen Piatt 
Chairiberlin. was married to a Jli.ss Parkhur.st, 



PAST AND PRESKXT OF .MACOMB COUNTY 



683 



and tlii'v iiuniliiTcd niir lit' till' rdliiny fouiKl- 
ers. 

"Atklisuii ChambiTliii, aiiotlRT snu. had 
married a Miss Leach, and they formed aii- 
otlier of the gi'oup. The yoiuiuer ehildi'eii of 
Capt. Chainherliii were Klecta. afterwards 
Mrs. Siidw: Julia, later the wife of l\ev. 
Luther Sliaw, and Harvey. .Joseph, Nelson and 
James, names all fannliar to tin- old settlers. 

"ih-. Krastns Day, with his family came 
west in company with Capt. Chamberlin. His 
farm was located .just east of the Leslie farm. 
His sons were Erastus. Russell, Daniel, Levi 
and an only daughter, J>ueinda. 

"The Ijeslie family had located where they 
lived and died. The father's name was James. 
The ehildreii were James, Jr., Benjamin and 
Roxana. who marrie(l .Mi-. James Stark- 
weathei'. 

■'.Mr. Starkweatiier liy this time brought 
his farm "over west' into a good state of culti- 
vation, and thither he took .Miss Ijeslie as one 
of the tir.st brides of whom the si'ttlement 
could boast. 

"Another newly married couple at that 
date was Freedom Monroe to Miss ^lary 
Cooper, who worked in the family of Capt. 
Chandierlin. He then loeatecl where he has 
always livi'd. 

"Next north of him lived .Mr. Suell Hovey. 
His sous were George and Albert, his daugh- 
ter's name Betsey. They occn])y the old 
homestead yet. On the i-oad south of James 
Starkweather, and a mile west of Romeo, 
lived Horatio Nye His children were Eliza, 
Ann, George and several younger ones. 

"On the hill opposite the cemetery lived 
Roswell AVehster. His wife was a Goodwin. 
His children were Charles, Cyreniis, Wheeler, 
Lucius, Jlarietta and Emily. 

"A half mile east of the corners was the 
residence of William Abbott. His first wife 
was .Miss Hurbank. His children by this wife 
were Franklin. Xornuni, Isaac, Jane, Eliza- 
beth and .Mary. Next east of ;\Ir. Abbott's 
was the farm of Dr. Richards, the 'first physi- 
cian.' His children were Mary, Jane. Guy 
and olliirs whose names I do not recall. East 
of these were the families of Mr. Thompson, 
;\lr. Bennet, ^Ir. Redway, Reuben Smith, Ben- 
.jamin and John Proctor and .Mi-. Noah Web- 
stei- who built in that direction the first saw 
nnll and afterwards the first Houring mill. 
Mi-s. Webster was afterwards married to Dr. 
Gray, who improved this property and here 
amassed his fortune. 

"South of the corners theiv were no lious<'s 
till you came to Mr. Foot's. He parted with 



bis fai-m to Azariali Sterling about Ls:i(l. His 
famii.N- then removed to Troy. He had several 
children, the oldest of whom was Jane. Capt. 
Sterling connng later to occupy this place is 
still with us. His wife was a .Miss Tjcach, el- 
der daughter of .Mrs. Addison ('hamberlin. 
.Mr. Slei'ling was from a large inHuential fam- 
ily, in Lima, Livingston County. .\ew York. 
His children were Julia, Charlotte, Caroline, 
Esthei-, Lydia, Harriet and au oidy son. A 
little way west of Mr. Sterling's lived Gurdon 
Hovey, only recently dead. His children were 
Samuel, Augustus, Emeline ami Alonzo. 

"South of this lived Alexander Tackels, 
foniieriy of Cayuga County, -New Yoi-k, and 
of whom in connection with 'old .John Soules, ' 
who lived 'over west,' I have a stoiy to tell, 
when 1 get time. Beyond these were other 
denizens of the 'fourth town,' among whom 
were the Prices. Myres, Ducings, Mr. .John 
Holland, Es(i., Andi'us, Dr. Cooley, Elder 
Warren, Judge Thui'stcm, and 'over west' the 
Thorntons, Soules and, a little later, .Marvil 
Shaw, w'ith others whose names ])erhaps I 
ought to insert with the above. 

"On the hill west of Es(|. Gates, Deacon 
Rodgcrs lived, iiis wife was a Taft. They 
were from Jjima, New York. Their children 
were Charles, Andrew, William, Rexford and 
Mary .Jane. 

"North and west of 'Indian N'iliage" lived 
at this time James and Samuel DcNean, and 
a little latei- the Hi-istols. the lliiix families. 
Mr. Rufus Renif, .Mr. Elderkin, t!eo. Throoj). 
.Mai'k W. VVinchell, Mr. Bancroft, the Trom- 
blies (Frenchmen), who built a saw mill, Mr. 
Benjaiiun, the Hopkins fanulies, Hufus Hall 
ami others whom at the moment I do not re- 
call. 

"]iy the sear LS.'il, so numerous hatl been 
the additions that time nor space will permit 
me more than to name the families. Now 
.Judge Prentiss had arrived, N. T. Taylor and 
othei's laid out Homeo. and he was active in 
merchandise. The Buzzell families were here, 
Daniel was knight of the shears, and Mai'tin 
was getting his store ready, and paying atten- 
tion to Miss Clarissa Winchell, the sister of 
Mrs. N. T. Taylor. 

".Now Mr. -John Taylor was opening uj) 
his fai'm. Possibl.v this was in IS32. Now. 
too, the famous 'Scotch Settlement' was be- 
ing made, as the Wileys, Gi'ays, Crawfords, 
and other Scotch families .settled in the north 
part of the 'fifth town,' now Bruce. .Vliout 
this time came to that vicinity, besides Rev. 
.John Tayloi- and his sfin, the family of Mr. 
Palmerlee. the Collins fainilies. tbi' Bishops, 



684 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



the Tluirstons. Jlr. Ira Phillips, 'the mighty 
himter," the Donaldson families, Buslmell, 
"\vho kept the 'three mile house,' Liike Fisher. 
Mr. Porter, aud theu or a little later still 
were added in that section Mr. Rufus Pren- 
tiss, Mr. Standish and family, Daniel aud 
Colatinus Day, and on the branch were lo- 
cated M. T. Tjane, Asa Holiiian, Charles Far- 
rar. Willard Guild and families, and beyond 
them the 'Aldredge Settlement." 

"Now, too, the volume of village population 
was rapidly augmented. Dr. Cyrus Baldwin 
and family and many others came. 

"The arrival of Lyman and Linas S. Gil- 
bert was a matter of moment, for their in- 
fluence was at once felt in the community aud 
always for good. The popularity of Linas 
Gilbert in the county was perhaps last evinced 
by the unprecedented ma.jority by which he 
was sent to the Legislature by a county op- 
posed to him in politics. 

"I dare not attempt the recital of the com- 
ing inhabitants, to a later date. If I should 
span on to. or lieyond 1S36, with the coming 
of Rix and Kidder, Dexter and Joel Muzzey, 
Nathan Dickinson, and before them of Ma,]. 
Aaron B. Rawles, John W. Dyar, D. C. Walk- 
er, Calvin Shaw, Asa B. and Jerry Ayres (all 
uuirriageable young men), and Mr. Beekman, 
Doctor Sabin, and his brother. Dr. Whitney, 
the SouthwelLs, the Ewells, the Palmers, Mr. 
Seranton, the Skillman family, Jacob Smith, 
there would still be left such a multitude that 
'no man' (of my attainments) could number 
them." 

At the close of the series of articles. Dr. 
ITollister added as additional families who 
had come as early as 1833, the names of Nel- 
son Lowell, Stephen Goetchius, Col. Perry, 
ITamblin, A. Edgett, Job Howell and Iddo 
Warner. Dr. IloUister also credits Gideon 
Gates, the first postmaster, with having been 
appointed such of "Indian Village" in about 
1826, and tells of his having carried the mail 
about with him in a large crown hat wrapped 
in a red bandana from which, whenever he 
met the happy recipient of any letters, he pro- 
duced the same upon the payment of postage 
— in those days to be paid by the receiver. 
The mail came weekly and was brought from 
Mt. Clemens by Jonas Cutler on foot. Ac- 
cording to Dr. ITollister. the first frame build- 
ing in the village was the barn which was 
built by old Mi-. Finch, and here many of the 
larger religious meetings of early years were 
held. The second frame building was the 
first section of what was afterwards known 
as the old red tavern. It stood facing Main 



street nearly on the spot where now stands 
the stoi'es of Bogart and Gray, just south 
of the Romeo Savings Bank. This liuildiug 
was put up by the Hoxies. Its frontage was 
sixteen feet, and it contained only two small 
rooms. Later the building was doubled in 
size and still later again doubled, an upper 
story added and a front piazza built the 
whole length thereof. Its first landlord was 
Hiram Wilcox, who later built the Wilcox 
mill near Alniout, then called Tapshire. The 
first sign board of the hotel, described by 
Dr. Ilollister, as being 12 or 14 inches wide 
and four feet long raised upon a hickory pole 
about H) or 12 feet high aud standing out in 
front of the inn beside the well. Painted upon 
this sign in glaring black letters was the word 
INN. From its erection until it burned in 
the spring of 1848, the Old Red Tavern was 
the chief gathering spot for congenial spirits 
of the neighborhood, and the center for dis- 
tribution of the news of the day. The Old 
Red Tavern has been ([uaintly celebrated by 
Romeo's aged poet, S. II. Ewell: 

The Old Red Tavern the neighbors help raise. 
Was looked on with pride in those Log Cabin 

days, 
"Twas called ornamental and passers-by said, 
"A handsome frame building and painted 

with red," 
'Twas whei'C vou could sample the best of 

Old Rye, ' 
A four-finger glass — and a Smile in your eye. 

The village grew lively, the Tavern grew 

more. 
They put on additions as Red as before. 
And business increased as the years wore 

away — 
The Old Red Tavern was having its day. 
And many folks stopped there, not earing to 

pass. 
Until they took "suthin' " at three cents a 

glass. 

That "Suthin' " was pure as was drank in 

that day, 
'Twas made in the village of Our U-ti-ea, 
'Twould not give you Tremens or Snakes in 

your boots, 
'Twas .just drank for pleasure and social Ca- 
hoots. 
The Old Red Tavern sold whiskey and beer, 
And dabbled sometimes in the stuff they call 
"Queer." 

'Twas tlu'i'c the young people improved every 
chance 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



685 



T(i trii) tlir liglit fool ill the Okl Country 

Dance. 
Till' later Cotillion at that early day. 
Kaiew nut the Hed Tavern, or traveled this 

way. 
The Old Red Tavern, I cannot forget, 
its looks and its qneerness still eliuf;' to nio 

\et. 

A briek building stands where the Red Tavern 

stood, 
Foi'got are its misdeeds, forgotten the good. 
Its inmates have gone to .some mystical shore, 
Its friends and its foes are remembered no 

more. 
The Old Red Tavern of many ([ueer ways. 
The Old Red Tavern forgot in these days. 

Gone are the Old Landlords to some other 

clime. 
Gone the "Old Country Dancers" of that 

early time. 
Father Time rubs the lines from the Historic 

Slate. 
And brings the world down to a more modern 

date. 
The Old Red Tavern, we bid you good-bye. 
And drop o'er the past an affectionate sigh. 

Nathaniel T. Taylor, Romeo's first mer- 
chant, opened his store in 1829 in the thii'd 
frame building erected in the place. Among 
his first elei'ks were John Conklin and Alexis 
Winchell. Not long after this, his frame resi- 
dence diagonally across from the store, was 
put Tip — the house long occupied by the late 
Elihu Newberry. The store building later 
was moved a little to the north and occupied 
by Niles and afterward for a long time by 
^laitland and llowarth. Taylor established 
the iir.st regular stage line to Romeo from De- 
troit in 1830. The first millwrights of the 
place were William A. Btirt and John Allen, 
referred to in the chapter on Washington. 
They early built the saw mill f(n- Capt. C'ham- 
lierlin. The first shdemaker of the town was 
John Becraft, followed later by Azariah Pren- 
tiss, who also was among the early school 
teachers. Daniel Buzzell was the first tailor 
and Josiah Ilamblin the first village bhiek- 
siiiith. Benjamin, the first cabinet maker, 
had his sho]) at Bancroft's mill, lie was suc- 
ceedeil in an early day by Willar<l (iuild. 
In 1826 Horatio Nye imilt the lirst distillery 
in that locality about a half mile west of the 
cemetery, which, however, was short lived. 
The first cooper was George Perkins, who sold 
his shop and lot to Jacob l?eekmaii. 



In 1S;50. .\. '['. Taylor brought with him 
from New York a small library published by 
the Sunday School I'liion, and organized the 
first Salibatli school, being its first superin- 
tendent. The first white person, whose death 
is known, was one Ilealy, who was buried a 
little over a mile south of the village on a 
knoll on the west side of the road. The first 
physician was Dr. Richards, followed not long 
after by Dr. Dennis Cooley, in Washington, 
Drs. Carpenter and Baldwin in Bruce, and a 
little later by Drs. Sabin. Whitney, Powers, 
Andrews and Teed. 

In the fall of 182!t. a conference was had 
between .\salicl Baili'\-, .\. T. Taylor and 
Ma.jor Larned of Detroit, who had acquired 
the title to the Iloxie property, i-elative to the 
platting of a village, and Col. J. B. Ilollister 
was selected for this work. ^lain and St. 
Clair streets were located as they now are, 
but most of the lots were platted of a much 
lai'ger size than according to the present plat, 
and the streets boi'e different n;imes. By act 
of Legislature in 1847, this plat was amended 
as the original plat of the village now stands. 
At the original platting, mnch discussion was 
had as to the proper name for the village, and 
the proprietors not agreeing, the suggestion 
of Jlrs. Laura Taylor — Romeo — was adopted. 
This original plat included the portion of the 
town bounded northerly by Church and Dick- 
inson streets; easterly by Harriett street: 
southerly by Washington street, and westerl\- 
by Fremont street. To this, the following- 
additions have been made: The Benjamin 
addition, Islay 31.st, 18r)2; the second ad- 
dition of John L. Benjamin. Oetolx-r 81st. 
1855: ]\Iussey's addition. April 4th. 1808; 
Fellows (Si :\iclntyre adtlition. the 12lh day 
of Auuust, 1858; Turner's addition. July 1st, 
1864; Tillson's & Hartung's addition," lltli 
day of ^lay, 1869; Merriam's addition, De- 
cemlier 22d, 1869: Bailey's addition, Jtme 
17th, 1870, and Bromm's addition in the 
northw-est pai't of the village. It must be 
remembered, however, th;it a considerable ]ior- 
tion of the village has never been formally 
platteil. 

^lareh 9th, 1838, the village of Romeo was 
incorporated by the Legislatnr<' including 
section 2 and the east half of section 3 in 
Washington and the south half of 34 
in Bruce. On tin' tii'st Monday of the 
following .May at an election held at the 
school house. Oel Rix was elected President; 
DeWitt C. Walker, Recorder; Linus S. (iil- 
bert. Dexter, ."\Iussey, Azariah Prentiss. Den- 
nis Scraiitoii. Wilk-i's S. Slcwarl and (iad 



686 



PAST AND PRESENT OF I\IACOMB COUNTY 



Chaiiibcrliu, Trustees. Ou the 11th of the 
next month Amos Palmer and John W. Dyer 
were electod Assessors: IMai'tin F. Southwell, 
]\Iarshall. and Horace A. Jennison, Treasurer. 
The Presidents of the viUage sinee that date 
have been xVaroii B. Howies, 1839; .Alinot T. 
Lane. 1840-44; Gideon Gates, 1844; Charles 
F. Maliory, 1849; Nathan Dickenson, 1851; 
Gideon Gates, 1852-55; Edward S. Snover, 
1856-8: Albert E. Leete, 1859-61; Lavant C. 
IMcIntyre. 1862-63; Joel P. .Mussey. 1864; 
James Ilarvev, 1865; ;\Ioses A. Giddings, 
1866; Aratus "Smith, 1867; William Wilkin- 
son, 1868-70; David Rowley, 1871-72; Irving 
D. Ilauseom, 1873-82: Charles C. Bradley, 
1883-86; George A. Waterbury. 1887-88; 
George G. llartuiiu', 1889; George W. Phil- 
lips, Jr., 1893; Charles C. Bradley, 1894; 
Merton B. Smith, 1895; Charles C. Thoring- 
ton, 1896; Dwight X. Lowell, 1897-1903: 
Henry J. JMackay, 1904-5. 

The waterworks of Romeo were installed in 
1892, after a long agitation in their favor. A 
special election was held March 10th, 1890, 
upon the pi'o])osition of borrowing $45,000.00 
for waterworks i)urposes, but was then de- 
feated. July 31st of the following year, how- 
ever, the proposition to borrow .$26,000.00 
was carried bv a vote of 237 to 116, and on 
January 30th" of 1892, a Board of Water 
CommissioniM-s appointed by the Council, 
made up of Cortez Fessenden, Dwight N. 
Lowell and ^\ll)ert Kennedy organized by the 
selection of "Slv. Kennedy as ehairiiian and of 
B. N. SeanuHi as clerk. Finding it impossible 
to complete a satisfactory waterworks sys- 
tem for the a nil lu 111 as quoted, an additional 
$8,000.00 loan was autlnu'ized by a vote of 
165 to 67 at an election :\Iay 9th! 1892. The 
I)lant began operations August 13th, 1892, 
and has since furnished to the village a most 
wholesome and satisfactory supply of water 
by means of the standjupe and Holly Steam 
Pressure System. The sdui'ce of the water 
supply is two lai'ge wells about 20 feet deep 
and 78.00(1,(100 g^dlons of water are pumped 
annuallx'. The total cost of the plant to date 
has been nearly $37.()()().(l(), all of which has 
been paid for with tiie exception of $8,000.00 
outstanding lionds. The original Board of 
Water Commissioners contimied by reappoint- 
ments until Ajiril. 1895, at which time John 
StatTord took .Mr. Fessenden 's i)laee. July 
1st. 1S9(), H. A. Stewart sueceede<l :\Ir. Lowell. 
In .V[)ril, 1!)03, liie Board was made up of 
W. F. .Milieu. .John .Mackay and II. A. Stew- 
art, which board has continued until the ju-es- 
ent dale, with the exception that .Miv Stewart 



yielded to W. M. Chapman at the beginning 
of the present year. During the year ending 
Februaiy 27th. 1905, the receipts of the plant 
amounted to $2,152.84, and its expenses to 
$2,493.55. 

In 1897 a inuniei[)al electric light plant was 
installetl. Its Pxiard of Commissioners, or- 
ganizing Ma.v 26tii of that year with Lsaac 
Crawford as chairman and B. N. Seaman as 
clerk, the other members of the Board being 
^lelvin D. Cole and Oscar Hopkins. In the 
spi'ing of 1897. $10,000 was voted for the pur- 
poses of this plant by a vote of 289 to 29. but 
it being found impossible to establish the plant 
for that sum. at a new election held Septem- 
ber 2nd of that year, the sum of $13,000.00 
was authorized by a vote of 249 to 50. The 
plant was started December 27th, 1897. In 
June of the current year $5,000.00 was voted 
to make improvements, the chief improve- 
ment contemplated being the installment of 
the Series Alternating system of arc lighting, 
which it is expected will so materially reduce 
the expense of street lighting as will enable 
the plant to make a better showing in its re- 
ceipts and disbursements. The total cost of 
the plant to date has been about $22,000.00, 
and it now has a bonded indebtedness, includ- 
ing the $5,00t).00 just authorized, of $18,- 
000.00. 

The official list of postmasters of Romeo as 
furnished by the Federal government, with 
the dates of their appointments, are as fol- 
lows: Gideon Gates, Nov. 11, 1830; Philar- 
mon Cook, :\Iav 13, 1840; Oran P. Southwell, 
:\lav 31, 1841; Azariah Prentiss, Julv 2, 1844; 
Chas. F. Mallory, January 21, 1848; Dr. 
Albert E. Leete, Mav 17, 1849 : George Chan- 
dler, June 6. 1853: Philo Tillsou. Mav 21, 
1858 ; David Greene, April 26. 1861 ; William 
Hulsart. :\Iay 29. 1865; Henry AV. Howgate, 
October 3. 18()6; William Wilkinson. Alarch 
2, 1867; Milton Thompson. :March 28. 1871; 
James Gray. December 3, 1875; James B. 
Lucas. February 24. 1888; George (!. Har- 
tung. February" 8, 1892; James B. Lucas, 
April 25. 189(i": William Hosner, June, 1900. 

Dr. Ilollistei' in his articles, mentions as 
aiiioug the e;irly miiiistei's who held sei-viees 
in r.iid aliout Komeo particularly Elder War- 
ren and Kr. Kuggles. Of the former, who 
was of the ..Methodist persuasion, he sa\-S 
that he was possessed of tine natural abilities 
and the most tendei" sympathies and a most 
happy maimer in expressint; them. His time- 
ly services and his kindly counsel endeai'ed 
him to every family in the locality. The lat- 
ter was the fdunder of the Fii'st Contirega- 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



687 



tioiial.aiul dui'iiig the years 1828-9, came every 
four weeks from Poutiac to hold services in 
or about Romeo. "Northeru Macomb owes 
a debt of gratitude to these two men, which it 
can hardly appreciate and never repay. Tliosc 
earliest iuiluences t\)r siood liavc never been 
lost.'" The Rev. John Taylor, who resided 
with his sou in Bruce for years, held .Sab- 
bath School in his own home, and for a long 
time was a most acceptable mini.ster in the 
Scotch settlement aud frequently supplied 
the pulpit on occasions in Romeo. He was 
finely educated, noble in his bearing, com- 
manding in his pivsence, a type of the pol- 
ished gentleman of the old school. His abilit}', 
learning and religious devotion made him one 
of the most revered men of the early times. 
In 1829 Luther Shaw, a graduate of Andover, 
became the first settled minister in Romeo. 
He preached in the Congregational Church 
until about ISIU or 1835. He nuirried, 18l]l. 
Julia Chainijcrlin, of the Gad Chamberlin 
family. Later in 183.3 his brother, John B. 
Shaw, came from Utica, and uuder his charge 
the church flourished as never before. 

In 1836 and 1837 occurred the memorable 
revival, which, although it started in the Con- 
gregational Church, soon spread to all the de- 
nominations. The Rev. O. Parker and B. 
Barber were leaders in the revival and were 
assisted by all of the local religious leaders. 

In the fall of 1824, the first .Methodist class 
was held at the house of Albert Finch. Isaac 
Hunter and Elias Pattee wei-e among the 
earliest circuit riders assigned to this and 
neighboring points. In 1825 and 1826, John 
James and James Armstrong had charge of 
the .Methodist interests in this locality. In 
1827 and 1828, William Runnells assisted the 
Rev. John James in his work. In the follow- 
ing year, William T. Snow had charge, being 
joined next year by Curtis Goddartl. Up 
until about this time, the meetings were usu- 
ally held in the Finch homestead, but after 
the erection of the school house hereafter re- 
ferred to, the meetings were usually held 
there. In 1831, the Revs. William Sprague 
and Brown usually conducted the services. 
From 1831 to 1835. the congregation was two 
years under the care of the Rev. Leonard Hill, 
and for two yeais of Rev. Ijuther Whitney. 

The First Methodist Church was built in 
1840, and since that time this society has uuule 
continuous progress. The cornerstone of the 
present church was laid in June, 1872, and 
the house (U'dicated June 8, 1874. Among 
the active members of the church, whose in- 
fluiMiee IimI to tile buildim;' of th<' nrw ehlireb. 



were John A .Tinsman, James Starkweather, 
E. S. Snover. T. P. Keimcdy antl Alex Shelp. 

The Christian Church, located at Romeo, 
was the outgrowth of several societies formed 
in the county, largely uuder the influence of 
Elder John Cannon, one of the pioueer 
preachers of this denomination in Eastern 
ilichigan. The present church organization 
was organized July 6, 1867. Elder Cornelius 
Dearing was pastor; Stephen (Irinnell and 
Robert Hamilton, Deacons; ami Edward 
Soule, Clerk. In the following year the 
church edifice was begun, whidi was com- 
l)leted and dedicated in February, 1871; the 
membership of the chui'ch at that time was 
56. Elder Dearing was followed by Elder J. 
Warren Weeks, of I)a\tou, Ohio, who re- 
mained in charge until Alarch, 1874. After 
oue year, during which the pulpit was occu- 
pied by Elder Jauu's Weeks. Elder John J. 
Voung came and has ever siiu-e had charge 
of the church, which has numbered among its 
attemlants many of the most active and pro- 
gressive men of Romeo and its vicinity. 

As early as 1834 or 1835, Asahel Bailey and 
]\Ir. Freeman, with their families, together 
with some few others among the early resi- 
dents, were accustomed to gather together 
and hold services according to the Episcopal 
ritual. For a short time the Rev. IMr. tlol- 
land was located here, but no formal or- 
ganization of the church was ever effected. 
The Rev. "Sir. Lewis and others from time to 
time, however, held Episcopal services in 
Romeo. 

For several years the (ierman Evangelical 
Lutheran Society held its meetings in the 
south room of the south priimiry school house, 
but within the past few years the society has 
erected a substantial church and handsome 
parsonage in the village, and the society gives 
every indication of being prosperous under 
the charge of the Rev. Charles Lemster. 

The First Baptist Church of Romeo was 
organized Jiuie IfJtli, 1840 at the house of Ira 
Phillips of the township of Armada. Six 
.years later, in September, articles of faith 
were adopted at the house of Mrs. Nancy 
Ewell. in Homeo, under the diiection of the 
Rev. Supply Chase, aud an organization was 
from tbat time continually kejit uji. The 
church was recognized Oetobei' 3d, L"^47, as a 
regular Gospel Church by a ccunu-il composed 
of delegates from the churches of Almont, 
Stony Creek, Washington and liay, and was 
received into the ^Michigan Baptist Association 
July 1st, 1853. Tlie cinu-ch building was di'd- 
icat'ed December 16th. 1S53. TIk' Rev. E. A. 



688 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOAIB COUNTY 



Mather was the first resident miuister iu 
charge of the ehnrch. 

August 16th, 1828. when Romeo consisted 
of a bare handful of houses and was called the 
Indian Village, the Rev. Isaac "W. Ruggles 
eanie from Poiitiae and in the log school house 
organized the Congregational church. The 
corporate members were Zelotus Stone, Gad 
Chamberlin, Deacon and Jlrs. Rogers, William 
Abbott, ^Irs. Jane Leslie and Chaunee.v 
Thorpe. Three l)uildings have housed this 
church organization, the first being built iu 
1833, the .seeoud iu 184'2, and the tliii-d com- 
pleted in 'Slay. 1877. The first building was 
moved and afterwards formed a part of the 
old academy building iu which was held the 
school known as the Branch of the University, 
and afterwards formed a part of the Union 
School l)uilding. The Rev. Ruggles, the Rev. 
Luther Shaw and J. B. Shaw, above referred 
to, as well as the Rev. P. Barber, H. Hardy. 
R. R. Kellogg, G. W. Newcomb, T. R. Ilurd, 
and II. 0. Ladd were among the earliest pas- 
tors in charge of this church. The Rev. P. 
]Moore is the present pastor in charge of the 
church. 

The press is represented at Romeo by the 
Romeo Observer, under the charge of SI. B. 
Smith. This pul)licatiou was stai'ted ]\Iay 
30th, 1866, by John Russell, and was success- 
fully carried on by Edward A. Teall and Irv- 
ing D. Hanscom from Aiigust, 1866, to 
March, 1867, when Louis N. ]\Ioon succeeded 
to the interest of ]\Ir. Ilauscom. In No- 
vember of 1867. Harvey E. Mussey 
took Mr. ]\I()on's place, and in Novem- 
ber of the .vear following sold his in- 
terest to his partnri-, Edward A. Teall. The 
year following, thi' paper became avowedly 
Republican in politics, wlien Irving D. Hans- 
com tiecame tlie ])roprietor. With him was 
associated Samuel H. Ewell. and under their 
management tlie paper continued for about 
four years, when George A. Waterbury suc- 
ceeded to the interest of Hanscom. In Jami- 
ary of 1874 Robert G. Baird purchased the in- 
terest of Sir. Ewell only to dispose of the same 
in Feliruary of the next year to Sh: Water- 
burv, who became sole proprietor and editor 
and contiuui'd as sucli up to 1894, with the 
exception of one year, when the establishment 
was run by S. S. Hopkins under a lease from 
Mr. Waterburv. At the last named date the 
paper was sold to its present editor and pro- 
])iiclor. who lias continued the paper as a 
strong ]iartisaii of Ronu'o and all its inter- 
ests. 

The ( )bsci'vci- lias not been the only repre- 



sentative of the press that Romeo has ever 
had, but is apparently the only one that has 
been able to maintain a long and successful 
career. As early as 1850, the Investigator was 
l)ublished by Thomas SI. Perry; its publica- 
tion was continued for about two years. The 
Romeo Olive Branch also appeared for a short 
time, but its date and the nanu^ of its editor 
are lost in the oblivion which charitably cov- 
ers newspaper failures. The Romeo Argus 
was started in ^Ia}% 1857, by Mai'tin B. Bent- 
ley and John ^I. Stone. Stone retired from 
connection with the paper about a year later 
and Bentley sold out to S. II. Ewell in :\Iay 
of 1861. The paper continued under the edi- 
torship of Ewell, Hiram J. Aiken and George 
D. ;\Iusse.v until February, 1864, when it was 
destroyed by fire. A paper called the Penin- 
sular ilei-ald and devoted to the cause of Pro- 
hibition was published at the Argus office for 
a short time and later removed to Detroit. It 
was started by the Rev. John B. Russell, a 
prominent temperance advocate in the county. 

Jlay 1st, 1880, was started the longest lived 
of the competitors of the Observer, viz.. The 
Romeo Democrat. Its first proprietors were 
Fred C. and C. II. Buzzell, two young men 
who for some time conducted an enterprising, 
wide-awake and progressive country paper, 
devoted to the interests of the Democratic 
principles. Later the name of the paper was 
changed to the Hydrant, and was conducted 
by C. IT. Buzzell until his death, and for some 
time thereafter by his widow. In October of 
1897 the Enterprise was sold to J. Clark, who 
in June of 1898 leased to Jackson & Rankin. 
Its last appearance was August 5th. 1898. 

Romeo has long been famous for its excel- 
lent schools, both public and private, and an 
adeqiuite and detailed history of the same 
has been carefully prepared by Dwight N. 
Lowell, and did space permit, the writei' would 
gladl.v incori)orate this work, the result of Mr. 
Lowell "s investigations in full. However, he 
is compelled to content himself with an unsat- 
isfactory sketch of the schools and refer the 
reader who nui.y be particularl.v interested in 
the sub.iect to the results of ilr. Lowell's work. 

Dr. Hollistei- gave the following humorous 
and interesting desei'iptiou of the first school 
held in Romeo by Gideon Gates, whom he 
speaks of as a uuin of more than oi-dinary abil- 
ity, quick discernment, and a livel.v turn of 
manner. "He usuall.v sat jierclied upon a 
stool lU'arl.v in the center of tlie little room and 
ruled his kingdom not with the rod of iron, 
but with a tremendously long haz(>l switch. 
.Mieliiuau can ln'al the world on lia/.el switches 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOilB COUNTY 



689 



and the longest of them gt-cw li^lit aiduinl thr 
school lumsc. The laruest iiuitui-ed in 1S2S 
and went into service that winter. The master 
seldom rose from his seat ; the extended rod 
could span to the farthest seat and the blows 
fell thielv and lieavy in each rebellion until 
there was unconditional surrender."' This 
school was held in a house built upon a trian- 
gular piece of lanil abuttiuL;' upon what are 
now Main and lloliister streets, leased by 
Asahel Bailey Novend)er Sth, 1S27. to "Gad 
Chamberlin and Albert Fiueli, a eoiiunittee of 
trustees in l)ehalf of and for the Indian Vil- 
lage scliool district No. 1, and their successors 
in office.'" In the spring of LS:>S the people 
generally turnetront, hewed the timber, gav<; 
the necessary lumber and shiniiles and built 
the frame school house. It served as thi' dis- 
trict school house for many years, and later 
gave way to a much better building used for a 
similar purpose. This is the school house in 
which was held the early meetings of several 
of the religious denominations before tlie.v 
were able to provide more suitable quarters 
for themselves. It is quite certain that this 
Indian Village school for the benefit of which 
the Bailey lease was made was purely a volun- 
tary action of the early settlers, independent 
of any legal organization of the scliool dis- 
trict. 

Prior t(i the erection of this liuilding, the 
children of the Indian Village who had had 
the benefit of any schooling, had gone either to 
the school taught by David Hill in the fall of 
1824 in Washington township or in the school 
located near where afterwards was Jerse}'"s 
brickyard, three miles south of Romeo. 

A summer school, held in the Indian \'illage 
school litiuse where (lideon (iates had pn>sid('d 
during the winter, was taught by Julia Cham- 
berlin, later Mrs. Luther Shaw. Her methods 
of discipline were evidently quite the oppo- 
site of her predeees.sors, and Dr. Hollistei- 
pays touching tribute to her lovely character 
and gentle winning ways that so endeai'ed her 
to hei' jmiiils. Among the successors of iMi.ss 
Chamberlin were Azariah Prenti.ss, ^Ir. 
Yates, Hallock, Brown, Allen ]^uzzell, and Dr. 
Baile\', winter teachers; and Miss Sarah Bald- 
win ami So|)hronia Ewell, summer teachers. 

October '2. 18)57, notice wiis given b.v A. 
Prentiss and D. C. Walker, inspectors of the 
town ol' Washington; .lames Starkweather, (". 
Evarts and K. l-'anchei', inspectors of the town 
of Bruce, of the formation of fractional dis- 
trict No. 1 of Washinglon and Bruce, and in 
the following March, a contract was made by 
th(! Board of Trustees of this newK' nrganized 



district with Kix and Kidder Inr ti rection 

of a School house for the sum of ^T'jO. This 
building was erected upon the property leased 
from IMr. Baile.y above referred to, together 
with an additional piece secured from him in 
l.S.'5S. The annual reixirt of IM'.) shows that 
in this school during the pivceding year, the 
teachers have been F. K. Bailey and O. P. 
Southwell. This second school house contin- 
ued to be usi'd for schools and chiu'ches until 
IS.")!, when it was sold to tieorge Chandler, 
and moved to the .south side of Church street, 
and has long been used as a il welling house. 
In 1S;?:{ the First Congregational Church was 
built and was used from lime to time as a 
school house. The first teacher in this build- 
ing was >Miss Jei-usha Shaw, the jjioneer of 
private school teachers in the neighborhood. 
In IS'Si, she opened a private school in this 
building, while it was still used as a church. 
Dr. lloliister, in speaking of "Aunt Jerusha 
Sliaw, " says "hers was a heaven born gift, 
to love and teach children. She was engrossed 
in her work and intent upon doing good as 
she had opportunit.y. Her counsels were cited 
as authority in many a household." Contin- 
uing her school, Orman Archer, in 1835, be- 
gan his successful career as a teacher in Ro- 
meo, lie was a graduate of Williams College 
and came originally from Granville, N. Y. 
He is described as having been remarkably 
(|uick of perception, fluent in language and 
enthusiastic in teaching. He conducted his 
academj- from 1835-1839, a model of its kind, 
making the best use of the excellent nmterial 
which the .voungei- generation of Romeo's pio- 
neers afforded in his j)upils. He was followed 
in this academy by A. S. Welch, who, however, 
remained only a year. Then came Prof. Ru- 
fus Nutting, under whose energy and ability 
the academy developed until in 1843 it was 
established as a branch of the University. 
;\lany non-resident pupils were attracted by 
this excellent school, 424 of them having been 
in attendance dui'ing the year 1840-41. The 
building was purchased by Prof. Nutting and 
removed to the south side of Church street, 
and later moved across the road and raised to 
two stories. In 1847 Prof. Nutting was suc- 
ceeded by Prof. Charles H. Paimei-, who re- 
mained in charge of the school until 185'2. At 
this time an elToi'f was made to form the Ro- 
meo Union school, which was taught by Prof. 
Isaac Stone, and his wife, assisted by .Miss 
Laura Benedict and Caroline Scranton. The 
building used bv the branch of the univei-sity 
organization luider Profs, .\utting and I'al- 
mei', was usi'd for this union scIukiI. This ef- 



690 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUKTY 



fort lasted, howt-ver. but one year, and a pri- 
vate seliool was again oi'-^anized under Prof. 
Stone. The territory of fractional district Xo. 
1 was separated, and each of the townships of 
Bruce and Washington, taking the territory 
of the old district in theii- respective limits 
organized a separate school district. Each dis- 
trict proceeded to the erection of a school 
house, that in Bruce being erected upon the 
lands leased from Bailey in IcS'JT and 182S, 
and that of Washington upon lauds purchased 
fi'om Eliliu .Newbury. 

School was maintainetl in each of these dis- 
tricts in the buildings then erected until 1867, 
when by the action of the inspectors of both 
to\\nships, there was formed fractional school 
district Xo. 1, of Washington and Bruce, and 
the present union school at Komeo came into 
existence. The buildings constructed in 1854- 
by .separate districts were utilized, and at 
present are the north and south primaries of 
the district, and the building which had been 
known as the Dickenson Institute was pur- 
chasetl by the district and used as a high 
school until the end of the spring term of 1885. 
The present connnodious and excellent build- 
ing was completed in September of 1885, and 
since then has been the home of Romeo's High 
School. The principals of the high school 
since its foi'mation in 1867 have been E. Bar- 
ton Wood, 1867-7:^: A. C. Jepson, 1873-4: J, 
R. Wc'l)stcr. 187"): Omar 1). Thompson, 1876- 
1901 ; .lohn ('.. .Marshall, 11)01, to the present 
time. 

Upon the failure of the union school move- 
ment in 1852, Prof. Stone who had been teach- 
ing the Union school, made an effort to obtain 
the means necessary to carry on the private 
school which had been so successfully con- 
ducted by Profs. Xutting and Palmer. Suffi- 
cient funds were obtained by subscription to 
construct a building upon lands which were 
purchased by Xathan Dickenson, in whose 
honor, particularly because of his liberal sub- 
scription, till' school was named Dickt'uson In- 
stitute. The building was dedicated October 
18th, 1854, and Ihe school was opened by Prof, 
Stone, who, however, within a year yielded to 
Prof. Daniel l'>. Ui'iggs, \vho remained in 
charge until tin' end of the spring term 1857. 
Prof. Briggs wns a iii'adualc of Williams Col- 
lege and an aUoiiicy-;it-law. lie had come 
from Massachusetts to D<'troit in ^larch, 1854, 
and in .May of that year had located in Romeo 
and began the pi'actice of his jn'ofession. Af- 
ter leaving Dickenson Institute he was for 
three years suiierinlendent of public schools 
at Ann Arbor, and later foi' live vears at Jack- 



son. Prof. Briggs for a long time kept his 
residence in the county, although engaged in 
work elsewhere. Dni-ing the year 1871-2 he 
was superinteiulent of the schools at -Mt. Clem- 
ens, and was for four years County Superin- 
tendent of ^laconib County schools. In Xo- 
vember, 1872, he was elected State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, and was later 
appointed Deputy Secretary of State, after 
which time his home was mostly at Lansing. 
He died at Romeo in l!l(i2. 

Prof. Geoi'ge W. I'eriy siu'ceeded Prof. 
Briggs, and he in turn was followed by Prof. 
Daniel J. Poor, who came in the fall of 1859, 
and continued uinil 1867, at which tinu> the 
Dickenson Institute building was purchased 
by the Union school district and the Dicken- 
son Institute jiassed out of existence. 

The estimated value of the school pi'operty 
in the Romeo District is !f;27.400.0(i. The 
school is well organized and eipiijiped and 
nuiintains the character and rei)utation which 
Romeo's schools have long held as among the 
best of the State. 

Romeo has foi- a long time sustained two 
very successful banks. The Romeo Savings 
Bank being the successor of the First Xational 
Bank of Romeo, was organized under the lat- 
ter name December 12th, 1863, with a capital 
stock of >)>100,0()0, and was reincoriiorated un- 
der its present name as a state bank in May, 
1897. with a capital stock of >foO.<'<'". Its 
original dii'cctoi's wei'e Neil (iray, E. W. (lid- 
dings, Edwai'd S. Snover, Elisha T. .Mead, 
Hugh Orav, Jolui Smith, Jr.. il. A. (iiildings, 
John W. Dyer, and Wells Bui-t. Dr. Xeil 
Gray was its president up to Jainiary 1st, 
1869. and was followed by E. W. (Jiddings 
(1869-71), :M. a. (iiddings (1874-84K John 
I. Brabb (1884-94). and .Marvil I. Hralib. Its 
cashiers have been Levant C. ]\lclntvre, 11. 0. 
Smith. Charles iM. Tackles, and L. E. BedelL 
M. A. Giddings has the uni(iue honor of hav- 
ing been continuously a director of this bank 
since its organization, forty-two years ago. 
The resources of the bank, according to a re- 
]ioi't, the beu'inninii' of tln' eiiiTent \ear. were 
.$515,225. 

The Citizens' Xational Bank was organized 
in 1874 with E. W. Giddings as Pi-esident; 
John Smith. Jr., as Vice-President, and S. A. 
Reade as Cashiei-. Th(> ofYicers of the bank 
continued the same until the death of Mr. Gid- 
dinus in U)02. when John Smith. Jr., became 
President. Henry J. .McKay is now Vice- 
President and Mv. Reade still cashier, assisted 
for the ])ast few yeai-s by R. S. Hc'ade. This 
bank has also been eminent I v successful and 



i'AST AND PKESENT OP iLVCOMB COUNTY 



691 



hiis till' (Miiifiilenee of the entire eommnnity. 

A (liivetory of tlie l)usiiiess iiieii of Hoineo 
in IS.")!) \vonkl show in part tlie Anicriean Ho- 
tel, run by P. S. Teller and the Til)l)les House, 
run by B. li. Til)l)les: the business houses of 
Dickenson, (iitldinys lic Co.. C. B. Newburv & 
Co.. John W. Dyer, Keed & .MeCollum, Bralih 
& Wriiiht, A. B. Avers, Ilovt & Nve, S. A. 
Fiteh. J. Avers. G. Washer, A. B. Kowles, C. 
F. .Miller. Poole & Tillson. E. q. and J. J. 
Chanil)erlin. A. ileCloutl. Ben.jsuiiin & Laza- 
lier, W. Loud, E. S. Snover; the Doctors, A. 
E. Leete, S. L. Andrews, Pliilo Tillson, W. W. 
Gray. 

M. V. Bentley, of the Romeo Arsius; Dexter 
IMussey antl A. B. Ayers, Justices of the 
Peace; A. P. Brewer and E. N'anburger. sur- 
veyors; P. n. Jersey (nuirl)le works): R. S. 
Bancroft, dentist: A. Palmer and D. Harris, 
cal)inet makers, and Holman & Farrai", sash 
and blind numufacturers. 

No history of this beautiful village can 
properly be considered complete that does not 
tell in more detail than is possible here of the 
lives and efforts of those men and women 
whose energies and sacrifices have brought to 
its present condition the jilace they have loved 
so well. Their lives have i)een wrought into 
its life and their characters have stamped 
their impress npon its progress. The results 
have .iustified theii' laboi's. and the beauties 
of the jilaee. its scliodls. its churches, its 
broad, well-shadecl streets, its social life and 
its very people beai' cogent testimony to the 
excellence of the work of these makers of 
RonuH). The narrative of their labors and 
the ti'ibnte to their worth must regretfully 
be left to .some one whose acquaintance with 
the past and present citizens of Ronu'o, and 
whose ability and leisuiv will enable him or 
her to do them .justice. .May Rt)meo not long 
have to wait for such an historian. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



W.\SniNGTON TOWNSHIP. 

As has been stated before, AVashington 
township was organized April I'ith, 1S27, by 
action of the legislative council of the teri'i- 
tory. It then included the territory now in 
Brace, and the first township meeting was set 
to he held "at the school house near John 
Holland's.'' "When fii'st oi'ganized, there were 
about foi'ty families in the town. Like the 
rest of the western tier of townships in the 
county. AVashington was surveyed by Josei)h 
Raiiipler in the autumn of LS17. Although no 
general description <if the cnunlry was pre- 



pared Iiy the sui'veyor, he made brief notes on 
the soil, timber and toi)ogi'ai>hy which, while 
not very flattering yet did not discourage the 
taking up of the land by those who were look- 
ing foi' homes. 

Ajiprojiriating again the work <il' (ieorge 11. 
Cannon, it ap])ears that Asahel Bailey, of 
.\ew York, has the honor of being the first 
buyer of government lands in this town, his 
entry was nuule July 3d, 1821, for the east 
half of the southwest (luarter of section 33. 
The land selected was far from bi'iug the best 
eighty acres in the town, and in fiict can hard- 
ly be classed as up to the average. -Mi'. Bailey 
|irobal)ly made no improvement, but subse- 
<iuently bought other government haul in the 
northern portion of the town. Following 
close to Air. Bailey came (iideon Gates, who 
two days later — July "jtli. 1821 — entered laiul 
in section 27. The other buyers of land in 
section 33 were George Wilson, of Livingston 
County, N. Y., who secured the southeast one- 
(piarter, September 3d, 1821. John Bennett, 
of Genesee County, N. Y., toolj the east one- 
half of northeast one-((uarter, Septi-mber 2(lth; 
Elon xVndrus, of the same place, secured the 
west one-half of the northeast one-(|uarter. 
Sardis Burlingham bought the east one-half 
of noi'thwest one-quarter, June 11, 1823; while 
the west one-half of that quarter section was 
taken by Nathan Aliller, July 7, 1823. Next 
to Bailey's purchase on the west was that of 
Lester Giddings, June 11, 1823. 

In the northeast part of the town, where 
the village of Romeo now in part is located, 
there was already a settlement forming. Sev- 
eral families of Indians lived there and two or 
more white families. The location was known 
as the "Indian Village," or "Iloxey Settle- 
ment." Job Iloxey was there with his family 
as early as 1822, and nnist have gone there 
soon after the surveys ^\er(> made. He was 
fir.st in the town in section 33, where he ar- 
rived likely in 1820 and made some improve- 
ments, which he .sold to George Wilson in 
1821. But little is known of this fir.st settler 
in the township. After selling to Wilson, he 
bought land on section 2. where he lived f(n' 
.some time at least. His entry is dated .\o- 
vember 10, 1823. 

Job Hoxey came to this region from Can- 
ada, where he had been ii lumberman on the 
St. Lawrence River, and pi'Dbably was much 
at home with the French and Indians. Ar- 
I'iving at Detroit, he and his son Job found 
employment on the faiMii of (leneral Cass. We 
note that (lenei-al Lewis Cass eiiti're<l lands on 
section 2, Septeinbcr 2. 1S22. This fact leads 



692 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ilACOMB COUNTY 



us to sui)])i)st' lloxcn- to have induced the Gen- 
eral to make the purehase. lloxey entered an 
adjdinini;- eij;hty acres the foUowing' year, 
eariiiny the money for making the purchase 
by working for General Cass. 

lloxey, senior, died soon after, and was bur- 
ied at the Indian Village, now Romeo. Job 
lloxey. Jr.. lived to be an old man. I knew 
him well, as he was a frequent visitor at my 
father's, in township of Shelby, fifty years 
ago. At that lime he had become largely de- 
pendent ui)on the public for his support, lb- 
removed later to Lapeer County, lie bore a 
bad character while young, but became con- 
verted under the ministrations of the Rev. 
John Cannon — a pioneer minister — and led 
thereafter a truly Christian life. He had 
much t<v sa.v about General Cass, whom he 
greatly admired ; but to whom he was bitterly 
opposed in politics. He and his father bought 
a yoke of oxen of the General, paying for them 
in work. 

Referring again to section 2 we find that 
Lewis Cass, of Detroit, had nuule the first en- 
try of land in that section for the east one- 
half of the northwest one-quarter. Job lloxey 
made the next purchase of the west one-half of 
the northwest one-quarter. In 1824 the buy- 
ers were Horace Poote and Asahel Bailey, 
Gordon llovey and Horace Foote in 1825, "Wil- 
liam Abbott in 1S27 and Eben Kimball in 
lS2:i. 

In section 1, Benjamin N. Freeman bought 
in 1825, George Smith and Richard Jersey in 
1826, Nathaniel Bennett and Ann Powell in 
1828, Charles C. Trowbridge in 1829, Ro- 
dolphus S. Kiehards in 1830, and Gad Cham- 
berlin in 18:il. On si-ction 3, the bu.vers were 
Silas Scott in 1824. .Michael llo])kins and Dan- 
iel Smith in 1825, Roswell Wel)ster in 1826, 
George Perkins, Sanuiel (,'ooJe.v and Nelson 
Lowell in 1831. In section 4 Jlichael Hop- 
kins in 1825, Dorcas Scott and Ilenrv Price in 
1832. George Fisher in 1834. Isaac Hubbell 
and Jacob Beekiuiin in 1835, Hannah Bral)bs, 
John H. Chatf'ee and Isaac Brabbs in 1836. 
The liuyers of govei-nmeut land in section 5 
wei-e Xewnum C. (iriswold in 1830, Isaac 
Bi-abbs in 1831, 1833-4, Arnold Spencer in 
1834-5. John Bralibs and Marvi! Shaw iu 
1835. .Marvil Siiaw. Ileiinaii Ildbiies and 
George Bi';d)bs in 1836. In section 6 the bu.v- 
ers were Henr,v Conner, of Detroit, in 1822, 
Noble Culver in Is:!!, Amos Gi-aves and Leb- 
beus (iraves in ls:i2. Sanniel B. Spencer, of 
IMonroe County, .\, \ .. in 1833, In section 7. 
James Thoringlon in 1830, Amos Graves in 
1832, SannuJ B, Spencer in 1833, Lebbeus 



(ii'aves. Jr.. in 1834, Pitt Lawrence in 1835, 
Edwin T. Wilcox. Albert W. .Miller, Samuel 
Thompson, El)enezi'r .M. Pheljis and Albertus 
Gra.v in 1836. Wm. .Moon was also a pur- 
chaser, but the date is not at hand. On sec- 
tion 8, the buyers wei'e, James Thornton in 
1825, Hiram .M. Hopkins, Sherman R. Hop- 
kins and Elijah Thorington in 1S31, Ezra 
Loomis in 1S32. Klijah Thorington, Stejihen 
W. (ii'innell in 1S34, Elijah Thorington, John 
A. 'I'insman and Charles I'ndne.v in IS.'Jti, .Mar- 
vil Shaw in 1.S37. 

In section U, James Thornton iioiight three 
eight.v-acre lots in 1825, and John Sowles one. 
William Allen one in 1826, Noah Isham in 
1830, James Thorington, Jr., iu 1832, James 
Thorington in 1833, John A. Tinsman in 1834 
and 1835. In section Id, the Iniyers were, 
James A. Stark'Weafher, of Coiuiecticnt, 
Chaunce.v Throoj), Philip I'rice and Henry 
;\Iorris in 1825 ; Jolni Price and Noah Cooley 
bought in 1831, Silas Scott in 18.32, and John 
I'rice in 1833. On section 11 the first to buy 
w;is Freeboi-n Healv. who entered 160 acres 
in 1822. Alexander Tackles, Jr., Daniel B. 
AVebstei- and Edward Arnold, in the order 
named, in 1824; Nathaniel Taylor in 1831. 
The buyers in section 12 in the ortler named 
were, Benjamin Gould and Henry ]\loi'ris in 

1824, Jefferson Nye in 1825, Archibald Powell 
in 1827. Abraliam Powell, Anson Bi'istol. 
Erastus Smith and Abram T. Powell in 1831, 
Isaiah S. Becraft in 1833. Those who pur- 
chased on section 13 were, Silas Ha\den in 

1825, Jeflerson Nye in 1826, Emotas i^ Hast- 
ings in 1827, Christopher Arnold in 18.30. and« 
John Look in 1831. 

Iti section 14 those who entered lands were, 
David Hill. Phili|) Price. Jerennah Lockwood, 
Christo])her Arnold and Cyreiius Arnold in 
182.3. Andrew Still in 1S2.') and Christopher 
.\rnold in 1827. In section 15 Edwai'd Ar- 
nold bought in 1S23, I'liili]) Price in 1824, 
()rthnill Stone and Lyman Thompson Jann.v 
in 1825, and -Vi-eliibald I'owell in 1827. Sec- 
tion 16 l)eing assigned to the state as school 
land was ac(|uired by sevei'id ]iai'ties: J. A. 
Tinsman. F. II. Ste|)hens. Marvil Shaw, John 
(liblis and .iiiseph (ianlner. paj'tial pa.vinent 
was made by tlieiri all September 12. 1837, and 
they allowed their linal payment to I'un lor 
from seventeen to twi'iity-six .vears. This is 
a nuitler worth.v of note, as the purchasers 
Were among the most |)ros|)erons in the town. 
They evidentl.v iirefei'i'inl to i)a,v interest. A 
part oT section 17 was pur<-hase(l liy John 
Sowle in 1825, .\oah Isham and James Allen 
in 1830, John Sowle in 1831, Ezra Loonns in 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMIJ COUNTY 



693 



ISMl'. Aanin Ihiiiirs and .IcjIiii Lawrciici' in 
18:5"). Jdlui A. 'I'iiisiiian in lS:i(l. The huyi-i's 
(if section IS were. John Sowle in LS2S, Xoali 
Isliiun and William Sonle in 18:U, Townsi-nd 
Loekwood in 1S:J2. .Janu's Bolton in 18:};5, Jolm 
C. Lawreuci' in 18:54. Joseph tiraves in 18;55, 
Jepter Scott. Polly (iravcs and Samuel 
Thompson in 18:^6. David and Wiltso (llaspie 
ill 1838. The buyers of section !!• in tlie order 
named were. Robert Townseiid and Hiram 
Calkins in 182.'), lliram Calkins in 18"2(), James 
Lawson in 1827, lliram Calkins iu 1830 and 
1831, and Samuel Thompson, of New York 
City, in 183C. Those who entered lands on 
section 20 were, Josiah Jewett in 182'). Ben.ja- 
inin i[c(!regor in 182t). Townsend Loekwood. 
John Soule and Edward Hoard in 1830. Abel 
Dolby in 1831. Isaac Hoard in 1832, and 
Charles D. lladden in 1833. The bu.vers of 
section 21 were, Aueel Norton in 1822, Ed. P. 
Rees. Ral])h Wadhams and Daniel TInirston, 
Jr.. in 1824, Nathan Nye in 182.'). and Ilenr.v 
Morris in 1828. 

Section 22 was obtained b,\- .Marcus Xye. 
Zebulon llayden and Aaron Stone in 1822, 
Ileiirv Jerse.v. Philip Price and John D. Hol- 
land in 1823, (ieo. W. Seranton in 1825, and 
John D. Holland in 1830. The buyers in sec- 
tion 23 were. Ilenrv ilorris in 1823, Alex. Me- 
Gre.ffor in 1825, Thomas Rowarth in 1827. 
Joshua Dusinf!: and Anson Taft in 1830, and 
Joshua Diisint;- in 1831. On section 24, the 
purchasers were, Silas llayden in 1825, Orsel 
Dudle.v and Isaac ^Moore in 1828, Isaac ^Moore 
in 1821), Alva Gregory and Sanford Wood in 

1830. and Royal R. Gear in 1833. In section 
25 the land bu.vers were Caleb Willham in 
182!) and 1831). Anson Grinnell in 1831. Ilar- 
iiien S. Terwilliger. Lyman Whitne.v. Brain- 
ard Ro\vle,v, and Richard Carleton in 1832, 
Samuel Barnes. Acil (joff and Ansmi (Irinnell 
in 1833. In section 26 the bu,vers of govern- 
ment land were, John Rose in 1825, John Dot.y 
and David Ilurd in 1830. Wilkes Stewart in 

1831. Solomon Keeler. Thomas Abernethy and 
Ilenr.v Brainard in 1832. Richard Carleton in 
1833. Section 27 was taken by (iideon <lates 
and Nallian N,ve in 1821, Iddo Warnii' and 
Nathan N.ve. Jr., in 1823, and Xathan .\ye in 
1830. Those who luirchascd in section 28 
were Lazarus Green in 1821, Otis Lamb in 
1822, Joseph Jlillcr in 1823, Jetferson Nve in 
1824, Edward Hoard in 182(;, Price \i. 'Wel)- 
.ster in 1828, Jacob McCracken in 1832, and 
Samue] V. LanniiiL;' in 1835. Section 29 was 
boupht by John M. Welch and Benjamin iMc- 
Gregor in 1826, John S. Axford in 1831 and 
1835. Henry I\. Crissman and Chauncev IMor- 



gan in 183(). Section 31) was taken li.\- I'rn.ja- 
min .Martin in 1824, Delsainio Jones. Hiram 
Calkins and Ijebbcus l,ockwood in 1S25. John 
S. Axford and licbbeiis Ijockwood in 182() and 
John (liles iu 1831. The bu.yers of section 31 
were, Wm. A. Burt, and Jolm Allen in 1822, 
John S. Axford in 1823, Robert Hazard in 
1825, ilariah milliard and John S. Axforil in 
1832. Those who obtained title to section 32 
were, Arba Smith and Joanna .McDonald in 
1824, Arba Smith in 1825, lOphraim Ciraves 
in 1827, John S. Axford aiul Jeremiah Lock- 
wood iu 1829, Jeremiah Loekwood in 1830, 
and John S. Axford in 1831. Section 33 was 
taken b,v Asahel Baile,v, Georfjte Wilson. Elon 
Andrus and John Bennett in 1821, Sardis 
Burliniiham. Lester (iiddini;s and .Xathan B. 
Jliller in 1823. Section 34 was set off to the 
state as salt spring- land and was sold in 184!) 
to Joseph Miller, Loren Andrus, David W. 
No.ves and John (Jannoii, all residents of Ma- 
comb County. The government gave patents 
on section 35 to .Tohii Keeler in L825, L.vdia 
Inmaii in 1831, Hiram Keeler, John Keeler 
and .Xathan Keeler in 1832, Acil Gotf in 1833. 
and flacob Harris (no date given). Section 
36 was bought b.v Charles Tubbs and Joseph 
Sias in 1831, Ben.jamin Rowle,v, Septer Scott, 
Marvin Wilbur and Josiah T. Robinson in 
18.32, Albin Porler. James P. Keeler and Isaac 
Hoard in 1833. 

It will be remembered that Asahel Baile.v 
made the first entrv of laud iu the township, 
July 3, 1821. He was from New York. Da- 
vid and Wiltso (ilas])ie bought the last forty- 
acre lot. May 2, 1838. It will thus be seen 
that in a little less than 17 years all th(> gov- 
ernment lands in the townshi]) of Washington 
had ])assed into the hands of pi'ivate parties. 
The number of jiui'diasers was on(> hundred 
and eighty-six, and of these seven were women 
whose names are as follows: Ann Powell, 
Hannah Brabbs, Dorcas Scott. Polly Graves, 
Mariali Millarii. Joanna i\Icl)onald, Lydia In- 
man. The pur<'lia.ser of the largest tract (720 
acres) was John S. Axford: Hiram Calkins, 
John Sowle and James Thorington 480 acres 
each: Philip Price 400 aci'es; Marvil Shaw 
and Daniel Thurston 320 acres each. Nearl.y 
all settlers came from central and western New 
York. 

The ])eiiplc (if Wasliington have been well 
represented in tln' li^islative councils of the 
state, .\mong its noted men. Wm. A. Burt, 
one of its first settlers, easil.v stands at the 
head of the list. He was a member of the ter- 
ritoi-ial eonncil. serving in 1826 and 1827, also 
in the legislature in 1853 and 1854. He was 



694 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO^MB COUNTY 



a iiu'cliaiiical ^^I'liius and iiivriitor of high rank. 
His in'incipa! inventions weiv a typewriting 
machine, tlie solar eonipass, and an etpiatorial 
compass or sextant. Dr. Dennis Cooley, like- 
wise an early settler, was a botanist of note, 
whose published "'List of plants common with- 
in ten miles of Cooler's Corners," gave him 
much pid)Iicity as well as his classification of 
plants collected under the V. S. (leological 
Survey in the I'pper Peninsula in 1S48. Dr. 
Cooley was a correspoiulent of the most noted 
botanists of his day. 

The State Senators hailing from Romeo 
are, Dewitt C. AValker. John N. ]\Iellen and 
Harvey ^lellen ; the Representatives. Alexan- 
der Tackels, Daniel C. Creene, George Chand- 
ler, Cortez P. Hooker, ^linot T. Lane, Chas. 
F. Jlallory, Elisha F. Meade, Di'witt C. Walk- 
er, Harvey IMellen, Dexter ^Mussy and Fred 
Buzzle. 

At the first town meeting, which was held 
as ai)pointed. (iideon Gates was cho;-en to 
preside, and Isaac Audrus to act as clerk. In 
the election which followed. John A. Axford 
was elected supervisor: Jolui B. Holland, 
clerk; Daniel B. AVebster, collector and con- 
stable: Asahel Bailey, John Bennett and Na- 
than Knight, assessors: Alexander Tackles, 
John Bennett, James Starkweather, commis- 
sioners; Albert Finch and JosejJi Miller, over- 
.seers of the poor: Alvin Knight, constable; 
Asahel Bailey, Elon Andrus, Edward Arnold, 
pound masti'rs. A table of the principal town 
officers since then is here given. 

Supervisors — John S. Axford, 1827; Gideon 
Gates, 1828-3'2 ; Calel) Wilbor, 18:?:5-:17 ; Coun- 
ty Conuuissioners, l<S:{8-42; John Keeler. 1843; 
Erastus Smith. 1844: John Keeler. 1845-46; 
Noah Coolev. 1847-48; Erastus Smith, 1849; 
Elisha Calkins, LSfjO; Noah Cooley, 1851-52: 
Elisha Calkins, 1853-54; .Alar.shall S. Dadley, 
1855: (4eorge 11. Fenner. 185(); Hugh Gray, 
1857; Erastus Smith. 1858-71: Jerome W. 
Nims, 1872-80; Stephen B. Cannon, 1881-82; 
Jerome W. Nims. 1883-l!)(ll); (leo. W. Mann, 
1901-05. 

In Ihc fdregiiing list of supervisors it must 
1)1' rciiieiiibei-iM| thai from 1818 to the date of 
townshiu elect inn in 1827, tlie county was 
govei'ued liy cnniiiiissioucrs; from that ])eri()d 
until 1838 by supervisors; fi'om 1838 initil 
early in 1843, by county commissioners, when 
the supei'visors board was I'e-eslablished. 

Clerks — lohn I). Holland. 1827-30; Horace 
Foote, 1831; James Starkweather, 1832: John 
I). Holland, 1833-44: Otis Lamb. 1836-49; Al- 
bert Nye. 1850; Otis Lamb. 1852: George 
AVaslier". 185.3; Ch.-irlcs F. Maliarv. 1854-57: 



A. II. I'oole, 1858; Albert E. Leete. 1859; C. 
F. .Malhiry. 1860-69; Nathan C. Bates. 1870; 
Chai'h's C. Bradley. 1871-75: Collins Bradley, 
1876: Byron J. Flumerfelt. 1877: Eber J. 
Dudley, 1878-82; J. R. Morland. 1884; H. B. 
Owen, 1885; Frank W. Dash, 1886-1905. 

Treasurers— Daniel B. Webster, 1827; Wil- 
liam Pi'ice. 1828; Alvin .\ye. 1829; Gad Cham- 
bvrlin, 1830; Hiram Calkins, 1831-33; H. Van 
Kleek. 1834: James II. Kose. 1837: Hiram Cal- 
kins. 1840;()rin P. Southwell, 1842: James 
H. Rose, 1844: Or.sel Dudley, 1851; Marvin 
Wilbur, 1855; Morgan Nye, 1857; Trunuin R. 
Andrus, 1858; John Cannon, 1861; Elias 
Stone, 1863; Theron Cole, 1865; Elias L. 
Stone, 1867; Theron Cole. 1868; James 11. 
Rose. 1870; Aaron B. Rawles. 1875; Jonathan 
Stone. 1877: Kdward W. Andrus. 1S79; Jona- 
than Stone, 1881; Edward W. Andrus, 1883- 
1884; Samuel T. Smith, 1885; Stephen B. 
Cannon, 1886-87: Henry Bennett. 1888-89; 
William L. Dickens, 1890: Edward W. An- 
drus. 1891-92; (ieorge Kaiser. 1893-94; Wil- 
liam ('. Hipp, 1895-96; Jeremiah Bartholo- 
mew, 1897-98; Frank E. Stone, 1899-1900; 
Howard II, Morland, 1900-01: AVilliam M. 
Chapman, 1902; Henry Bennett, 1903-04; T. 
R. Crawford, 1905. 

Among the localities in the townshi]) which 
merit a sjiecial mention, are Clifton, .Alt. \'er- 
non and Washington. Clifton was the site of 
Gray's mills, which for several years before 
the War of the Rebellion until* about 1880, 
did a large business, and gathered about them 
([uite a little settlement. Dr. Neil Gray, re- 
ferred to in Ray and Bruce histories, was one 
of the firm of (iray Bi-others, and Hugh Gray, 
the other partnei-. The mills are located on 
the noi'theast <puirter of si'ction 7 on the site 
of a null which had been burned at least as 
early as 1840. At one time Clifton, which was 
a platted village, threatened to pi-ove a dan- 
gerous rival to Romeo, l)ut like lyW the mills 
of the country, it sufi'ered from the com|)eti- 
tion of the western wheat fields and mills. Tlu' 
mills renuiined in the (ii-ay family i'ov a great 
many years, but in the '90 "s the jji'opei'ty was 
sold and passed into other hands. .\cw pro- 
ces.ses have been ]>ut into the mill and the \al- 
uable wati'i- powci' is still used for the opera- 
tion of a successful count r\' mill by its pi'es- 
ent owners. 

]\lt. Vernon, which is situated in sections 
19 and 30. is a thriving little village eonniiu- 
nity. in which has gathered a number of busi- 
ness houses, two churches and a blacksmith 
shop and several residences. It is one of the 
oldest post offices of the county. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF ]\IAC0:MB COUNTY 



695 



With this i)hic('. is intiiiKilc'ly assoeiati'il tin' 
name of William A. Hurt, the iiiventoi- of tiir 
solar compass. lie was boi-n in Taunton. 
Mass.. June l:ith, 17!)2. of Scotch and English 
anecstrv. The family cai-lv t-amc to western 
New York, where July 4th, 1818, .Mr. Pvirt 
was married to Phoebe Cole. After a short 
experience in the war of 1812 ami an unsuc- 
cessful one in commercial ent('r|)rises. Mi', 
linrt turned his attention to the huildiu'; of 
saw and tlour mills, associating with himself 
his lirother-in-law, .John Allen, who was later 
one of ilacond) County's respecteil citizens. 
In 1817, ilr. Burt made a trip throu,uli the 
west with a view of selecting a site to settle, 
visiting Detroit in the cour.se of the tri]). In 
1822, he again retui-ned to Michigan and en- 
gaged in mill building in Oakland County. In 
the fall of that yeai'. he .selected the southwest 
quarter of secton 'M of "Washington for ;i 
home. The western border of the count.v was 
then just settling, and ^Ir. Burt was one of 
the early pioneers of the locality. In the 
spring of 1824 he uKived his family as fai' as 
Auburn, Oakland County, and in the autumn 
of that year settled in the substantial log 
house which he had erected for his new home. 
Mr. Burt served as a mend)er of the territory 
legislature during the winter of 1826-27. In 
lS;n he was elected county surveyor, which 
position he filled for three years. January 
14th, 1833, he received the appointment as 
postmaster of ]\It. Vernon, which was then 
just established, and in Api'il of that year he 
was apiiointed associate judge of this juilicial 
circuit. During that same year he was en- 
gaged in the construction of mills at Freder- 
ick, iirobably for Noahdiah Sackett. In No- 
vember of this same year he was appointed 
United States Deputy Surveyor, and for many 
years following was busily engageti surveying 
for many proposed canals and railroads and 
other projjosed improvements with which the 
state wa.s rife. This is no place foi' I'ecounting 
the extensive and beneficial work of .Mr. Biu't, 
outside of the count.v, most conspicuous of 
which was the invention and perfection of the 
sola)' compass, lie was of a retiring dis])i)si 
tion, [iractical turn of mind, an origiiud think- 
er, and when nncc iiniusrd a brilliant rcuixcr 
satioualist. AVitlmut inuch school education, he 
was still a scholai', and obtained a recognition 
among the scientific men of his day. lie took 
active grounds in favor nj' trnipcrance legisla- 
tion and was of a I'cligious turn of mind. He 
was one of the foundei's of the .Mt. Vernon 
Baptist Church. Both he and his \\ifc wei( 
buried in the cemetery at ^It. ^'eruon. The 



latter years of his life were spent in Detroit, 
and his activity continued uutil the very last, 
;!s was evidenced liy the fad that when he 
was stricken ilown with heart disease. Avigust 
ISth, 1808, he was giving insti'uctions to a 
class in navigation, aslronouiy, and the use of 
his compass. 

Washington Village is a conununity located 
in the northeast corner of section 33. and the 
northwest corner of section 34, and be- 
cause of its being situated both on the Air 
Uiue Railroad and the Detroit and Romeo 
Electric J>iiie, is one of the most available 
points in the townshi[) for business ])urposes. 
it, however, was a thriving little counti-y vil- 
lage before it enjoyed these railroad facilities. 
The locality was first settled in 1818, and for 
a long time its nearest shipjiing iioint was 
Utica, with which it was coiuiected l>y a daily 
line of stages. There are two churches, a well 
oi'ganized school and hotels, stores and busi- 
ness houses that amjjly accommodate the de- 
nuinds of the surrounding country, and has a 
population of about 250. F. 6. Davis runs 
the general store. Dr. Albert Yates is the old- 
est resident j)hysician and has occupied for 
years a ]m)minent position in the conununity. 
Move detailed mention of the churches will be 
I'ound in coiniectiou with the history t)f re- 
ligious organizations in the township. 

The history of the early schools of Wash- 
ington began back as fai' as 1824, when numy 
of the fanulies who had come from New York 
state selected a site on Freeboi-n llealy's land, 
a mile and a half south of the present village 
of Romeo, and here built the log school house 
in which the lir.st teacher was Silas Scott. 
During the year 1824, 27 or 28 pupils gath- 
ered in fi'om miles about to attend this school, 
coming chietly over Indian trails through the 
viilderness. At the time. ;m Indian enc.uup- 
ment was nearly opposite the school house. 
The teachei-, after closing his school in 1825, 
purchas(>d the farm near Romeo, where he 
lived until his death in the eighth decade of 
t!ie hist centiu'y. The list of the pupils at 
this school will disclose the names of most of 
the eai'ly i)ioneers of that locality — i'rice, Ar- 
r.old, Woodman, Tackles. Ilealy. Chandler. 
Webster, (iould, Th.ol'ington. I'lii'Ips, Siriith, 
[■'inch, Kittredge and (Jates. 

In the fall of 1824 another school house 
was built on the west side of the road, a short 
distance south of AVashington N'illage. .Miss 
Emeline Allen being the first teachei- here. In 
the winter of 1824-5 the school was taught by 
jvaac .\iidrus and .Miss Allen and Andrils di- 
vided the following school vear in the .same 



696 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



niannei'. Dnriiii;' the wiiilcrs of ISliti-T ami 
1827-8. school was taiit;ht by Natliaiiiol Augus- 
tus Baldwin. Among other wieltlers of the 
birch in this school in early days were John 
Chapman. matheiiiatician ; Abel "Webster, 
Isaac ilonfort. Isaac Andrus. .Inhn T). Ih)l- 
land, Dalby. Noyes and Price. 

From these humble, but etiicieut Ijeginnings, 
the educatioiuU interests of Washington have 
grown until in 19U4 there was neetled for the 
housing of the school pupils in the township, 
aside from the portion of it included in the 
Romeo District, seven l)uildings. with an esti- 
mated school i)ro{)erty of ^T.OOO. The teach- 
er's wages during that year amounted to 
.$2,302. and the tot;d expense of the schools 
was $2,085.2!). Two hundred and thirty-four 
out of the 311 children of school age were en- 
rolled in the schools during the year. 

The character of the settlers of Washington 
would leatl one to expect considei-abie atten- 
tion to be ])aid to religious mattei's. and such 
expectations are fulfilled by the facts. The 
first circuit ministers were the Rev. .Messrs. 
Plympton and Petit. Latei-, Rev. 'Slv. Jones, 
in about 1826, preached a radical temperance 
sermon in the present village of Washington 
in the course of whicli he refei'red to the dis- 
tillery as "the Devil's tea]iot." Among other 
names of the eaily circuit riders are Reynolds, 
Frazer, Boughman and Elliott. For a few 
years, about 1830, the conuuunity. jiarticular- 
ly the Howard and Carpenter families, were 
visited by a few Free-will Ba[itists and Chris- 
tian ministers, among them being Elders 
Shearer, Land)arker anil Thomas. 

In 1823 six persons — John Holland. Elou 
Andrus, Nancy Andrus, Polly (ireene, Amelia 
Miller and Laura Miller, adherents to the be- 
liefs of the ^lethodist Church, began holding 
prayer meetings fi'om house to house. The 
nearest i)reaehing of their persuasion was at 
Utiea, which jilace they visited from time to 
time until the log school house ojiposite the 
present cemetery was built. Here they 
occasionally held meetings, conducted by 
circuit riders, among others beinir Rev. Elias 
Petit. Until 184t), when a church building 
was erected, religious services wei-e conducted 
in various school liouses. At that time Rev. 
Eljenezer Steele and Nelson Barnum were in 
charge. February 24th. 184(1. ""tlie trustees 
of the first Methoilist E|)isco|)ai Church in 
Washington" made a eimtract with Chauncey 
Church to build a meeting liouse on the west 
side of section 24 "opposite Dr. Cooley's gar- 
den" to be finished by Janiiai'y 1st. 1847. for 
the .sum of .$1,150. This contract was signed 



on behalf of the church society by Elon An- 
drus. Abel Warner, Benjamin Mc<iregor, Da- 
vid W. Noyes and John Keeler. The contract 
for the belfry was later nuide with L. D. 
Cowles. The building was accepted and paid 
for Decemljer 28th, 1846, at which time it was 
dedicated by tlie Rev. ilr. Crane, at that time 
presiding elder of this district. 

JIany changes have been made in the church 
building and many have been the pastors in 
charge. For years the church was the sole 
place for religious meetings in the neighbor- 
hood, and alth(uigh dedicated by the ^lethodist 
Episcopal Society, was maintained by contri- 
butions from various sources. After the or- 
ganization of the Union Church Society the 
^Methodist Church has been liut little usi'd by 
others than its owners. 

The growing need of another place for hold- 
ing .services led to the organization of the 
Washington Union Church Society in 1879, 
the history of wliich organization has been 
kindly furnished by ^Irs. Lucelia C. lii'abb. of 
Romeo. 

On July 5th, 1879, the tir.st regular meeting 
of the I hiion Church Society was attended and 
the articles of association (arranged to fully 
comply with all the requirements of the stat- 
utes of the State of ilichigan for church pro- 
tection) were formally accepted and signed, to 
be reeordetl in the office of the county clerk, 
after which the following trustees were elect- 
ed : Timothy Loekwood, William A. Stone, E. 
W. Andrus". Henry Bonnet and W. W. 
\'aughan. 

The ciiarter members included tlu> names of 
.Mabel Loekwood, Timothy Loekwood, Henry 
Bennet, Susan L. Bennet. William A. Stone, 
Alic'e N. Stone, Ceo. II. Cannon. Lucy 'M. Can- 
non, W. W. Norton. Flora Norton, Jonathan 
Stone, Marian C. Stone. James M. Vaughan, 
Calista E. Vaughan, Levi E. Cannon. Lucelia 
M. Camion. Adelbert Stone. Edward W. An- 
drus, (ieorge Wilson. Levi D. Apling. Eliza 
.Vpling. William W. Vaughan. Ida B. 
Vaughan, Bi'tsey E. Andrus. Byron .Norton, 
Lucelia L. Davis. David ti. Stewart, ilary D. 
Stewart, Clara C. Babbitt, p:dwin Tiamb. ("aro- 
line Lamb, II. AV. Miller. F. C. Millei-. Flora 
Aliller. S. B. Cannon. Sarah J. Cannon. 

For four years the Rev. C. W. Knickerbock- 
er had been ])reacliing to these people, and he 
now became their remilar pastor, and so con- 
tinued for two years. 

February 26th. 1880, the new church build- 
ing was dedicated to Almighty Cod, the fol- 
lowing ministers taking jiart in the morning, 
afternoon and evening services: Rev. C. W. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO.MB COUNTY 



697 



Kiiickcrl)(R-l«r, Rt'V. 1). A. Pcriiii. Kcv. J. A. 
Vduii'--. Ki'V. J. E. Davis. Kcv. William I'latl, 
Kev. .Ii)lin Caiinoii, Jxcv. J. Aiiu-s. 

Ill ]\Iay followiiij;', a Siuulay Scliool — llic 
mirsoi-y of the clmrcli — was organized and lias 
always lu'eii an important and Honi-isliinu- pai-t 
of tilt' orii-aiiizatioii. 

Tin- doors of this cluirch won- freely opciuMl 
to all denominations, the Kev. J. A. Youni;' 
and l\ev. J. Ames siipplyins' the |)nipit for 
some time. In May, ISSI, the Kt'V. William 
Allintiton bey:an what was a six .vears' pastor- 
ate, and in 1885 the Kev. John II. Paton he- 
came one of their jiastors, and has so contin- 
ued for tweiit.v .vears. 

Founded on the broad liasis of the Katlier- 
hood of (Jod and the Hrotheriiood of Man. i)ay- 
inp: ever.v ohliuation proinptl.v and l)eiii<.;' in 
fact a union in heart as well as in name, they 
have i;one on in the fi;ood work with few dis- 
couragements and very much for which to he 
.urateful. 

ilueh of the .social, educational and re- 
ligious life of this township is closel.v associ- 
atetl with the \'illa,L;c' of Romeo, and reference 
must he liad to the chapter on that village for 
further details. 

The population and assessed valuation of 
the township, as given h.v the official records, 
is as follows : 

Population. 

1837 I,:i29 

1840 1,314 

1844 1,517 

1850 1.541 

1854 1,340 

1860 1,845 

18(;4 1.785 

1870 2,058 

1874 2,099 

1880 2.031 

1884 1,909 

1890 2,080 

1894 1,973 

1900 1,993 

1904 1.897 

Assessed Valuation. 

1842 $ 7(i.427.00 

1846 94,470.00 

1851 116,914.00 

1856 690,835.00 

1861 618.480.00 

1866 648,350.00 

1871 728,070.00 

1876 735.000.00 

1881 1,738,0()(».0() 

1891 1,600,000.00 

1886 1,620.000.00 



1896 1.380.000.00 

1901 1..500.000.00 



CHAPTER XXV 



■rowNsiiU' tiF iturci:. 



.Much of till- histor.v of this township is so 
intimately connected with Ivomeo that refer- 
ence must he had to the chaiiter on that vil- 
lage ill this connection. The township was at 
the time of its original survey well timhered 
with hickory, ash, elm. mai)le and linden, with 
some cedar and tamarack along the marshes 
or streams, and a few swampy places. At the 
time of the early settlements, an ai'tificial 
structure, circular in form, was found in sec- 
tion 3. It appears to have had three gateways 
or open passage wa.vs some ten feet in width, 
and the area included in this work was a little 
more than an acre, and the indications led to 
the eon.iecture that this and works of similar 
character were built for some defensive pur- 
pose by a race long since extinct. 

The townshij) was surve.ved by Joseph 
Waiupler on behalf of the government and 
was found to contain 23,347 acres. "David 
Hill, of St. Clair County, bought the first par- 
cel of land conve.ved by the government in 
this town, the selection being the east one-half 
of the northwest (|uarter of section 35, No- 
vember 20, 1821. The next to liu.v was Asahel 
Bailey, who bought the east one-half of the 
southwest one-quarter of the same .section, 
April 16, 1822. Only six bought lauds in 
1823: in 1824 only two bought lands: in 1825 
there were six: in 1826-7. there were four bu.v- 
ers; in 1828 (!ad Chamlierlin was the oiilv 
buyer: in 1829 three hu.vers : in 1830 tliere 
were but eight, but from that date on the 
numbers were greatl.y increased .vearl.v until 
the lands had all passed from the hands of the 
government. The hist parcel being sold to 
Charles Lane, of Lai)eer Count.\', August 10, 
1847, the same being the northwest one-i|uar- 
ter of the northwest one-(|uarter of section 6. 
John Townseud, of Clster Count.v. New York, 
was the largest hu.ver of government land iu 
the town, his selection being on .sections 4. 5, 
6 and 8, and aggregated 1,295 acres. Neil 
Cray 525, Charles Killam 518, Isaiah Clood- 
rich 463, Leander Tremble 520, Amos Brown 
ISO. Albert Finch 4oo, Rufiis Hall 352, David 
'i'aylor 351, John (Jooderich and lleitian 
Parmlee each 320, John Rc.vnolds. Ben.jamiii 
(iould. (iad Chamberlin. John T;iylor, Jr., 
John Allen, Samuel and William Coole.v each 
240 acres, Abi'am Pnwi'll 200 acres, and man.v 
obtained Kin ilc|■(■^. while llic larL:v>t niimbi-r 



698 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACU.MB COUNTY 



were content with 80 oi- 40-a<'r(' ti'tiets. These 
huyers of homes mostly fume from eeii- 
tral New York, Erie, (ienesee. I'lster. Oneidji. 
Livingston, iloni'oe. ^Vasllint!:ton, Onondaj;.-! 
and several other counties being represented. 
Two hailed from Connecticut, one from North 
Carolina, and one gave his residence as the 
State of New York. Several were from ^la- 
eomb. Lapeer, St. Clair, ^Vayne and Oakland 
counties, tiiis state. Among the buyers wei-e 
several women who became i-eal estate owners 
direct from the government. Mary Gray 
bought on section 2, Leona Kittridge and Re- 
becca Day on section 3, ]\Iary Ann Dyer on 
section 19, Lucinda Leavensworth united with 
Elihu and bought a 40 on section 21. Mercy 
Benjamin bought on 24, Betsey Phillips on 
section 28 and Lydia Chamberlin on section 
36. \Ve have made no attempt in this paper 
to ascertain who made the first clearing or 
erected the first buildings in the township. 
Suffice it to say that the township at large was 
speedily settled up so that a move was nuide 
early in the spring of 1S32 to form a separate 
township, as tiie teri-itory had been attached 
heretofore and formed a portion of the town 
of Washington. A meeting of the settlers was 
therefore called to assemble at the school 
house, four miles north of Romeo and a half 
mile west of the Parmlee i)lace. to take this 
matter into consideration. This meeting Wiis 
hekl early in Api'il. 1S32. Cbauncey (4oodrieh 
presided and Martin Buzzt'U was chosen clerk. 
Various names were suggested for the new 
township, when one of the Grays, wlio was 
present, proposed the name of Bruce in honor 
of the renowned Scotch chieftain, which ap- 
pears to have been ac('c[)table to all, and was 
adojited by tlu' meetiii-:', and a year later. 
ilareh 9, 1833, the township oi'ganii'.ation was 
effected and the fir.st town meeting ordered 
held on the first ^londay of April following 
at the log school house neai' Bushnells. "' 
(From iiai)er prepared by Geo. IL Cannon.) 

At this meeting the election resulted in the 
election of (iideon (iates for Supervisor. Mar- 
tin Buzzt'U for Clerk. Isaac Thoaipson, J. AV. 
L. Collins and Jesse Bisho]), Assessors: Eras- 
tus Day, Gcjrge Throop and llemaii Ibilines, 
Commissioners of Highways; Gad Cliiimhcr- 
lin. Poor Director; Asahel Hailrv, Ti'casui'ei' ; 
Hiram Hopkins, Collector .-inil Constahli'; 
Erastus Day, Ezra Finch. Luke llovey, R. 
Bancroft. Daniel Overson, Levi Washburn 
and Mai'k AVincliell, Overseers of Highways. 
Since that date the various township elrclioiis 
have resultetl in the following officers; 

Su|iri-visors — (iideon Gates, 1833-34; Isaac 



Thomjison, 1835-36; Herman Parmalee. 1837; 
County Commissioners, 1838-42; ilinot T. 
Lane. 1843-44; Hiram Sherman. 184r)-49; 
Hugh Gray, 1850; (ieorge Chandler, 1851-52; 
Harvey Mellen, 1853-54; Joseph Ayres, 1853- 
1858; Hiram Sherman, 1859; Joseph Ayres, 
1860-80; Harvev :\Iellen, 1881-82; George 
Townsend, 1883-1905. 

Clerks— ilai'tin Buzzell, 1833; Henry Por- 
ter, 1834; James Bushnell. 1835-36; Gideon 
(^ates, 1837-38; Cornelius Everts, 1839; Co- 
latinus Day, 1840-41; Oliver Canfield, 1842- 
1844; Joseph A. C. Leech, 1845-46; Ebeuezer 
French, 1847-48; Watson Loud, 1849; Oliver 
Canfield, 1850 ; Watson Loud, 1851-52 ; Joseph 
Ayres. 1853; Dexter Mussey, 1854: Martin 
P>u/.zell, 1855; William A. Frazier. 1856-60; 
Levant C. :\lclntyre, 1861-63; Sanniel A. 
Reade, 1864; Charles Jonei^, 1865; William A. 
Frazier, 1866-68; George D. iluzzev, 1869-71; 
Henrv P. Piper, 1872-73; Charles N. Coe, 
1874-i)5; Lafayette H. Bates, 1896-1905. 

Treasurers — Asahel Bailev, 1833-34; John 
W. Day. 1835-36; Jeremiah :\niler, 1837-38; 
Ilii'am llojjkins. 1839; Cornelius Everts, 
l;-i40; James Starkweather, 1841: Henry 
llowarth, 1842; Martin T. Southwell, 1843; 
Sanniel H. Ewell, 1844; Jei-emiah B. Ayres, 
1845-48: Nathan Palmer. 1849: Lewis D. 
Owen. 1850-52; William B. Sutton, 1853-56; 
.Martin Buzzell. 1857: AVilliam B. Sutton, 
1858-64: Aliiiagi-o Parmelee, 1865-67; Robert 
Turnci-, 1S72-74; George D. Muzze.v, 1875-77; 
Jetl Predmore, 1878-79; Ephraim Van Bur- 
ger, 1880-83; JMoses C. Hunt, 1884-85; A. J. 
Wintennute, 1886; Jonathan Stone. 1887-88; 
Jacol) P. Smith. 1889-90 ; Oel J. Smith, 1891- 
1892; William L. Hosner. 1893-94; Jonathan 
Stone. 1S95-96; John A. Throop. 1897-98; 
Abram T. Powell, 1899-1900; Jonathan Stone. 
1901 ; Fi-ed Hosner, 1902-03; J. IL'ury Elliott, 
1904-05. 

The Scotch settlement was made in 1830 or 
1831, when Dr. Xeil Gi'a.v and his 1)i'other 
Hugh came to Romeo, and acting luuler the 
advice of Jesse Bishop, located the tract since 
known as the (Jray farm. The,v had l)een ju-e- 
ceded by Ci'awfoi'd. W.vlie and David Taylor, 
and were followed by the Residi's. Reids. IIop- 
Isins. ^luirs. M';issons, llamiltons, Burlands 

:Mld Stephens. 

Romeo, with its excellent schools, has natur- 
ally attracted a large part of the educational 
interests of the township. In the ten school 
districts, exchisive of the Romeo District, how- 
ever, there is property estimated to be $5,525 
and .$2,210 was expended for teacher's wages 
ill these districts during the past year. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF .MACO.MB COUNTY 



699 



'1"1k' small streams of Hrucc have alVunlrd 
mill ]>()\ver for several mills, eaeh of which 
have jilavfil llicir part in tlu' (leveio|imeiit of 
the eountry. 'Prciiililc's mill ami Bancroft's 
mill wei-e amonii- the earliest saw mills of the 
town, while hack in ahont IS.")!) Samuel l)e- 
ueen and his partner. Smith, huilt a urist mil! 
in the southwest corner of section 'M. Here 
they did a larsje and Hourishintr business, par- 
ticularl.v after the mills at Clifton had been 
burned and liefor(> they were reliiiilt b.v the 
(jra.vs. Deiieen continued to run the mill for 
some time, and aftei'wards it was renteil by a 
man by the name of Wagnei-. After the mill 
burned, the mill site was i)urchasetl by the 
Gray brothers, who owned at that time both 
the Clifton mills lowei- down the stream and 
the mills at Lakeville fiu'thci' uj). Their pur- 
pose umU)ubtedl.v was laruely to control the 
water i^owcr between the two mills. Hy an 
arrant;ement with the (ira.vs, James Claspie 
built a plaster mill and ran it on and off for 
several .rears, durinjj which time feed was also 
ground heiv. The east mill, now called (ilen 
mill, located two miles west and a iialf mile 
jiorth of Koiiieo, was another <irist k.III which 
has had a long successful carcei'. 

The population of the township as per cen- 
sus returns has been as follows : 

1837 889 

1840 1,128 

1845 1,;5T5 

1850 1.555 

1854 1.453 

1860 1.807 

18(54 1.S30 

1870 2,145 

1874 2,045 

1880 2,103 

1884 2.078 

1890 2,021 

1894 1,947 

1900 1.789 

1904 1,739 

The assessed valuation of the propci'ty of 
the township as e(|ualized l).v the I'xmi-d of 
Supervisoi's has been as follows: 

1842 $ fi3,8(;i.5() 

184(i 77,537.1)0 

1851 94,23S.iiil 

185(j (i89, 950.00 

18(51 (541, ISO. 00 

186(5 648.390.00 

1871 776.700.00 

1876 790.000.00 

1S81 1.7so,(ioo.(iii 

1886 1,700,000.00 

1891 1.(550,000.00 



is:)is 

1901 



1.450.000,(10 
1.560,000.00 



ClIArTKl! X.Wl. 



TR.\NS]"OKT.\Tl().\'. 

As has been freipiently mentioui'il the wa- 
terways fui-nished in the early days, were al- 
most the only highways about the county. Ac- 
cordin.iil.v the construction of some means of 
water conununication early followed the set- 
tlements of the count.v and raising of [)roducts 
in too great a ((uantit.v to be traTisported in 
canoes. As the count r.\' (Icvi-lojied, hi.uhways 
were cou.structed aion^- the Indian trails or 
along the ridges where, with the least labor, 
a road could be made, which would allow the 
])assage of horses and the i-iule vehicles of the 
time. Further j)rogi'ess and the demand for 
easier wa.vs of transportation, leil to the con- 
struction of plauk roads along which "the 
coaeh and four" carried passengers and mail, 
as well as slower-going heavil.v-laden wagons. 
Cnstruction of steam I'oads larj;el.\' did away 
with the necessity fm- the plank road and 
its later successor, the graveled turnpike, 
and the coming of the electric lineswiped o>it 
the last of the toll roads. It would be inter- 
esting to trace the gradual change and im- 
provement in these various methods of trans- 
portation, and the wi-iter (iresents here the re- 
sults of a painstaking research of Ileni\v 0. 
Chapaton upon the construction of water ve- 
hicles in the count.v. 

"As a result of the absence of an.v means of 
ti-ausportation except by water during the 
early .years of the last century, the building 
of boats became one of the necessary, and in 
fact was one of the ordinary, occupations of 
those of the pioneers who had settled along 
the lake and the I'ivers of this count.v. The 
.iourne.vs to the settlements, tlu' selling of their 
pi'oduee and the bringing home of the supplies 
were made successively by canoe, bateau and 
then b.v small schooners or scows. These were 
the customai'.v vehicle of travel and were built 
in large luunbers b.v the dwellers along the 
water, and i-anged in size from ten up to fort.v 
oi' fift.v tons. The.v were ordinaril.v fashioned 
with blunt steins and sterns, carried a centre- 
board and were generall.v rigged as schooners, 
although here and there could he found a 

sloop I'ig. 

These boats were good sailors, easilv 
h:ni(lled and well fitted for the conditions 
lound in the trade from Lake St. Claii- to De- 
triiil. The sailing of these boats was a splen- 



700 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



did school of seamanship, and many are the 
men handling the largest lake vessels of to-day 
who started their work in the wood seow. As 
the eonut\' of Macomb was for the most part 
heavily timliered. the clearing of the land pro- 
duced a very large suppl.^^ of every sort of 
timber product. Staves, boards, planks and 
lumber formed a large part of the cargoes of 
these boats, and in connection with flour, 
wheat, corn, furs and peltries gave rise to a 
very large trade to and from Detroit. In 1834, 
a report prepared by an engineer of the United 
States (Government, states that the exports 
from the Clinton Kiver were annually about 
42,000 tons. Conijietition was very keen be- 
tween the owners and masters of rival schoon- 
ers, and each would make every effort to make 
a quicker trip than the other. A road v.'as 
cleai'ed through the woods on the south side 
of the Clinton River, and the boats, when the 
wind did not favor, were towed up and down 
the river by means of oxen and horses. Three 
round trips a week between Detroit and ]\It. 
Clemen.s represented the very fastest dispatch, 
while the trip to Chicago and return some- 
times took six weeks. 

The building of boats ))egan here at a very 
early day and continued until the diminishing 
supply of oak timl)er and the use of iron and 
steel in ship construction brought about the 
deci'ease of wooden ship construction. The 
building of a boat in the early days represent- 
ed a very large amount of hand labor. After 
the tree was selected, it was felled by axemen 
and hauled down to the yard by teams of oxen 
and horses. The log was then taken, lifted on 
supports and sawed lengthwise by two men 
u.sing a long saw, one man standing on top of 
the log and one beneath. After being sawed, 
it was shaped by broadaxes ami further saw- 
ing and steaming to form the rib and planks, 
which were firmly bolted together by long 
bolts and pins. The wages of the shi]) carpen- 
ters were from five to six dollars a day and 
would generally be taken in stoi-e pay. 'Sir. 
Antoine J. Fort on, one of the older settlers, 
remembers that his father took a load of twen- 
ty cords of four-foot cordwood to Detroit on 
his .scow and was finally otTered 2") cents a cord 
for it, and that in store pay. 

Of the smaller sailing vessels there were 
built a very large number of wliicli history 
has kept the names of a few as well as thii 
names of some builders, more than ordinarily 
successful. Beginning on the slioiv of Erin 
townshiji, the "Sailor Boy"'. '■Helen'', "News 
Boy", "Julia", "Columbus", and ""l/Ami" 
were built bv Louis Frii/.hor. "Two Broth- 



ers", "Two Sisters", the "Jennie", l)y Whit- 
more Brothers. Then follow the names of the 
"Nettie Flv", "Wileox", "Jennie". "Free- 
man", "Roo.ster", "Elizabeth", "Reaper", 
"Canadian", "Blue Bird", "Starlight" and 
"Honest Boy." 

In Hari-ison township, Robert Thomas built 
in 1867 "Frances", for Oliver Chajiaton; 
1871 "May Rose"; 1873, "Matilda" for Gil- 
bert Laeroix and Louis Charl)onneau, Sr., 
"Moneymaker"' for 'SI. and J. Peltier and 
"WildHower" for Joe Balloi'. In 1869 was 
built near Ijiverpool the seow "(iaribaldi", 
named by her owner ilr. Rose, a patriotic 
Italian. In 1866, the "Edna", 40 tons was 
built. Josejih Pomaville built the "Snow 
Ball" and then finished a second, which he 
wished to name the "Suivez iloi'' (Follow 
Me), in scorn of all other good scows, but was 
induced by the officials at the custom house to 
adopt the more pacific term of "Forester." 

Among the lioats built in the Clinton River 
are remembered the "]\Iarcellus". built at the 
village of ^Nlarcellus by Capt. John Hayes; 
"Isaac Russ", for Daniel Russ; "Sainte 
]\larv". owned by Joseph Allor, Sr. ; "Sun- 
shine", for Dupre, of Detroit: "Sweeper", 
for Louis Charbonneau. Sr. ; "Gliding Star", 
"Eddie", "Bertie"" and "Lakeside."" 

Along the Baltimore shore were built the 
"St. Stephen", by Stephen Rose; "Green- 
back", bv George Steiger; "Sawbut", "Hun- 
ter", "Betsay", "Presque Isle", "Mike", 
"Porter" and Napoleon", in 1863 the "J. 
L. (^uinln", a schooner of 82 tons: 1869, "Lu- 
cinda Lozen"; in 1870. the "Wm. L. Ax- 
ford", 31 tons: and in 1881 "Daisy", a snmll 
passenger steamboat. 

The "Ilattie"' was a s;iiall passenger steam- 
boat built in 1882 at Fair Haven, where was 
also built the "J. S. Ruby", 128 tons. 

Th(> first I'eeorded building of boats on the 
Clinton River was in 1820, when the schooner 
"Christian Clemens"' was built for Oliver 
Newberr\-, who was a very prominent mer- 
chant and vessel owner of that day. In 1826 
the schooner "I/aGrange", 101 tons, was built, 
which was one of a large fleet of schooners 
launched at that time, of which we have the 
names of "(icneral Warren", 74 tons; "For- 
ester", oO tons; "Harriet", 60 tons; "I'tica", 
40 tons: "Lark", 25 tons; "Independence", 
70 tons: "Governor Cass'', 60 tons: "Shia- 
wassee", 80 tons. 

The "Andrew Jackson" was the first steam- 
boat built in tlie Clinton River. She was a 
sidewbeelei- of 49 tons, luiilt in 1826 by (tray 
& Gallegher (who afterward became her cap- 



PAST AXI) PRESENT OF IMACO.MB COUNTY 



tain I, ami ran in tlie hniihcr and irrain trade 
from Detroit to Lai<e Erie ports for several 
years. 

The ■■Majiii- Jack Downing", named for a 
fictitious eliaracter noted in the political his- 
tory of that time, wa.s built in 18:34. of ■'A 
tons burden, and was a stern wheeler, such as 
are now seen on the Ohio and Mississippi riv- 
ei-s. lu 1828 was built the "Lady of the 
Lake", of 26 tons, for Alfred Ashley, a side 
whe(>l passenger steamer. The "^Macomb" 
and "Koineo" were built in 183(; and 18;{7 re- 
spectively. They were also side wheel steam- 
boats and ran in the upper lake passentrer 
trade. 

The "Lad.v of the Lake"' was rebuilt here 
in 1838, under the direction of Capt. John A. 
Sanders, who moved here in 1848, and com- 
menced his work as a boat builder, which con- 
tinued until 1880. durino- which time nearly 
eveiy larsie Ijoat constructed here was built b.v 
him or under his dii-eetion. ('apt. Sandei's 
was a careful, competent, thoroughly reliable 
man, and his reputation as a builder of 
stanch and stronu- vessels was widespread. 

He built the schooners "]\Iarinei-", "Eu- 
phemia", (iO tons, which was sent to the ocean ; 
"Sea Bird", for T. W. Snook, and the "Ely- 
dia." The sloop "Francis"' was built for a 
number of young- men, among whom were An- 
drew S. Robertson, Fred Lewis, and ^lalcolm 
McLeod. Among the scows that he built wei-e 
the "Argus", "Dan Tucker", for James 
Tucker: "^Marv Jane", built at the foot of 
New street, for Capt. Whipple: "Pike", a 
scjuare tojisail fast sailing scow which carried 
grain and hnuber to Detroit : "J. A. Sanders", 
for William Jenne.v; "Union", a large gaff 
topsail scow, for Louis Charbonneau, Sr., and 
Oliver Chapaton. and which was finall.v sold 
to Capt. Beauvais at Fair Haven; "Lily 
Dale"" 47 tons, for Louis Charbonneau, Sr., 
and Edwai-d J. Tucker; the "family", for 
Louis Charbonneau, Sr., and T. W. Snook; 
and the "Harriet" for T. W. Snook. 

The first two steamboats built by Capt. San- 
ders were constructed the same as the sailing 
vessels. A keel was laid and to this i)lanks 
laid Hat together to form the bottom were 
bolted by iron bolts jjlaced eighteen inches 
apart. The sides were; l)olted together in the 
same manner and fastened to the bottom 
planks at a riiiht angle, in which a keelson 
was placed. Riiis were not used, but the 
strength de])endcd wyion the solidit.v with 
which the planks were fastened. 

"Nevada" was built in 180,"), 41 tons, Ki 
hor.se power engine (high pressure), for a 



company composed of Charles Lamb, Wesley 
Hinnuin, Charles Robinson and Captain San- 
ders. Her engine is now in the santl scow 
"Won<ler". lu 1867 "Arizona" was built 
for T. AV. Snook, ran about seven years when 
hei' engine was taken out and she was made a 
tow barge. The "Florence"' was built in 1869 
for Oliver Chapaton and (iilbert Lacroix. She 
was of) tons, 20 hor.se powei', wt'U modeled and 
built of rib and keel construction. 

In 1872 the "Ida", 57 tons, 40 horse power, 
was built for Capt. Albei't Tucker as a freight 
steamer. After ten yeai-s siie was remodeled 
into a ])assenger boat and i-an between Detroit 
and Mt. Clemens for a numbei- of years. She 
was later cut down into a f ri'ight boat and sold 
to Charles Kath, by whom she was sold in 
Sandusk.v. 

In 187;i the "T. \V. Snook". llW tons, 112 
horse powei-, was built for T. W. Snook. She 
was sold shortly after and ])assed into the 
hands of Capt. Harris Bakei\ who now uses 
the boat as a wrecker. 

In 1877 the "^lorning Star", 56 tons, 50 
horse power, was built for Gilbert Lacroix, 
Louis Charbonneau, Sr., and ^licliell Peltier. 
She was finally sold to l^rowu, of Sandusky. 
In 1879 the "Louis Gilbert" was built for 
Gilbert Lacroix and Louis Charbonneau, Sr., 
who sold her to Lonsby Brothers, from whose 
hands she passed to Lake ^lichigan. 

In 1880 the steam barge "City of Mt. Clem- 
ens", 69 tons, was built b.y Oliver Chajjaton 
and Gilbert Lacroix. She is now owned in 
Wallaceburg. In the same year William Hall 
and Rudolph Kandt built the steam barge 
"William Rudolph"", 209 tons. She ran in 
the hunbei- trade and is now in Lake .Michi- 
gan. In 1882 wei'c launched the steam barge 
"Handv Boy" and tow barge "Nellie"', both 
built by William Hall. The "Handy Boy" 
was sold and the "Nellie" rebuilt into a pas- 
senger steamer about 1887. She ran in and 
out the river for some years. 

In 1880 the "Virginius"" was built b.v Wil- 
liam Dale.\- and Philip Shook. She was sold 
soon after being laiuiched and her name 
changed to "Ida AI. Torrent". The next .year 
the same parties built a seconil " N'irginius", 
468 tons, which was sold to L;d\e Alichigan 
and was renamed the "Thos. 1). Stimpson'". 
She was afterwards again owned by a s.vndi- 
eate composed in ])art of Thos. W. Newton, 
Charles Lon.sby. Anthon.v Czizek, and by them 
sold again. 

In 1887 the steam barge "Atlantis", 93 
tons, was built l)y T. W. Snook and Son, and 



702 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



ran in the luniljer and salt trade. She is still 
owned In* this same lii'in. 

There have been only twn yachts Imilt here, 
"Eima", bv Henry Russell, and "Roberta", 
25 tons, in "I888, by Charles Phiss, for E. R. 
Egnew. "Roberta" was a very handsome, ex- 
pensive yacht, whieh, after a varied eareer, 
now lies on the bottom of Lake Erie. 

The era of the most bnildiiiL;- and of the 
largest boats eommeneed when "William Dnlac, 
■who had been a vessel captain ou the lakes, be- 
gan bnildin'r boats for the Tonawanda Barge 
Line, in which he had an iutei-est and which 
operated saw mills at ^Ianisti((ue. ^Michigan. 
A number of boats were built for them at the 
yard down the river, besides a few for Mt. 
Clemens owners. 

The "Jennett" was the first boat built at 
that yard. She was 312 tons, a tow barge. In 
1882 was built the "A. Weston", steam barge 
of 511 tons (net), for this line and also the 
"Elmer", a tug which was sent to Manistique. 
The "City of :\lt. Clemens", 85 tons, 45 horse 
power, was built in 188-1 for Oliver Chapaton 
and Gilbert Lacroix, and run in the lumber 
and salt trade. In 1885 was launched the tow 
barge "Eleanor", 400 tons, followed in 1886 
bv the steam barge "Canisteo", 539 tons. In 
1887 by tow barge "Aloha", 500 tons: in 1887 
by the "F. R. liuell". a double decker of 
1,199 tons, and the "Ainiabell AVilson", a tow 
barge of 467 tons. In 1889 were launched the 
"A. Stewart", 533 tons, named for the master 
builder; "Benjamin Harrison", 511 tons, both 
tow barges: the scow "Exikla." the "Adele", 
a small tug for the Clinton River, and "Lily", 
79 tons, for Capt. John N. Tucker, which runs 
in the Clinton River, with coal cargoes. In 
1890 Mas launched the steamboat "Byron 
Whitaker", 1.206 tons. The same year the 
tow barge "J. B. Lozen", was laiuiched fol- 
lowed the next year by the "Norwalk". 881 
tons, which was the largest boat ever built 
here, built for the Shoal Water Transporta- 
tion Company, comjiosed in i)art of Mt. Clem- 
ens capitalists. The engines and boilers of 
this boat were placed in position at the ship- 
yard and heroic efforts were necessary to get 
her to Lake St. Clair. She is .still owned by 
this company and runs in the ore, lumber and 
general carrying trade. 

In 1895 the pa.ssenger slcaiin'r ".Mineral 
City" was launched for Bert Didac, who has 
since run her in the passenger and excursion 
trade in and out the river. 

The last boat built at this yard was con- 
structed for Thos. W. Newton, Charles Kath 
and "William Pincrel. and was named the 



"Clinton." She is a steam barge of 62 tons, 
is now in possession of the Lonsby Lumber 
and Coal Company, and used in the coal trade 
from Ohio i)orts to ]\It. Clemens. 

But there were seasons when the old settlers 
could not make use of the boats, because of the 
ice, solitl or floating. Then even in the days 
of the canoe some sort of a highway was neces- 
sary. When the ice was solid it was usually 
over the ice that the pioneer traveled on foot 
or with the pony. The Indian trail or sand 
ridges furnished the guides for the earliest 
of these ways, or else they ran along the banks 
of the lake or river on which, in sunnnei-, the 
traveler's boat glided. Naturally the earliest 
roads ran along the lake shore, then ui) the 
banks of the rivers. In 1818 Judge Bunce, of 
St. Clair Count.v, made use of a most unique 
highway. Hea\"y ice had come down from 
Lake Huron and blocked up the channels of 
the St. Clair River so eft'ectually that the wa- 
ters were set back and Lake St. Clair and De- 
ti'oit River were literally tlrained. The waters 
of the lake had receded at least four miles 
from the shores in places. The Judge chose 
one of the sand ridges, formed in the bottom 
of the lake, and drove along that so far out 
that when about a mile from ililk River Point 
he was where water was usually man,v feet 
deep and fully four miles from the ordinary 
shore. Similar l)k)ekades have produced like 
effects at various times since, but never, it is 
believed, to quite the same extent. 

The earliest internal road constructed in 
the county and. indeed, in the state, was the 
ohl .Merdian or ^loravian Road from the Mo- 
ravian Settlement at Frederick to Connor's 
Creek, at Tremble's ilill, spoken of else- 
where. The Lake Shore and River Roads 
were established merel.v by users and changed 
fi-om time to time as the waters ate in on the 
banks ()!■ receded from the marshes, and it was 
mil until after the English had abandoned 
the countiy to the Americans that anything 
like systematic elfoi'ts were nuule to establish 
legal highways. AVith the founding of inte- 
I'ior settlements at Utica, Romeo, etc.. came 
the call for ways to reach them. With the 
tide of New Knti'landers and Yoik-Staters 
that began in the '20 's, who brought with 
theiii the ideas current in their foi'incr homes 
(if honu^-rule and local self-government, came 
a demand for increased and better wa.vs of 
reaching their new homes than they had been 
compelled to use in coming in. Territorial 
and state i-oads were called for and laid out, 
and yet it is i)robable that outside of the set- 
tlements Iheiiiselves there were few roads. 



PAST .\M) PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



703 



worthy of the iiaiiu'. except raiiibliii';- trails 
connect iiiir the setthMiieiits before the niakinii' 
of the Military Koad from Fort Gratiot to 
Fort Wayne, undertaken by the National 
Goverunieiit as a military measure in IS'JT. 
The start of this itlea has been credited to 
Father Gabriel Richard, the Priest-Congress- 
man of Detroit. The contracts for the con- 
struction of this road, usually taken in sec- 
tions of ((uarter or half miles l)y the more en- 
terprisiiiii' of the settlers, called for a roadlied 
thirty-three feet wide, raised by turnpikini;- 
up so as to be in the center two-and-a-half or 
three above the roatlside ditches, with suitable 
drains, culverts, bridges and causeways; for 
a space of twent.v feet on each side of this 
roadway, all trees ami underwood were to be 
'■felled in such a manner, that no stumji shall 
be left more than a distance of two-thirds of 
its diameter, above the general surface of the 
ground: and this space is to be cleared of 
timber, bi-ush and grubs of every descrip- 
tion.'" On a space of thirteen and a half 
feet ad.i()ining the sjiaee last described, on 
each side of said I'oad. the timber was also 
to be felled, '"but the same may be done in 
the most convenient manner."" It is [irobable 
that in many cases the last mentioned strip 
of thirteen feet and a half was never regarded 
by any one as part of the hiahwa.v, but 
merely cleared for the benetit of the road, a 
process that, although involving destruction 
of timbei', was not in those days liable to 
arouse an\' opposition on the i)art of the ad- 
.joining land-owner. The road having lieen 
built by the federal government, its care and 
control was taken over by the state in IS.'ll. 

In this latter year a highway fi'om .Mt. 
Clemens to Sault Ste. ^larie by way of Ro- 
jneo. Lapeer and Saginaw was authorixed liy 
the legislature and Daniel LeRoy. Nathaniel 
S(iuires, and lloi'aee II. Cady were appointed 
Connnissioners to lay out the same. During 
the same year Roswell R. Green, Horace Foot 
and Thomas Palmer were api)ointed Com- 
missioners to lay out a road fi'om Romeo to 
St. Clair. In 18:37. William Lewis of Mt. 
Clemens, lleman Nye, and Aaron B. Rawles 
of Romeo were authorized to establish a I'oad 
from 'Sit. Clemens IhrouLih the center of Ray 
to Romeo, and in the following year a similar 
road from ilt. Clemens to Flower's Store in 
Armada by way of the Crawford and Chubb 
settlements was jjlainied an<l Wm. Canlield, 
Stewart Taylor, and Azai-iah Prentiss made 
Commissionei's. Similar steps were tak<'n in 
1828 for a road along the entire length of the 
countv line between Macomb and Oakland 



Counties; Iroiii Detroit, "running by the Old 
French Church (so-called), above the City of 
Detroit, * * * to a point between Na- 
thaniel Sipiir(s and Enoch lluuth'y's on the 
Rivei- ('linton:" in 18:{;{ for a road from .Mt. 
Clemens to Shelliy along the river; in 1834 for 
one from ilt. Clemens to Chamberlin's ilills 
in Lapeer Co. and one fi'om Leech's Mills in 
]\lacomb Co. to Detroit. 

Not all of these roads so authoi'ized were 
actually opened and by 1840 the machineiy 
of i-oad districts and for the laying out of 
highways by township authorities had become 
so far perfected that little more legislation to 
that end was needed ; this work and the mak- 
ing of a record of the laying out of highways 
fell to the township authorities. 

The 40 "s and 50 "s constitute the era of 
jilaiik roads. The Gratiot was turned over 
fi-om 13eti'oit to 'Sit. Clemens to a corporation 
who jilanked it and collected toll, and only 
today is the last vestige of that regime disap- 
jiearing. Another plank road from ,Mt. Clem- 
ens ran to Romeo and for years furnished the 
chief thoroughfare ln'tween the two chief vil- 
lages of the County. Another ran from 
rtica down to meet the (4ratiot at Utica 
Juni'tion, seven miles bi'low ilt. Clemens; an- 
other ran from Detroit up into Warren, while 
the Romeo and Ashley Plank Road brought 
business and prosperity to that lake port. It 
is almost imiio.ssible for the young of today 
to appreciate the extent of the bi'uefit to th<' 
county that tlu'se plank i-oads with their im- 
|)r()ved roadways furnished to the shippers of 
])r()duce. In tlieir best days they were 
thi'onged \\ith a continuous line of wagons 
laden with out-going products and in-eoming 
wares. Along their lines sprung up hotels 
and taverns that were the source of much 
coml'ort to the traveler, and the scenes of 
many, many mirth-provoking capers, the 
homes of .iolity and fiui. as well as the cen- 
ters of distribution of the news of the day. 
There gathered nightly, not only the regular 
teamstei's who year in and year out cai'ried to 
and fro the crops of the fai'ms and the mer- 
chandise for which it was exchanged, but also 
here. too. conhl be found with e(|ual regularity 
all the neighborhood rarmers. tliei-e to leai'U 
what was going on outside, and the boys and 
girls, to gaily ti'ip the light fantastic toe. The 
halls of these tavei'ns wei-e fre(|ui>ntly in 
I'ivalry made vciy large, and the gallants of 
those days were as familiar with thi> number 
of sets that could form on the tioors of the 
halls at Hrooklyn, I'tica. Lutes'. Bcebe's Cor- 
ners, Uui'k's Corners or Selleck"s as is the 



704 



PAST \.<T> PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



iiKxIei'ii h(iy with ' day's l)asf-l);ill score. 
These gatheriiii;' ' .cos nUnv^ the lines of 
plank roads and -tage line played as iiii- 
IJortant a part in Am social liie of the county 
as did the I'oads in its indiisti-ial life, and 
that can iiiil\' In- i-(iiiii)ared with the same 
feature of our inoilern steam and electric 
lines. 

Time marches on and what, was almost 
lu.\urioiis ease in our <lay is rough hardship 
of another. The eomiuu' of the steam i-oads 
sounded the death knell of the ])lauk road, 
now generally ei-a\eli'(l tui'n|)ikes. what lit- 
tle passenji'er traffic the strejiui road lei't for 
the stage coach the siiliurhaii electric line has 
taken away, and now I'liial free delivery takes 
away the last shadow of an excuse for a stage 
line. Of these nui'omaiitic modern improve- 
ments, with which we are all so familiar, little 
need be said except to give the jirosaic in- 
formation of their coming. 

The Detroit branch of the Grand Trunk 
Kailway of Canada was built under the name 
of the Detroit and Canada (jrand Trunk 
Junction Kailroad in 1S.')!I through the town- 
ships of Erin. Clinton. Chest erlield. Lenox 
and the southeast coi-uers of the townships of 
Warren, ]Macomb and Kichmond. Ten years 
later the Michigan Air Jjine Railroad was 
built from Lenox (then Ridgeway) across the 
northern tier of townshii)s to Romeo and in 
1879 extends westei-ly and st)utherly across 
AVashington and tlu' northwest coi'nei- of 
Shelby to I'ontiae. 

About the same time the Detroit ami Bay 
City Railway, now a |>ait of the .Michigan 
Central system, was built almost exactly along 
the line, and in many jilaces using the old 
roadbed of the J)etroit and Shelby Railroad, 
the pride of (Inrdon C. Leech, the old horst-, 
strapi'ail failure of the late thirties. 

The pioneer of the electric lines is the Rapid 
Railroad between I\It. Clemens and Detroit 
along the Ci-atiot Turnpike, which began op- 
eration in July. ISII."), and has liei'u a ju-o- 
nounced business success since that tiuu>. The 
local .Mt. Clemens line was started in ISiH) as 
a horse-car line: was combined with the Mt. 
Clemens and Jjakeside Ti'action Co. and be- 
came in connection with its line to Lakesid(» 
in Harrison an electric line in }S'J7. The liin' 
soon aftei- became a part of the Deti'oit. .Mt. 
Clemens Ijake Shore line, which lauis from 
Detroit via Grosse I'ointe up the lake shore to 
Laki'sidi^ and thence into Mt. CIcuumis. The 
following year under the reccivershi]) of 
Judge Tucker the Detroit and River St. Clair 
Railway was comjileted from Clu'slei'licld Sta- 



tion on the (irand Trunk through the town of 
Chesterlield :ind the Village of New Balti- 
moi'c on to Algonac and ilarine City. This 
becoming on its completion the projierty of the 
corporation owning the Rapid, the two wei-e 
connected by a line along the Gratiot from 
Mt. Clemens to Chesterfield and extended to 
Port Huron, and thus constituted at that time 
the longest electric line in the eoiuiti-y, which 
also soon absorbed the I^ake Shore line. In 
189!t the comph'tion of the Deti'oit, Rochester, 
Homeo and Ijake Orion Electric line gave to 
the two northwestern towns of the county fre- 
(|uent access to Detroit and outside points. 
The Detroit and Utica Road was in 11101 com- 
pleted ;is far as Centerline. beyond which it 
has not as yi't been pushed. These lines with 
their hourly or half-liourly service have done 
much to bring to the farmer nuiny of the ad- 
vantages of the village, and judging from 
their constant and fi-ei[uent use fill the pro- 
vei-bial ' ' Ioul;' felt want." 



CHAPTER XXVn. 

COIKTS .\.ND B.\R OF MACUMB COUNTY. 

Under the territorial laws in force at the 
time the county was organized, it was pro- 
vided that in each county a County Cmn-t 
should be held by one chief and two Asso- 
ciate Justices, either of whom should form 
a (|uorum. Accordingly, upon the organiza- 
tion of the county, Christian Clemens was 
ajjpointed Chief Justice of the County Court 
with Daniel LeRoy and William Thompson, 
Associates. 

We quote fi'om an article prepared by the 
late Judge Eldi'cdge on the early County ami 
Circuit Court records prepared to be read be- 
fore the nu'Cting of the Bar Association ; 

"From the recoi'ds entitled 'Records of 
the County Conrt of the County of ilacond), 
Attest, John Stockton, Clerk.' we glean the 
following : 

At a session of the Couit for the County 
of JIacomb held at the house of Christian 
Clenu'us, Esijuire. in the town of Mt. Clemens 
on Monday, the 13th day of July, 1818; pres- 
ent. Christian Clemens, Esq., Chief Justice 
Daniel LeRoy and William Thompson, Asso- 
ciate Justices. 

After tlie gland jury were called and 
sworn, ('iMU't adjoui-ned luitil three o'clock, 
p. m. Upon again c(Uiveuing. E/.ra I'rescott 
was admitted to jiractice as an att(U'ney and 
counsellor of the Court upon motion, and ju'o- 
duction of his license, showing his admission 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



705 



as ail attonipy of the Supreme Judicial Court 
of tli(> Statt' of New llainiishire. Tin; seal of 
the Clerk was adopted as the seal of the 
Court wlneh then adjourned luitil tlie next 
day. rpon eonveiiiug upon tlie 14th, the 
tirand jury haviiip; been called, and niakinj; 
no presentments they were discharged and 
the Court adjourned without day. The next 
term was held at the same place by the same 
Justices February 1st, 1819; a grand jury 
sworn and duly chart;ed, who, liowev<'r, 
found no indictment. After dismissing sev- 
eral ajipeals antl disposing' of some minor 
motions, the court again adjourned without 
the trial of a cause. 

July 12th. 1S1!I. tiie judical machinery 
had. however, gotten into working ordei'. 
for we find that two cases were tried by 
jury. The first was that of Tromble vs. D\i- 
pree, where the jury composed of Nathan 
Coggswell. .lames 'i'horington. William 
Smith, II. K. L'nderlull, Ezekiel Allen, Levi 
Blaneet, James A. Clark, Robert Stockton, 
John Tucker, Benjamin Trond)le, John B. 
Verniea, Jr., and Louis Chapaton I'cndered 
a verdict for the plaintiff of $;i().r)0. The 
second trial was that of Westbrook vs. Aus- 
tin, where the jiL-iinlill' seeureij ;i verdict of 
$100.00. 

At the next term, which commenced on 
the 6th day of February, 1820, business was 
still more lively. The grantl jury found 
eleven indictments for various offenses, 
among them Iteing two against Henry Cot- 
trell for an ofl'ense, that I am confi(lent is 
very common in these days, and when I 
name it, you and I, Mr. Chairman, as well 
as many others, will have reason to con- 
gratulate ourselves Ilin1 Ihe law, statute or 
common that provided for such indictment, 
has gone into disuse. Otherwise our jail 
'would be filled and our courts busy. Ac- 
cording to the journal entry, ]\Ir. Cottrell 
was indicted for "contempt of Law." Con- 
tempt of law! What litigant, when upon 
some technicality, justice has been denied 
him, has not been grossly guilty of this of- 
fense? Wliat lawyer, when listening to the 
charge of the Court or the verdict of the 
jury that sends him out of Court l)eaten and 
chagrined has not been guilty of this of- 
fense? AVe search the records carefully to 
find what became of the prisoner, Ilenr.v 
Cottrell, who, by his plea of not guilty, 
meek'iy and persistently insisted that he har- 
bored no contempt for law, and find that on 
the next July lei'm, this record was made: 
"On motion of the i)risoner's counsel, it is 
ordered that the prisoner and his surety he 



discharged from their recognizance." We 
may well wondi'r wli;it the great Chief Jus- 
tice would hav<' done to this poor culprit 
had he dared to admit that lie was guilty 
of contempt of law. What i)enalt.v do w<! 
suppose would have in his opinion measured 
tiie enonnity of one's turning up his nose 
or snaiijiing his fingers at the threat, "I will 
have the law on you." 

-Vt the same term, it apjiears from the 
record that the Chief Justice went down 
from his high jdace on the bench anil meekly 
made application to the Court for license to 
keep a tavern, and the Associate Justices,' 
constituting the Court, cause it to be entered 
of record that they, upon due examination 
and inquiry, were satisfied of the good moral 
ciiaracter of the Chief Justice, and that he 
was aliU' to keep a hotel, and order iiim to 
give bonds and be licenseil. Accordingly 
the bond was made conditioned that the said 
Christian Cleniens "shall maintain good or- 
der and rule and shall sufTer no disorder nor 
unlawful games to be used in his said house, 
and shall not break any of the laws for the 
regulation of the tavern." And thereupon 
came tiie Sherilf ol' the county, the late 
Ze])lieniah W. Huiiee. and signed the bond 
for the Chief Juslice. 

At the next term held in July, 1820, Spen- 
cer Coleman, having produced the certificate 
of Chancellor Kent of his admission to prac- 
tice in New York, was admitted to pi'actice 
in this state. At this same term, Daniel Le- 
Roy. Samu<'l 'I'. Davenport, Jr., Benjamin F. 
n. Withei-ell and Thomas Ashley were also 
by order admitted as attorney and counsel- 
lors of the court. At the February, 1821, 
term of the coui-t, George Alexander 
O'Keefe was sworn in as the Prosecuting 
Attorney for the county, and his oath en- 
tered upon the journal. In February of tiie 
next year, Samuel !'. Beach and Charles .No- 
bles were admitted to jiractice. At that 
term, also, Silas llalsey was arraigned and 
I)Ied not guilty to ;iii indietment, as the 
record reads, "for selling a lesser ([iiantity 
than one (piart of whiskey," but the jury 
uiion the trial evidently found Ww. measure 
to be a full quart, and the prisoner not 
guilty. 

The term of the e(i\u-t commencing on tin' 
8th day of July, 1822. ajiiiears to have been 
held at the court house, being the first ses- 
sion held (herein. William A. Fletcher was 
then admitted to practice. The next term, 
however, appears to have been held at the 
house of Ezekial Allen on the 3d of Fi'bru- 
ary, 1822. It may Ix; that the court house 



7o6 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



was then not so completed as to admit of 
holding any but summer courts therein. At 
this term, George McUougall, Esq., was ad- 
mitted to practice. Here, too, we find the 
record of the first conrageous suggestion 
that the court was fallible in the entry made 
in the case of Norris vs. Baldwin. "Cole- 
man for the defendant presented a writ of 
Habeas Corpus cum causa for the removal 
of this case to the Supreme Court." The 
Supreme Court reports contain no mention 
of this case in that court, and there is reason 
to suspect that Counsellor Coleman was 
playing a game on his Honor, the Chief Jus- 
tice. At the following February term, the 
grand jury brought in an indictment against 
the Chief Justice himself for assault, but 
the petit .iury took a different view of the 
matter and acquitted him. The Clerk and 
Chief Justice were involved in litigation 
with each other in this court, but the cause 
was amicably continued, and the usual busi- 
ness of granting licenses to keep a tavern 
seems to have proceeded serenely. At the 
February term in 1825, Heni-y Chipman was 
admitted to practice, and Alexander D. 
Fraser admitted to citizenship. From the 
records of the July term, 1828. Robert P. 
Eldredge appears to have become clerk and 
to have recorded the admission as an attor- 
ney of O. D. Richardson. At the February 
term of the same year, Mr. Eldredge 's name 
appeared as attorney for the plaintiff in the 
case of Charles Tucker vs. Talwr Wilcox, 
he having been admitted to ])ractice at De- 
troit. In July, 1827, Elias B. Sherman was 
admitted as an attorney and appointed 
Prosecuting Attorney pro tem. 

At the February term, 1830, Robert 1'. 
Eldredge, who, at a former term, had been 
indicted for the family characteristic of too 
much temper, and who had at various times 
interposed various defenses by motion to 
dismiss for want of prosecution, now as the 
records show presented a writ of Habeas 
Corpus and a writ of "ci-ateratia '" from the 
Circuit Court, which doubled-barreled evi- 
dently silenced the enemy or befogged the 
Court, for the writ \\:is ui'dered to be al- 
lowed, and we find no further proceedings 
in the matter. This record of the county 
court continues beyond this but a day or two 
and closes with the entry "and thereupon 
the Court ad.journed until tmniiiTnw imirn- 
ing at nine o'clocjc."' if we .judge rnnii the 
want of furthei' record loniorrciw never 
came. 

The Cii'euit Court for tlie enunly of .Ma- 
comb has had its existence from 1827, and 



according to its records, it adniinistei-ed .jus- 
tice with more fornmlity and spent less time 
in granting licenses than did the county court, 
(ii'orge Morell was its first presiding Judge, 
and so strong a hold had he upon the respect 
and affection of those attending his court that 
touching resolutions of regret expressing tlieir 
confidence in his aliility. fidelity and impar- 
tiality, were adopted both by members of the 
bar aiul by the grand jury upon the occasion 
of tlie last meeting of the Court at which he 
presiiled in 1843. 

While it seems from the record that many 
of the earlier attorneys of the county were 
not admitted in fliis Court to the pi'actice at 
law, numy from other places, whose names 
have become distinguished, first entered the 
profession in the courts of this county. Henry 
1). Terry, Richard Butler, Harlehigh Carter, 
and Robert P. Eldredge were admitted else- 
where, but Franklin Sanger, fir., and Jacob JI. 
Howard were admitted here in July. 1833; 
DeWift C. Walker. James F. Joy. Koyal P. 
Crouse, Solonu)n Lathroji ;nid Prescott B. 
Thurston, were admitted as attorneys in 
April, 1837, and E. P. Harris in October of 
the same year. In October of 183!), there 
were examined and admitted John J. Leonard, 
Abner C. Smith. Peter S. Palmer, and John 
A. Ilillis, and in xVpril, 1840. James L. 
Conger and Charles B. 11. P\^ssendeii. On 
April 5, 1843, Giles Hubbard dropiied his 
cooper's tools and by order of the Court 
stepped into the practice of his profession, 
which he fur nver 30 yeai's honored by his 
industry, skill and ability. The silver tongued 
Sylvestei" Lai'ui'd was liei'e admitted on April 
4, 184"), and the e([ually able and elo(|\ieiit 
Anih'ew S. Robertson in October of 184ti. 

In this list of attorneys admitted here, we 
find the nanu>s of men who have won fame and 
wealth as lawyers, statesmen and Inisiness 
men. -Many of them, after being with us for 
a time, went elsewhere and jjursued life's 
laboi's. Others remained and lalmred ami 
died among us. Most of them have passed 
away, and a new set of attorneys coming after 
18Ui, now occuiiy the field, but they had none 

dl' tlie li:irilslii|is of pidOeel' life. Tile eai'lv 

lawyer had to eciiitend not only with the want 
of law books, but with new laws as well as 
with the otiu'i- incidents of a new country. I 
have heard it I'elated that it was not unusual 
for attoi'ucys having eases before Justices to 
eo to Detroit on h(U'seback. liorrow of .some 
rielier lawyei' lluiii them tlieii' single |)at 
autiiority and retui'u immetliatcly after using 
if in Court. Pioneer life in the ]U'ofession was 
almost as full of demands upon the courage. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACO:\rB COUNTY 



707 



hardihood and onduraiice of men, as full of 
trials and tests of )iianhood as were any of 
the other industries. 

Altliou^li ;is .(udiii' Eldi'cd^'e says, later 
records of the county court ai'e not available, 
such court must have been continued until a 
much later day, as we can tind record of the 
election of the Judges and As.soeiate Judges 
of that court as late as ISaO. Among' those 
who were selected foi' those positions after 
the first three a|)i)oiutees were James Connor, 
P^lisha llari-ington, Ellis Doty. Calvin Davis, 
Daniel Thurston. Sannicl S. Axford, Horace 
Steevens. Alexander Tackles. Jacob Snnimei's. 
John J. Leonai'd. Charles .Marble. Jr., A. C. 
Sunth, Samuel P. Cantield. Iliron Hathaway, 
and Azai'iah Prentiss. 

M.icomb county has always bi'en associated 
with St. Clair county in the Cii-cuit, other 
counties being included in the earlier days. 
Judge Sauford M. Creen. who was api)ointed 
Circuit Judge of the Distrii-t including .Ma- 
comb eotinty in 184S was long remeMd)ered 
and revered by those who practiced before 
him, and with his name have been associated 
those of Judge Dewey, W. T. :\Iitchell, E. W. 
Harris and Herman W. Stevens, who have 
presided in this Circuit. With the election of 
Judge Arthur L. Caufield in the spring of 
1887, Macomb county secured its iirst resident 
Circuit Judge. In April, PJOl, the county of 
]\racomb was constituted a separate judicial 
circuit and has so remained ever since. James 
B. Eldredge was elected to till the position of 
Judge of that Court in the spring of 1893; 
James G. Tucker in the spring of 1899, and 
Byrou R. Er.skine in the spring of 1905. 

The W'riter assumes that the information 
concerning the members of the present bar 
of ]\racomb count.y will he found in the bio- 
graphical section of this work and as well 
that the biographies of those who have so 
recently left us. as have Thomas ^l. Crocker, 
James B. Eldredge and Edgar Weeks, will 
also there be found. Of the earlier members 
of the bar, Abner C. Smith came from Ver- 
mont, and was the village printer as well as 
lawyer. He was a tall intellectual looking 
man, who always woi-e gold bowed glasses and 
always had with him th(> full ilignity of his 
two professions, law and .joui'iudism. l-'oi' 
some time he was tli<' projirietor of the .Ma- 
comb Gazette, the Demociatic paper which 
ran from about IS.jd to lsr>(i. Its office was 
situated on the south side of the Court house 
square about where now stands the IMedca 
Hotel Cafe. ^Ir. Smith built and for some 



time lived in the small brick house on the 
.south side of Robertson street at its then 
westerly terminus on the site of the present 
residence of William T. ^lo.xon (No. 211). 
.Mr. Smith in the late 5U's moved to ]\Iinne- 
sota, where he continuetl the practice of law 
until his (k'ath some time in the 70"s. 

John J. Leonard was at one time Prosecut- 
ing Attorney of the county, came to this 
county in the 30 's and removed to Detroit in 
about 1865. As has already been stated, he 
was at one time county judge. He continued 
the practice of law in Detroit for many years 
after his removal from this county. He was 
the father of Theodore O. Leouaril of Detroit 
and .Mrs. Ilari'iett Bi'iggs. who lived on the 
(ii'atiot Turnpike. 

Henry D. Terry was born in 1817 and came 
to JIacomb county and married Louise Clem- 
ens, the youngest daughter of the founder of 
the village, in Febru;\ry, 1845. He was a nu)n 
of striking personal ajipearanee, commanding' 
figure, a brilliant thinker and tluent speaker. 
He took a prominent part in the War of the 
Rebellion, and was appointed Brigadier Gen- 
eral, and thereafter maintained his residence 
at Washington, D. C, where he died in 18G9. 

llarlehigh Carter came to I'tica in the 30's 
and removed from there to ^Ft. Clemens ujion 
his election to Prosecuting Attorney in 184l2. 
He was a man over six feet tall, well jiropor- 
tioned and a most vigorous speaker. Not 
long after the close of the Civil War, he was 
appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Arizona and removed from the 
county. None of his family are now residents 
of the county so far as known to the writer. 

One of the most able and brilliant members 
of the earlier bar of ilacondj county was An- 
drew S. Robertson, who was prosecuting at- 
torney of the county from 1846 to 1850, and 
member of the State Senate from this county 
in 1863. He married for his second wife 
Matilda Allen, daughter of Capt. James C. 
Allen, and thus granddaughter of Mrs. 
Chi'istian Clemens, who is now living at Sagi- 
naw. His first wife was Julia Stockton, 
daughter of Col. and ^Fary Stockton. His 
children were .Vndrew S. Robei'tson, who died 
comparatively young and umnarried, and 
Mi's. Julia Newton, now of Saginaw. .Mr. 
Robei-tson died suddenly ;\Farch 25, 1863. At 
the time of his death he was associated in his 
profession with Austin C. Hewitt, a versatile 
and brilliant genius, who fi'om about 1847 to 
some time in the 60's followed the profession 
of dentistry, medicine and jurisprudence in 
Mt. Clemens. He later I'cmoveil to Chicago 



7o8 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



and contiimed the practice of dentistry for 
many years. 

One of the nieiiilHTs of tlie bar who prac- 
ticed lon<;or than any oilier, was Richard Bnt- 
Icr, appointed October 8, 1839. He was liorn 
in Grosse Isle in Detroit River, April 1, 1797. 
He was denied educational advantages during 
his youth and won his education after he be- 
came of age. solely by his own persistent ef- 
forts. In Septcniber of 1821 he came to De- 
troit and continued his studies, teaching 
school in the meantime, lie also taught in a 
school at ilt. Clemens and at other points in 
the county. He came to ]\It. Clemens in 1828 
and in 1829 was appointed County Clerk, to 
which position he was again elected in 1830. 
For four years he was Justice of the Peace 
and at one time was Register of the United 
States Land Office at Sault Ste. IMaric. In 
the years 1857 and 1858, he was Prosecuting 
Attorne.y of the county and in 1838 a member 
of the Legislature from Macomb. In August 
of 1827 he married IMiss Abigail Hayes, 
daughter of -Idsrph Ila.ves. who located at 
Marcellus in 1819. The oidy child who lived 
to maturit.v was Milton II. liutler, long time 
business num and capitalist (if ]\It. Clemens 
and Detroit. Richard Jiutlei- died at ilt. 
Clemens, June 28, 1891. 

Giles Hubbard mentioned above was the 
son of Quartus Ilulibard of Marbletown, N. 
Y. He read law in the office of J\idge Thurs- 
ton with whom he entered into a partnership 
f(ir a year. Later he foi'med a partnershii) 
with Robert P. Eldredgi', which continued 
for about fifteen years. He was appointed 
postmaster under William Henry Harrison in 
18-10, was Prosecuting Attorney of the county 
for the years 1859-(iO, and again in 18t)5-t). 
He was a man of ])rono\niced al)ility and un- 
tiring energy, and won foi- himself a high 
position in his profession and a very substan- 
tial foi'tinie which was largely invested in real 
estate in and about ]\lt. Clemens and in the 
city of Chicago. lU- was married September 
23, 1842, to Eu|)hi'iiiia. daughter of Homer 
and Mary Atwood Piugham. He died sud- 
denl.y at his home on Xnrtli avenue in ;\It. 
Clemens, November li, l87(i. His only child 
living in the county at |)rescnt is Mrs. Julia 
(Edward F.) Dillon. 

Another prominent pradit loner at the bar 
of Macomb County was Aai'on P. Maynard, 
who W'as born in Peini, Windham county, V(>i-- 
mont, October 22, 181(); married October 12, 
1843, to Julia Ednninds, sister of Senator Ed- 
minids of Vermont. In 1855 he came to De- 
troit and establisheil himself in jiractice 



there, where he maintained an office for many 
years. He was U. S. District Attorney under 
the Grant administration and was recognized 
as resourceful, bi'illiant and able defender of 
the rights of his clients. He and his family 
lesided in Romeo from 1855 until the time 
of his death July 24. 1891. Two of his 
tlaughters were Mrs. E. W. ^leddaugh and 
.Mrs. John W. Dyar. 

Irving D. Ilanscom was born in Shelby, 
this count.v, June 30, 1840. his parents having 
coiiu' into the county 1820. 'Siv. Ilanseom ob- 
taineil his education at the Disco Academy 
and Dickenson Institute at Romeo, Dr. Sel- 
den's school at Detroit and Autioch College 
in Ohio. After some experiences in the west 
and three years .service in the army iluring 
the war. he entered the law office of E. F. 
Mead at lioiiieo and was admitted to jjractice 
in April, 1866, by examination before Judge 
Sanford M. Green. He was Circuit Court 
Commissioner of the county for two succes- 
sive terms and candidate of his party for the 
office of prosecuting attorney on various oc- 
casions, having been elected to that office in 
1880. In 1882 he removed from Romeo to 
Afarquette, where he continued the practice 
of his pi'ofession until his death about two 
.years ago. Mr. Hanscom was a man of fine 
appearance, genial, persistent, generous, ever 
honoridile and courteous in his association 
with others, and able and brilliant in the care 
of his client's business. In his new home he 
was long associated in his jiractice with sonu; 
of the mo.st able and brilliant minds of the 
legal profession in the Upper Peninsula. 

Macomb County can well be proud oj; its 
representatives in the legal profession in the 
past and the members of the present bar have 
before it an inspiring i-xauiple in the record 
of their jiredeces.sors for energy, ability and 
faithfulness. If they desire to maintain the 
standard, it well behooves them to put foi'tli 
their best efforts. 

The present bar of Macoiul) County is made 
\\]) of the following members: George ]\r. 
Crocker. Silas B. Si^ier. ^lartin Crocker, 0. C. 
Ijungerhausen. Byi'on R. Ei'skine. Robei't F. 
Kldredge, Selh W. Knight. John A. Weeks, 
Franz C. Kuhn, Varnum J. Bowers, Wm. S. 
Jennev, Neil E. Reid, Wineut II. D. Fox, Al- 
fred J. Parker. Frederick C. Miller, F. J. 
Hole, Wm. J. Dusse, AVm. T. Kelly, Edwaid 
A. Sumner. Wm. F. Sawn. Clarence II. Nun- 
neley. Allen \V. Kent. Charles H. llumnu>r- 
ich, Bei't V. Nunneley and Wm. T. Ci'oss, of 
iMt. Clemens; Dwight X. Lowell. J. L. Stark- 
weather, W. T. Starkweather, Charles C. 



PAST AND PRESENT OF :\rACOMR COUNTY 



709 



Thorinston. Lafayette II. Bates. AYm. T. IIos- 
ner, IIciii'v .1. .McKay, of Hoineo; (). S. Bur- 
fies.s, \V. S. Stiiiic, III' Uiehnioiul : Bert V. 
Preston, aiut ]jyiiii .M. -Idliiiscin. nl' Annada: 
(!eori;e E. Eekert. nf I'lica; KIciyd K. .\ii- 
(irews, of New Bait iiiioi'e. ami .Miraliain L. 
Cook, of Roseville. 



CONCLISIOX. 



Wlu'ii thr wi'itii- undertook llir task of eoni- 
pilin^' a history of our fair county, he liad lit- 
tle conception of tlu> wealth of material avail- 
able, of the number of subjects properly to be 
included in the work, nor the amonnt of space 
that would be consmned by thi' various sub- 
jects handled. Circumstances beyond his con- 
ti'ol have necessitated the forwarding' to the 
jniblishers portions of work l)efore much of 
the other portions was wi-itten. As an unfor- 
tunate result, some phases of the county's 
growth have been tre'ited more at length than 
others of equal or greater importance — it be- 
ing imjiossible under such circumstances prop- 
erly to balance the work. Some of the chapters 
written latest (not necessai'ily the last chap- 
ter.-?) have been unduly condensed, and many 
topics left umuentioned. Some chai)ters that 



had been contemplated could not be prepared 
at all. One, tlie omission of wiiich the writer 
much regrets, was on the militar,v work of .Ma- 
comb county's sons. But tiie old histor.v of 
the eount.v contains a large amount of infor- 
mation on tile subject (and wlieir necessary to 
shorten the wi-iter has tried to select those 
subjects where otiier matei'ial was readily ac- 
cessible) that is moi-e accurate than would be 
contained in another aecouut hastil,\' pre- 
pared, and "Micliigan in the Wai-" is of 
course a storehouse of reliable knowledge. Yet 
it would have been more ])leasing to have in- 
cluded here a suitable tribute to tlu' woi-k and 
patriotism of thosi- wIki sacrificed their time, 
tlii'ir health and tun dl'ten their \rv\ lives 
that oui- eouutr,\' niiulit remain one nation, or 
later that the struggling Cubans might attain 
the freedom our foi-efathers j)urciiased b,v like 
Kulferings a centur.v and a (juarter ago. 

P^jr an.v who feel im|)elle(l to cany the 
study of oni- local histoid further there is 
oi)eii a rich field of mo.st interesting work, and 
any such the writer would gladly welcome and 
aid b.v suggestions. Bespeaking for liis work 
the chai-ity of the readei-s, tiie wi'iter leaves 
the work with the ho()e that Macomb County's 
future may exceed in glorious ju-ogi'ess even 
its past. 




INDEX. 



BIOGRAPHICAL, 



Amei'I. l.ouis 

Anicis. Nicholas. . . . 
Andrews. Kl.i.vd K.. . 
.\ti(lfi'\vs. I-"r;ink W. 

Alulli'Hs. r. 1' 

.\ndnis. c. I 

Atn-cMiil. niiiilil 1>. . . 

r.ailc.v, .Vsahel 

Kaili'V. Ceiil-Ke A. . . 
Itaili'.v. Walter .1 . . . . 
Halilwii], .Vrtlnir .la 
l'.airiii;;<'r. J. K. . . . 
r.airt>ws. ('apt. liira 
r.arlii'tt. (i. W. . . . 
Hall's. HurtDii T. . 
Halps. laitluM- ('. . 
licattv. (ieoijjp II. . 

li.'rtpll. I,. H 

ISi't-rcnv. William D 
r.cmicll. Adam A. 
r.i'UncU. llenrv . . . 

I'.cnllc.v. r. -M 

I'.pir.v. l>r. Ili'iir.v li 

r.er/,. Ih'iii'.v .1 

ISiewer. Auj^nsl .... 
niiss. Warren L. . . 

liliss, William 

Ilowers. Vernum. J. 
r.ralpli. CeoriiP W. . . 
I'.rabh. Isaai' X. . . 
liralih. .Mrs. .1. II. . . 
Hradley. <'harles C. 
Itrewer. .Tohn .\ . . . 
r.ronim. Frederick C 

IVvwater. F. .\ 

ramipan. Ki-ank A 
-Canlield. .\. L.... 
I'antiold. .7. A 



farli'Inn. .1. S 
< 'an wrii-'lit. Frederick 
riiapt'lon. Oliver 
riiul.li. Kdwin (' 
<'linrcli. C. D. . 
ClHinh. l'"rank S 
Ccile. William It 
riinklin, Willi.im 
Connor. iMlwin 
Cook, 'I'liomas K 
Collon. .la.v F. 



Col Ion. o. W 

( 'rawt'oril. Isaac. . . . 
Cra\vl'i>r(l. .lames. . . 
Crawford. Itoliert. . . 
Crissman. .\mos (t. 
Crissman. .loliii 1. 
Crissman. M. II . . . 
Crittendtni. T. C. . . . 
Crocker. Martin .... 
Crocki'r. 'I'lionias M. 
Croinaii. |)r. .losej)!! M 
Cvldworlli. P. E. .. . 

Culver. (Ilne.v 

Cnvler. Mrs. II. F. 

Kalliv. S. .7 

Iialliv. Walter .1 . . . 

Haley. W. .7 

liavis. I!. I! 

Davis. !■:. I' 

Iiavis. Ilomi'r. . . . 

Iiavis. 1,1'vl I! 

Iiavls. Mil.> W... 

Day. I'riel 

7>entoti, .7. K 

Dickinson, Nathan 



4I1.S 

.">;'.( I 
I'.iii 
:;4ii 
l.s:{ 
.-|05 
:!4.-) 
I-td 
:;s7 
:!2i; 
.•v.i(i 
.•n- 
4.-.:; 

lisci 
444 
477 

:wi 
r.ij 

47:{ 
441) 

4:i:{ 

1(14 
l."w 
2114 
.-.7!l 

r,-2.i 

Oil 

7:;ri 

7(!.-i 

41; 

40.-1 
17.'. 
i.'iii 

III! 

•Jlli 
1 x:\ 
4-1 r, 

■MS 
•_*•-".» 
4S.S 
4S4 
4S7 
'.I'l 
.-1(17 
7 ,S.-| 

ri-j7 

1-2 



Ici; 
77 

l:;7 
74ii 

7S 

■.v.i 
Mr, 

S!) 
4S2 
4:'J 
77!l 
7 -J.-. 
7r.7 
7M7 



C 



Dill man. .lolin 

Dillrii'li. .\n.;;nst. . . . 
Ditlricli, Clijirles. . . . 
Donaldson. .\. T. . . . 
Donaldson. William S 

Donner. W. C 

Dowlinj,'. .1. F 

Dowlin;;. .losepli .1 . . 

Downs. <i. W 

Dnsse. \A'illiain .... 
Kckslein. Ceorse 1". . 
ICdnilinds. W. F. . . . 

IsKliew. K. If 

I'^ldred. Thomas 

Khlrediie, .lames R. . 
Fldiediie. Koliert F. . 
Fldredye. Holiert I". . 
ICn^-leliart. Dr. T. I!. 

Krsklne. H. I! 

llvans. o. IS 

ICwell. .lames X 

Kwell. S. II 

Fannini;, Thomas. . . 

Farrar. ,1. S 

I'enton. (;eortie 
Ferrin. Charles 
Fessenden. (Jeu. Cortez 
Folsom, I >r. K. <{ . . . 
I''orster. l-'rank S. . . . 
l''ortiin. Frank T. . . . 

Fo.\. Uoliert 

Fo.\. W. II. I) 

Fridhoir. (JeofKe L. . . 

l-'urton. .lohn 

Carvln. .1. 11. C 

Cass. Trnman 

(latz, Charles II 

Catz. .1. F 

(Jerlach. Frank r. . . . 
(iihlis. Wllliain W. . . . 

(iiddin^s. Ahien 

Ciddinits. L. W 

(ioodell. .1. I' 

CrafF. .lo.sepli 

tiraham. (ieorjie 

Orant. S. D 

(Jreen. Uoswell 

Creenshields. Dr. U. .M 
Creenshields. Dr. Will 
(iroeslteck. Charles S. 

I Jiiiette. I.onis .\ 

Cnmlerl. Herman. . . . 
Cnnn. Dr. .\lexander. . 
Ila^'aman. .lohn I-'. . . 

Ilahn. A. It 

Haines. S. W 

Halmich. llenrv 

Harris. A, <) 

I larris. 1 lariiis 

Harlsl!;. .Irdin 

Hathaway. .1. .M 

Ilat/.enhnhler. .Tosepli . 



Dr. .\l.n 
Dr, .Mice .1. 
F. Harold. . 

It, T 

Thaddena. . . . 
.\le-\ander. . 



;i.->.-i 
■Jilii 

:!7:i 
.'!.17 



Ilayward 

I lay ward 

llavward 

llazellon. 

ITazelton. 

Ilealh. .1 

lli-alh. Itoliert A. . . 

Heath. Simon II. . . 

lli'lne. Kdward A. . 

Henderson. William 

Henk. .lohn .V 

Herriman. I,. II . . . 
llirl, I'raiik .1 



r,l 

•_M1 
.-.■-'4 

:;i 
1:1:1 
74s 
:{(!.-, 
7:i7 
7 :tL' 
•s 

17 



,-,1:; 
ir.ii 



.si; 
4;i,s 

isi; 
.-.II 
.i;;,s 
k: 
1.'. 
.■!7.-| 
.-1:7:! 
.-1:77 
24 .S 
Iti.l 
->24 



541 

4.S 
4.-4 
2.1!) 

ns 

4.-. 

4 4. -I 

:!.■!:{ 

7"4 
I.-.L' 
4liil 
2114 

4.-1I 
4,S4 
.•Kill 
:777 
4112 
!)2 
.■7:!2 
l.i4 
1()!( 
4111! 
472 
.-i:i.S 
2.-1II 
4011 
247 
211' 
47(! 

iihs 

-,n4 

.mi 

224 



!loili;cs. Dr, Itiirtiiii. . 

Ilollz. Charles 

Hooker, .lohn 

Ilosner. William T. 

lioiliam. .Iidin 1 

Ilolham. William, . . . 
Ilonrtienne. Charles. 

Hovey. Allien 

I Inmmrich. 1 lernnm . 
Ilnnt. Fdward S. . . . 

I mnien. .losejih 

Irwin. ,Iohn 

Irwin. .1. W 

.lacohi. .VIexander. . . 
.Icines. Charles H . . . 

.lones, David I-' 

.lones. Itriliert N.... 
Kaiser. .Vn^Mist I*'. . 
Kandt, .lohn F. W. 
Keeh'r, Maior A, M 
Kellv, William T.,. 
Kendrick, F. C... 
Kennedy, Hev. C. .1. 
KieU'er, .Mrs. .lohn. . 
Kiell.lock. Charles F. 

KirUuni. Ira L 

Klau'BP. Robert 

KniKhl. Dr. 1', .\ . . 
KniL'hl. Setli W. . . . 
Koeniy:, Itev. C, .1 . . . 
Krachi. William 1". . 
Krnmei-. Itev. .lohn I' 

Kniin. l-'rail/ C 

Knhn. .lohn 

I.a Croix. Capl. liilhei 
Land.. i:iiL.'ene 11 ... . 
l.Mihrop. Frank V... 
Law reiiie. Warren . . 
l.awson. Sanl'ord (.'. 

Lee. Harry 

Lpp. TalinadKe -\ . . . . 

Leech. 1'. K 

Leete. Albert 10 

Lprich. I'eter D. . . . 
Lenschner, I>r. I'anl. 
Lenschner. Dr. Kicha 
l.iliensiolpe. Carl .\. W 

Little. W. II 

Lockwood. C. I'L.. 
Limsby. Charles. . . . 

Loveiov. Ira .1 

Lowell'. DwlKhl X. . 
Luiiirershansen, Trantio 
.Mc-\rtliiii-. Iten jainin It 
MeCalTertv. .lohn. ,1 r 

McKay, .\llen 

McKa.w Henr.v J.. . . 

McKa^'. .lohn 

McKa'v. .lohn 

McKav. Kiiliert. . . . 
McKay. Itoberl X. 
.\lclnnis. Alexander 

.Mclnnis. T. K 

Mclntvre. Xorman. 
Mallow. Dr. (). 1!. 

.Mann. .\. F 

Mann. (Jeor^-e W. . . 

.Marvin. W, 11 

Matthews. .loachim M 
.Matz. Ferdinand W. 
Mav. Dr. Lewis r. 
Meilen, Harvey.... 

Millar. L. L 

Millen. Capt. W. F 
Miller. Avi;;nst W. 



4 2.'i 
41 

:ilii 

284 

.-l."l 

271 

:i!l2 

:{77 

402 
7:{ii 

DI7 
17 
I.-. I 
147 
.-1I2 
4C.7 
acii.l 
l.S!l 
!)7 
42li 
.■{22 
224 
41.! 
122 
411.-! 

247 
42 

212 

2S4 

S.-i 

:!S7 
4:74 

:7!I4 

.■i:!,s 

27!) 
2.-1 7 

4ori 
.-ll)ll 
7011 

722 

2:1:7 
404 

.-i74 

HIS 
:i20 

72 

.■):77 

1.".2 
4.i7 
:I4 
170 
.•i02 

.s:i 

.-744 

:774 

444 

."io:{ 

.•!0,S 
2!14 

(is 

474 
4.-.S 
.THi 
1114 

4on 

4S 

71 

S7 

7110 

:is 
i:i7 

7:7 
220 



712 



PAST AND PRESENT OF MACOMB COUNTY 



Miller. flmrU's A So 

-MilliM-. Allipit 2.->4 

.Mllk'i'. Dr. K. .1 -.v.yi 

-Milk'i-. 1'. (■ (iC, 

Millci'. I'ledeiiik C i;),'i 

-Millci'. V. .1 477 

Xlillci-. CpDi'Kc !■' 247 

.Miller. .Tolin c :;:>.-, 

Mill.T. .Tiilin 1> 2.-J4 

Miller. N. I, 11 

Miller. W. 11 Ill 

Millett. A. !■; L'DSI 

Milton. Alfrpil A 203 

Milton. Find I, •242 

Moross. V. A 1!):; 

Mnrthnm, \Villi:im 2!)4 

-Niink, WniiMiii K 23() 

Nellis, Flank K S^:i 

Xewlierrv. Mrs. Itehecen A 3S4 

Nieliols. (Jeoijje 11 .31 

Ninis. (;i>iilf;e i! 21!) 

.\orliin. Wiiliani II :^2."i 

Nve. Ilurton H72 

ndion. K. F 432 

Drhits. Ilpinian II H7."J 

I'aine. Benianiin 12.S 

I'allister. IJeolKe :!.">!) 

I'ai-lsot. Dr. .\. .\ ,j()ii 

I'arker. Allreil .1 .->!) 

I'arker. Frank 380 

I'a.va. I*;<iwai-<1 23.» 

I'ettilionc. Kilward 4.')!l 

I 'helps. Charles I :!lft 

I'hiUips. (JeorKe \V 2:;ii 

I'in^el. .luliiis IJ.S 

I'nsner. Koliert 77 

I'ratt. Ilenrv 4(>s 

I'reston. ISprt (' 41!l 

I'renssel. Fi'ank W I.T.I 

rreussel. .lanies 200 

I'revost. Franeis 411(1 

I'rioe. N. M l.-)l 

Trice. S. V SSd 

Procter, r. S 204 

Trocter. Lnlher Ill 

Itandall. Arlhnr F 4111 

Itandall. Feli.t 41.! 

liandall. Koliert A 4M'.) 

Hapelie. D. I il.'. 

Iti'elui-. Homer T 22:. 

lieid. T. r. 28.^ 



Uein. Au.iinst 07 

Iteinecke. .\. F 2 4t'i 

Iteminv'ton. I!. .1 :!'.i4 

Uickerf. .loseph 2:i!l 

Hivard, A. M 490 

Itiilierson. Dr. Ceor^e ii 44.'i 

Holls. Capt. William 111.") 

Kowley. (Jeol-Ke I! 1 .S4 

Itnsseil. I!ev. .Iidin ;!liil 

Kusseli. Silencer H ."iiiii 

U.vnian. .loseph 2ii_' 

St. .lohn. .1. 11 :;."iii 

Sachs. Martin :!4;i 

Salislmry. [•',. J l.")H 

Sanderson. F. U 20K 

Savasje. .Mr.s. S. A 207 

Sawn. William F 40.'> 

Schanck. Charles 3011 

Sehmi.ll. I'red W 40(S 

Schno..r. M, C 33 

Schoonover. Frank 1 12." 

Si'hotl. Fred I! .".211 

.Schwaneheck. Charles F 3!I7 

Scolt. Dr. II. I .-.211 

Scott. Sydenham 30(5 

Scoff, Thomas 3.12 

See. ( hitf ried 3!l!l 

Seihert. .\nthony 4!l.s 

Shnmaker. l.onis 34.3 

Sikps. A. .r .".2!l 

Simon. r^\idwi^' 47.". 

Skillman. Martin 1, 340 

Skinner. Ci-or^c .\ 4'.l.". 

Slatinl,^ Herman .1 437" 

Smith. Merlon I'. ."ilO 

Sniilh. William C '.H 

Snook, .lohn li 174 

Spaller. .lolin .M lliii 

Spier. Silas H ri4ii 

Starkweather. .1, I. ."i3!i 

SletTens, Charles .'l.M 

Sleirens. (Jpoire W 402 

Slei'lie'is. llenrv 112 

Stewart. Mrs. Kate S 2411 

Stone lirothers 3II1I 

Stone. .T. C 3!ll 

Stone, S. .\ isii 

Stone. Warren S 40ii 

Slump. S. 1 3IS 

Siitherland, llimli 440 



Sutherland, \\illiani II.. -.s-i 

Sntlon. KImer V '' 4'7'x 

SwiizcM-, .lolin \V ...'.' ■>■;■> 

Swilzer. Ward W ' ' ' 170 

Taylor. Dr. II. F ;;;; 47 

Teals. Arthur 210 

Thompson, o. D ' ] ] ".-,(; 

Th(.rin;;ton. c. C [[ 41;) 

'I'horiULrton. c. W \ y,s\\ 

Tlncknell. CleorKe ;i7.s 

'rinsiiian, \V, II .%(; 

'ri.nilinson, William F 71 

Tonscany. Frank .\ i;iii 

Townsend. i:eor;ie r.2S 

Tucker, (.'alhoiin .".x.-j 

Tucker. .lud^^e .1. <; n4ll 

riliich. Charles 17k 

riirich. n. r 172 

Van Damme. Tlieophilns 103 

Van F.ps. A. K 140 

Volkenins;. Charles F 3C2 

von IJoesi'laKcr. August 2.'>S 

\osliiirK. Hiram V2{ 

Wales. Karl W 24.". 

Walker. .Judra D. C ."140 

Warner. Itilev 203 

Warren. Dr. A. .1 11 

Waterloo. Dr. Fldon 210 

Wehh. Hiehard T. W 71 

Weeks. Kd^-ar 2.. 

Welch, W. II 43S 

Welh'r. .loseph nil 

,.Wells. 11. A 100 

Wesli'iidorf. .lohn 11 100 

Wc^ler. .lames F 00 

Wliiie. Dr. .lames (i 4ii7 

Whilru'V. S. II .-.OS 

Wiley. 'Dr. II. 11 401 

Williams. Isaac 177 

Wilson, .lohn II 4K1 

Wilson. Dr. 1,. II 3.-.0 

Winliler. Charles A .">05 

Wolcott. F. T. 418 

Wolf, .lohn A.. Sr .'i22 

Woir. Louis F lS!t 

WoltT. Ferdinand 1!).". 

Wood, Samuel 2SS 

Wri:;ht. Frank W 3SS 

Vales, Dr. All.erl 134 



HISTORICAL, 



CllAI'Tl-:i! 1. 
Introdu<-lory. Iniiian and Fre 

Indian Period .".43 

CIIAI'TFIt II. 
l'"rencli and hln^ilish Period.... .".47 

CIIAPTKU III. 
I'rencli S.lllios. Priyale Claims ."..".2 

CIIAPTFU IV. 
Mora\'ian \'ilhiiie. Conner I-'am- 

ily .".04 

ciiai"it:i; w 

Farly Mt. Clemens .".71 

CllAI'TKU VI 
<>r;;:aniza(ion and Political Divi- 
sion of Couiily .".ST 

CIIAPTFR VII. 
Internal Improvements Furor 
and lis Maconih Coiinlv Ke- 

sults ■ .-.si; 

ClIAl'TFl! \lll. 
Old Families and Hulerprises of 

.Mt, Clemens and X'ieinity,,. Oo4 



CH.U"ri;i! I.\. 
Ml. Clemens, the City 013 

(11 APT Kit X. 
("linli.n Township 021 

cllAPTKIt XI. 

1 l;ll lisiili Tiiwlisliip 02.". 

CII.XPTFU XII. 

Frill 032 

C11.\1'T|;K XIII. 
Waiien Townsliip 0,"'.,". 

CILM'IIOI! X"IV. 

rtica 030 

ClIAPTrOI! XV. 

Sierliii;^ Township 043 

CIIAPl'IOlt X\l. 

Shelhy Township (^(l 

CIlAPrElt XVII. 

.Maeomh Tnwnship 0.".2 

CIIAPTKU Will. 
Cheslprlipld Township and .New 

Itallimore ('..".7 



CIlAl'llOl! XIX. 

l.ellox Township 0(=o 

CHAl'TIM! XX. 

Uii-hmond Townsiiip 01.2 

CH.U'IKI; XXI. 
.\riii;Hi:i Township and \'illa^e 070 

CIIAPTKI! XXII. 
l;a,^- Township (."(> 

CllAPIKIt XXIIl. 
Komeo OSl 

( IIAPTKIt XXIV. 

Washinuloli Townsliip 001 

CIIAPTKI! XXV. 
P.ruc. ■Township (■.'■>7 

CIlAPTint XXVI. 
'Ttniisporialion ('00 

CHAP'TKIt XXVII. 
Coiirls and P.ar ol' .Macoiuli 

County TiM 

I'onclusion ""0 



r-- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



016 090 714 9 O 



^m 



mm 



::^: 



V V 






. /.'V- 



C f/' 



■\f. 



I'll .''. 



.y,v, .vv 



"'IS 



